Townsend: our slow, sweet day on the peaceful side of the Smokies

If Pigeon Forge is a birthday party, Townsend is a porch swing. We drive over the hill from Wears Valley and everything gets quieter: a two-lane road along the river, a few cafes, fields with horses, and mountains on every side. It is the kind of place that makes you realize how loud your normal life has been.

Townsend calls itself "the peaceful side of the Smokies," and it means it. There are no giant attractions and very little traffic. What there is: the clearest river you have ever seen, a cave that will make your kids gasp, and a pace that lets a family actually talk to each other.

Floating the Little River

Tubing the Little River was our summer highlight. The outfitters in town rent tubes and shuttle you upstream, and you float back down through shallow, clear water with the mountains rising above you. Our seven-year-old rode his own tube. Our three-year-old rode with his dad, giggling every time they bumped a rock.

My husband loves whitewater, and he has rafted rivers that would make me nervous just watching. But he said this gentle float, with both boys laughing beside him, was one of his favorite days on the water. I believe him. I have never seen him so relaxed.

I have spent plenty of time on Gulf Coast beaches, and I thought I knew water. This was different: cold, clear and quick, and you could see every pebble on the bottom. The boys spent half the float leaning over the edge, naming rocks.

Underground: Tuckaleechee Caverns

Tuckaleechee Caverns is a privately run cave just outside town, with guided walking tours. The highlight is Silver Falls, a two-tier underground waterfall about 210 feet tall, and a room so big it could almost hold a football field. The cave stays cool all year, so it is a great rainy-day plan or a break on a hot afternoon.

For our rock-obsessed boys, this was heaven. Our oldest asked the guide a question at every turn. Our youngest held my hand very tightly the whole way, then told everyone afterward that he "went inside a mountain." Fair enough.

A little history and a lot of fresh air

• Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. A historic village of period buildings, plus Appalachian and Cherokee history. Short, easy, and a good first stop before a park day.
• Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum. A small museum and an old steam engine for train-loving kids.
• Townsend River Walk and Greenway. A flat, paved path along the river for strollers, bikes and an easy evening walk.
• The road to Cades Cove. Townsend is the gateway to Cades Cove , so it makes a natural breakfast or lunch stop on a cove day.