Aerial Activities in Tennessee

Hot Air Balloon Ride near Nashville, above the Hills

Nashville is more than just its downtown: in the surrounding area, particularly toward Franklin to the south, central Tennessee has rolling terrain dotted with small valleys, woods, and bodies of water. A hot air balloon ride lets you observe this countryside as you gradually gain altitude, with an open view from the basket.

The balloon moves with the winds, so a hot air balloon ride does not follow a fixed route that always passes over the same landmarks. The takeoff area and the conditions that day determine the scenery along the way. For a first hot air balloon flight near Nashville, the appeal lies as much in this way of flying as in the succession of hills beneath the basket.

In the Smoky Mountains, Lakes and Mountains by Helicopter

In eastern Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains form a series of forested ridges along the North Carolina border. Around Sevierville and Pigeon Forge, the foothills create a transition between the inhabited valleys and the mountains of the national park.

A helicopter ride lets you see how these landscapes relate to one another, with aerial views that, depending on the route, bring together the Smokies foothills, the area around Wears Valley, or Douglas Lake. The latter is a reservoir on the French Broad River: its arms extend among the hills, giving a flight over the lake a different character from flights focused more on the mountains.

However, a view of the Smoky Mountains should be distinguished from a flight over the interior of the national park. Some routes follow its boundary, particularly toward Cove Mountain, while offering views of the mountain range. Choosing the route therefore matters just as much as choosing the aircraft when it comes to seeing the landscapes you want to observe.