✦ Travel
Depart Knoxville
Leave South Knoxville by 10 AM and head toward the peaceful side of the Smokies. No rush — the drive itself is part of the transition.
Playlist
For the drive up
✦ Dining
Lunch in Townsend
Ease into the mountains on the peaceful side of the Smokies before heading deeper into the park. Slower roads, river views, and a calmer pace than anything near the Parkway.
— Choose one —
✦ Activity
Porters Creek Trail
One of the quieter corners of the Smokies — huge trees, creek crossings, old stone walls, historic homesteads, and Fern Branch Falls tucked into the forest at the end. Walk at your own pace and turn around whenever it feels right.
Playlist
Into the forest
✦ Activity
Provisions Stop
Pick up wine, snacks, breakfast things, and anything you want for a quiet evening at the cabin before heading to Stellara. Publix at Valley Forge is right on the route from Porters Creek — you'll pass it on the Parkway before turning toward Stellara.
✦ Lodging
Check In — Stellara Resort
Arrive at Stellara and settle in slowly. Hot tub, mountain air, quiet woods, and nowhere else to be.
✦ Experience
Connection Activity
A guided shared experience built around thoughtful questions, memories, intimacy, laughter, and honest conversation. Pour something good, get comfortable, and see where the night takes you together.
✦ Experience
Dinner on the Deck
Keep the first night simple. Grill something easy, open a bottle of wine, and let the mountain air do the work.
✦ Activity
After Dark — A Night Among the Stars
Ten stops across the night sky — planets, stars, clusters, and galaxies — guided by a custom star tour built for this trip. Begins after dark.
Playlist
Among the stars