Gatlinburg, Tenessee — If you know anything about Tennessee, one of the top things that comes to mind is its mountains. Tennessee is home to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and its gateway towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. However, despite its high elevation for the East Coast, only one ski resort exists in the state: Ober Mountain.
After new ownership stepped in a few years ago, a major cash infusion has been ongoing to modernize the mountain. Ober Mountain is a true four-season destination, and the ski resort is frankly not the most important part of the operation. Some of their other activities include an aerial tram to the “base area” of the ski resort, a mountain coaster, an indoor ice skating rink, a wildlife habitat, bumper cars, four-season tubing, and mountain biking.
However, they’re trying to change that with various investments on the mountain. This included a $4 million upgrade to their snowmaking network. Ober Mountain is a true four-season destination, and the ski resort is frankly not the most important part of the operation. Next up is the replacement of two chairlifts.
In April, Ober Mountain announced that they had removed the old Black Lift and are replacing it with a new Doppelmayr chairlift. The old Black Lift was built in 1981 by the Borvig Lift Company. If you want to get one of the old chairs, they were for sale earlier this spring for $200, but they’re now sold out.
Another unique part about Ober is that they have a scenic chairlift that doesn’t service any skiable terrain. This chairlift goes to the top of Mt. Harrison, which showcases some great views of the Great Smokey Mountains. This double chairlift will be replaced by a quad chairlift. The scenic chairlift remains open to the public as construction continues next to the lift line.
While it may not to a top destination for skiers and riders, Ober still sounds like a cool place to check out.
Image/Video Credits: Ober Mountain
