Ober Mountain Adventure Park & Ski Area, formerly known as Ober Gatlinburg, is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

and amusement park located in Gatlinburg,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

that was established in 1962. The area also contains a large

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

with indoor amusements, an indoor

ice skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

snack bar A snack bar usually refers to an inexpensive food counter that is part of a permanent structure where snack foods and light meals are sold. Description A beach snack bar is often a small building situated high on the sand. Besides soft dri ...

s, a restaurant, and stores. An

aerial tram An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

connects Ober Mountain, to downtown Gatlinburg, about 3 miles east. OberGatlinburg

History

The ski area opened in 1962 as Gatlinburg Ski Resort. In 1973, Claude Anders opened the Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway. In 1974, the Gatlinburg Ski Resort began to go out of business due to publicity from a bad lift accident. It was bought the Anders Family in 1975 and merged with the Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway. In 1977, it was renamed Ober Gatlinburg, which is German for "Upper Gatlinburg" or "Top of Gatlinburg." The upper mall opened in 1982. Snow tubing was added to the resort in 2008. In 2012, the resort installed a

snowmaking Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliabilit ...

system, which allows them to open earlier in the season, before natural snow occurs. In 2017, it upgraded the snowmaking system, particularly focusing on Cub Way. In 2022, the resort was sold to new owners, who renamed the resort from "Ober Gatlinburg" to "Ober Mountain Adventure Park & Ski Area."

Slopes

A multi-lane

snow tubing Tubing, also known as inner tubing, bumper tubing, towed tubing, or kite tubing, is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donu ...

hill opened during the 2008-2009 ski season, where riders can slide down snow chutes on inflatable snow tubes. The lanes are approximately long with a vertical drop. The tubing hill is serviced by a

magic carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its users to their destination. In literature One o ...

, as is the ski school slope.

Lifts

The Scenic Chairlift is a double lift that runs to the summit of Mount Harrison, where there is a scenic overlook. The lift is long and rises in elevation. It was built in 1962 and the drive system and chairs were upgraded in 2014. The Blue Lift is also a double lift that terminates at the Alpine Way slope and the alpine slide. Ober Mountain has two quad lifts, the Red Lift and the Black Lift. The Red Lift offers access to Cub Way and Castle Run. The Black Lift offers access to Yeti's Run, Ober Chute, Upper and Lower Bear, Mogul Ridge, and Grizzly.

Aerial Tramway

The

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

departs from downtown Gatlinburg and travels west to the resort. The system was built in 1973 by Von Roll Ltd. and has two 120-passenger cabins. They were replaced by Doppelmayr in 2007. The tram ride runs and takes about 10 minutes.

Amusement park

The amusement park part of Ober Mountain is open year-round. One of the main attractions is the Wildlife Encounter, where in addition to

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

s there are animals native to the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

. Other attractions include: an

alpine slide A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaste ...

, the Ski Mountain Coaster, hiking trails, indoor

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

plus ice bumper cars, miniature golf, water raft rides (summer only), an outdoor maze, a rock climbing wall, and a carousel.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Ober Gatlinburg
Ober Mountain homepageOber Mountain Tramway
1962 establishments in Tennessee Buildings and structures in Sevier County, Tennessee Amusement parks in Tennessee Ski areas and resorts in Tennessee Tourist attractions in Sevier County, Tennessee Gatlinburg, Tennessee Amusement parks opened in 1962 Aerial tramways in the United States