Cleveland, TN Outdoor Activities

Knoxville Food Tours' squadron of knowledgeable guides pilots pedestrians through downtown Knoxville's eclectic cache of local eateries, introducing locals and visitors alike to a smattering of tasty cuisine during tours that have garnered press from outlets such as the Knoxville News Sentinel. Each two-hour walking tour leads participants to a rotating lineup of local haunts, where they'll enjoy drinks and sample local fare such as pastries, pizza, sushi, vegetarian cuisine, and produce from nearby farmers. At each stop on the excursion, chefs and restaurateurs proffer friendly, insightful culinary conversation to bolster the enlightening nuggets of historical information dispensed by the well-informed guides or their sentient atlases.

Water churns under the circular red paddles of a massive, wooden wheel, and, as dusk falls, the green shoreline slowly waves goodbye. Strings of bright holiday lights shimmer on two wooden decks, reflecting in the water’s darkening surface. The moon looks on.

On both evening and day cruises, Tennessee Riverboat Company’s captains steer the Star of Knoxville and its passengers past the river’s shoreline foliage. Buffet-style meals and an ever-changing lineup of live entertainment captivate guests without forcing them to bunk with prop comedians. Seasoned captains pilot their ships through calm waters, pointing out spots of interest while passengers lounge in air-conditioned or heated interiors. Participants may also take to the dance floor as decks fill with gospel or country tunes on themed music cruises, where performers encourage participation to help expose stowaway Dolly Partons.

Back in 1995, fresh out of college, Shannon Skidmore and his fiancée, Shannan, leased a small 20'x20' building, an old Chevrolet van, and 50 tubes, and took over Smoky Mountain River Rat from its previous owner. Over the next five years, the “Shannons” gradually made the business their own by buying their own property, with Shannon using his contractor license and expertise to erect a new, larger building in just six weeks. Smoky Mountain River Rat has expanded to 500 tubes, two vans, and 20 kayaks, and the business now also offers whitewater rafting on the nearby Pigeon River. Meanwhile, its shuttles transport families up and down the Little River for unlimited daily rides, with customers as young as 2 years old floating down 1.5 miles of tubing-friendly, meandering waters as they trade off verses of old sea chanteys.

Bailey Links Golf Course at Cedar Hills' recently redesigned nine-hole course provides a grassy haunt for golfers of all stripes and an emerald training ground for pupils learning at the spike-soled feet of the club's PGA-certified golf guru, Keith McElroy. With a nine-hole round, players can hunt birdies across a player-friendly layout in expedited fashion, freeing up time to read their nine-irons bedtime stories later that night. Duffers can continue their path to on-course mastery at the complex's driving range, where practice balls help players commit new techniques to memory while whispering sage advice such as how to differentiate between expansive sand traps and makeshift nude beaches. Players can loop the links in a peppy golf cart or traverse the fairway chain aboard their trusty footmobile.

While plump hens scratch the dirt for morning worms on Hidden Hills Farm & Saddle Club's 500 acres of woodlands and dewy pastures, a team of experienced trainers saddles up and prepares for trail rides and horseback lessons. Guided rides include evening saunters through the woods, and lessons teach beginners the basics of both English and Western riding styles, focusing on leadership-based interaction and addressing oft-overlooked skills such as polite horse handling and how to neigh in seven languages. Nestled in the shadows of Grindstone Mountain, the facility does its best to blend in with the natural wilderness that surrounds it; when it isn't hosting daily visitors, the staff tends to its land with sensible, sustainable farming techniques.

Rent2Ride outfits trail-trekkers and waterborne adventurers with the roaring engines of Honda Rancher ATVs and sleek, speedy hulls of personal watercraft. Latter-day conquistadors saddle up to off-road vehicles decked out with low centers of gravity for easy control, and electric power steering for better traction over stubborn wheel ruts or up the neighbor's spiral staircase. Sea-Doo and Yamaha wave-runners zip and plow through crystal waters and choppy surf alike with ferocious horsepower and responsive handling. Rent2Ride can cart their motorcrafts to clients' locations for an additional fee.