Our Cabin "Swingin' On A Star" Gatlinburg, Tennessee

08/29/2025

🌀Reminiscing on this 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina…

While I am originally a Virginia girl ❤️ my home had become Louisiana in the suburbs of New Orleans after going to college there. August 29th, 2005 will always be a day I remember as a determined single mom evacuated her daughter, dog and three ferel cats 😳 There are no words to explain the next days, weeks and months. I am just so very thankful and reflect on the many lessons learned. Hey, I even learned how to change a propane tank on our Fema trailer in freezing 20 degree weather in the front yard while renovating our home 💪

Interestingly enough, I had signed the contract with the builder for Swingin’ On A Star merely two weeks before Katrina. I seriously contemplated canceling the contract many times in the precarious days after Katrina. I thank my lucky stars and the Good Lord seeing me through both endeavors ✨🙏
Life throws us many challenges…resilience is the key. And I am very blessed to have so many Cabin Peeps through the years! ⭐️🐻⭐️

08/29/2025

👀 Looking for the PERFECT cabin that actually keeps everyone entertained?? Few cabins have two separate dedicated rooms for your fun and activities…we do!! 🙌

🎯 Fun begins in our expansive GAME ROOM with full size POOL TABLE, pub table-wrought iron pub chairs, 48 GAME ARCADE—sporting Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga & more, 43” SmartTV, TELESCOPE, DARTS, TODDLER WALL GAMES, binoculars, board games, books & Coffee & Vino bar with convenient fridge for your brews. There's even 'BUCK-THE SINGING DEER' to sing along to your favorites such as 'Friends In Low Places', 'Sweet Home Alabama' and more!!

🎬🎤 And wait! The fun does not stop there! For a family Movie or Karaoke night enjoy our separate enclosed MEDIA ROOM with half bath & State of Art Electronics—75” Samsung 4K QLED Full Array Smart TV w/SURROUND SOUND(Boom!), DVR, retro BLU-RAY DVD & DVD LIBRARY. Laugh & sing your heart out with our KARAOKE SYSTEM with dynamic changing background & over 2,000 songs! We even have Yoga mats stored for your convenience! And with wrap around sectional comfortable seating for the EXCEPTIONAL HOME THEATER & KARAOKE EXPERIENCE!

🤗 Come be entertained in the PERFECT cabin—Swingin’ On A Star!! Message here for Direct Booking savings or VRBO.com/171143

08/28/2025

💆‍♀️ Enjoy a relaxing mobile massage right here on our deck 👀⛰️



Your vacay should be effortless!

08/27/2025

In regards to logo updates…ours remains the same…
⭐️🐻⭐️
Here at Swingin’ On A Star we have…the same rustic mountain luxury, the same spectacular panoramic mountain views, the same superb amenities and comfort, the same excellent service and the same guaranteed memories to be made.
⭐️🐻⭐️
Sometimes you don’t change what your guests love.

08/27/2025

👩‍🎨 Have you visited the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community?? 🎨 Did you know that Swingin’ On A Star is located right above it and this is where we found many of our artisan decor treasures throughout our cabin.

A little throwback history about the The Arts & Crafts Community…it is the largest independent organization of artisans in the United States. As such it doesn’t disappoint in the diversity of crafts you can see when you visit. You’ll find a wide assortment of items from dulcimers to stuffed bears to ceramics. The artists often will talk with visitors and discuss the history of their craft. Each shop offers plenty of free parking. Enjoy the 8 mile loop road with over 96 artists & craftsmen including eateries.

No one planned it when the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community developed in Gatlinburg, it just happened. For years, artists and craftsmen practiced their specialty in downtown Gatlinburg. Sometimes in studios and galleries and often, out on the street where visitors and residents could watch them develop their creations. People came and watched, and the craftsmen did what they do best; they crafted.

Around 1937, John Cowden and several other craftsmen decided to go home…weather, increased traffic, excessive commissions to shop owners, and other disruptions were impacting their ability to work as they wanted, and they decided to move their craft shops to the Glades, where many of them lived. They left downtown to the shop owners and set up their own shop, studios, and galleries, in or near their homes. They invited the visitors to Gatlinburg to come out to the Glades to see their facilities and look at their wares. They soon realized they could do even more and better work, because of the availability of their tools and supplies. Not to mention the reduction in stress because of being close to the comfort and surroundings of home and family. Shortly after John Cowden made the move, another long established artisan and member of the community, Carl Huskey, a furniture maker, followed suit and opened the Village Craft Shop in the Glades. Soon after that dozens of other artisan and craftsmen started migrating to this new center of activity, and the seeds were sown for the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community.

As the word spread, more and more visitors to the area found their way to the Glades in search of locally created art, carvings, furniture, brooms, pottery, sculptures, candles, dulcimers, scrimshaw, and dozens of other locally created artistic creations. As the visitors increased, so to did eateries and lodging. The community continues to grow and new facilities were built to house the ever growing number of artists and craftsmen.

Several wedding chapels were built to accommodate the hundreds of young couples coming to Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains to get married. Then even more facilities were built to meet the demand for lodging when many of these same couples returned with their families for vacation, in later years. Between May and October of 1982, over 11 million people visited the area while attending the Knoxville World’s Fair (officially known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition) and one of Gatlinburg’s best kept secrets, the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community, was discovered. That’s just how it happened. For over 75 years this community of artists and craftsmen has continued to grow and prosper and has become the largest artistic community in America.

With over 96 artists and craftsmen, dozens of eateries, wedding chapels and acres of free parking; the Glades is a must see on your visit to the Smokies. If you’d prefer, there is also a dedicated trolley route (the Yellow route) for your convenience. All of the members of this unique organization are located on an 8 mile loop bordered by Glades Road, Buckhorn Road, and State Route 321 (also know as East Parkway).

Drive out to see them or take the trolley and see what everyone is talking about. It’s hand made in America; it’s a step back in time; and it is all here for you while visiting the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains. ⛰️

08/26/2025

I’ve become my daughter 🤣 She actually gets it from me 😉 We love Fall and all that goes with it! 🍂🎃🍁Decided to decorate a bit early this year due to reservations coming in and why not! 🍂🍁🍂 Did you know Swingin’ On A Star is decorated for the Fall and Christmas seasons? One of the most commented items by our Cabin Peeps is that Swingin’ On A Star “feels like home” ☺️ Happy Fall yall! 🍁🍂🍁

08/25/2025

Teddy, another one of our Bear friends is here to say, “HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, CABIN PEEPS!”

08/24/2025

Well, we knew this already, however, it’s nice to be acknowledged 🙌

Condé Nast Traveler named the beloved East Tennessee vacation destination as one of the 31 most beautiful towns in America.