Got a weekend? We’ve got the place.

Fabulous family fun—close to home

By Janis Hashe

Many—if not most—families are rethinking the family vacation this year. But lucky Chattanooga families have lots of fun, affordable weekend escapes available to them. Take a look at these three—we’ll be very surprised if there isn’t something here to tickle everyone’s fancy.

Fontana Village: Besides hiking and biking opportunities, Fontana Village in North Carolina offers family-friendly recreation on the nearby lake and rivers

Huntsville, Alabama

Drive time: 2 hours

We covered Huntsville as a day-trip two years ago. But having paid a recent visit to the city, we’re here to tell you that, amazing as the Space Center is, there is so much more to do that Huntsville deserves a weekend visit.
Now, speaking of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, if you haven’t been there recently, you haven’t seen its brand-new “front door,” the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. This hangar-like building will eventually house most of the Space Center’s collection, and currently astounds visitors with a huge Saturn V rocket suspended 10 feet above the floor and running most of the 476 feet of the center. Don’t forget the other kid-friendly attractions, including Mars Mission and Mars Climbing Wall. SpaceCamp.org

Kids who love bugs will swarm for Huntsville’s gi-normous creepie crawlies.

Got a budding bug hunter in your gang? Then the Huntsville Botanical Garden is the place to be through July 13 for “David Rogers’ Big Bugs,” a sculpture exhibit of not just big, but gi-normous bugs, including three 25-foot-long ants crawling through the special-events meadow; a 1,200-pound, 18-foot-tall praying mantis lurking near the Aquatic Garden; a 17-foot-long, red cedar dragon fly; a 7-foot-long assassin bug; and many other gargantuan insects created from all-natural materials, whole trees, cut green saplings, dry branches and other native forest materials. There’s no extra charge to bug out with the big bugs. HSVBG.org
For a glimpse of Huntsville’s past, kids will love the three museums known collectively as the Earlyworks Museums. The Alabama Constitution Village is where they can visit villagers who think they are still back in 1819, going about their lives as printers, bakers, candle makers, sheriff, etc. At the Huntsville Depot & Museum, they can see what life was like on the 1860 rails, including a bit of Civil War graffiti. Stories are told by a giant Talking Tree at the Earlyworks Children’s History Museum, and preschoolers have an area all to themselves, Biscuit’s Backyard. EarlyWorks.com
Another fabulous science destination is Sci-Quest Hands On Science Center. Founded by some of Huntsville’s many science workers, this is the place to explore seven different interactive science areas with more than 100 exhibits. Sci-Quest.org

If you go: We stayed in both the Embassy Suites Huntsville Hotel & Spa (EmbassySuitesHuntsville.com) and the Westin Huntsville (Westin.com/Huntsville) and would recommend either for families, though Huntsville offers a whole range of family-friendly accommodations. For special packages and more about the city’s attractions, visit Huntsville.org.

Fontana Village, North Carolina

Drive time: 3 hours

This resort area was originally developed for the workers building the Fontana Dam—and their families—and is still a truly family-friendly destination. Its setting is stunning, right in the middle of the Nantahala Forest of western North Carolina and snuggled up to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is also right next door, and Fontana Lake and the Nantahala and Cheoah Rivers are accessible for water fun.
In many ways, a weekend at Fontana Village is like taking a trip to the past, pre-Game Boy, iPod, etc. Not that your kids can’t access those things at the resort if they choose to—but there are so many outdoors activities to play hard at, they might well be too tired. The village is surrounded by hiking, mountain bike and horseback-riding trails. There are a disc golf course, a miniature golf course, tennis courts and a brand-new, really cool pool with a “Lazy River.” Because it’s supervised, Mom and Dad can relax and let someone else keep an eye on the kids. During the summer months, evening softball games are a favorite pastime.
A new marina was recently added at 29-mile-long Fontana Lake, so those who like kayaking, canoeing, jet skis or pontoon boats are in luck. A local outfitter can arrange for whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River.
And the village is participating in the 75th anniversary celebration of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by offering “75 for 75,” hiking expeditions on all the park’s trails, many designed specifically for families with kids.
Local day trips include visiting the artists/farmers at Yellow Branch Farm, sampling cheese from their dairy cows and admiring (or purchasing) their greenware pottery. Or perhaps a rail excursion on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is in order. YellowBranch.com, GSMR.com

If you go: The village has two on-site restaurants and a variety of accommodations, from rooms in the lodge to suites, cabins and houseboats. During the summer months, it’s best to book at least two weeks in advance, though a spokesperson told us they sometimes have cancellations if you want to try for a last-minute trip. Visit FontanaVillage.com for more details about the area.

Pigeon Forge: “An amusement park for the mind,” Wonderworks includes attractions such as the 360-Degree Bicycle and an earthquake chamber.

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Drive time: 2_ hours

Of course, what comes to mind first is Dollywood, and more on that shortly. But families have quite a few other options besides the famous theme park and its many shows. For example, Pigeon Forge’s main drag, the Parkway, is called “Five Miles of Fun” for its adjacent kid-friendly attractions.

The Zydro has been described as “where washing machine meets roller coaster.”

Do you Zorb? You might want to when you find out what it is. Pigeon Forge’s Tom Adkinson puts it this way: “Imagine a beach ball that’s 11 feet tall, and perfectly suspended inside it is another beach ball about six feet in diameter. Then imagine climbing in and having someone push the ball down a hillside. That’s a Zorb.” OK, we know the kids are already so wanting to do this. Adkinson makes the idea even more attractive: “Actually, there are two kinds of Zorbs. One, a Zorbit, has a bench seat and a whole lot of harnesses for a secure ride that’s totally head over heels. The other, a Zydro, puts several gallons of water inside the smaller ball, making you splash and slide wildly on the downhill run. The Zydro has been described as ‘where washing machine meets roller coaster.’ It’s a New Zealand invention, and Zorb Smoky Mountains is the only Zorb location in North America.” Zorb.com
Then there’s “indoors skydiving” at Flyaway, a vertical wind tunnel where, after instruction, participants jump into the updraft and “fly.” FlyawayIndoorSkydiving.com
Or how about Wonderworks, with its upside-down building, billed as a “science lab lifted out of the Bermuda Triangle by a storm” and happening to land in Pigeon Forge? Why not? Stranger things have happened. Wonderworks, “an amusement park for the mind,” includes attractions such as the 360-Degree Bicycle, an earthquake chamber, and, the newest exhibit, the Mind Game Challenge, in which you compete by trying to stay calm while using brainwaves to move a ball. WonderworksTN.com
Meanwhile, there is a lot that’s new at Dollywood, including the addition of a Cirque du Soleil-esque show, “Imagine,” presented by Le Grand Cirque.
Dollywood is also celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a show with music and lyrics written by none other than Dolly herself.  “Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land of Blue Smoke” is the biggest show Dollywood has ever has staged, and is a tribute to the spirit and music of the Great Smoky Mountains. Its name is the phonetic spelling of the Cherokee word for the region, and its characters are the last family to leave the area that became Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dolly has announced that the first-year proceeds from the show’s soundtrack will benefit Friends of the Smokies, a nonprofit organization supporting the national park.
If that’s not enough to lure you to Pigeon Forge, don’t forget KidsFest at Dollywood, June 12–Aug. 2. In addition to events designed just for the Fest, kids can see the Kratt Brothers, stars of PBS’s Zoboomafoo, who have created a special show, “Creature Adventures,” for Dollywood. Dollywood.com

Dollywood: Martin and Chris Kratt are stars of Dollywood’s “Creature Adventures starring the Kratt Brothers,” the headlining show during the theme park’s summertime KidsFest extravaganza.

If you go: Pigeon Forge has many accommodations options, but for a fun high-end choice, consider The Inn at Christmas Place (where it’s always Christmas), InnAtChristmasPlace.com; The Music Road Hotel, MRH.com; or mid-range Willow Brook Lodge, WillowBrookLodge.com. If you prefer condo lodging, try Whispering Pines Condos, WhisperingPinesCondos.com; and those who love cabins may enjoy Eagle’s Ridge, 3EPN.com or 2ERN.com. To access information about all the attractions and events at Pigeon Forge, visit MyPigeonForge.com.