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

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

located in Gatlinburg,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, that was established in 1962. The area also contains a large mall with indoor amusements, an indoor ice skating rink,

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 drink ...

s, a restaurant, and stores. An

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

connects Ober Mountain to downtown Gatlinburg, which is 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 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 hill has lanes that 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 user(s) to their destination. In literature On ...

, as is the ski school slope.

Lifts

The Scenic Lift 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. The Blue Lift is also a double lift that terminates at the Alpine Way slope and the alpine slide. The Red Lift and the Black Lift are quad lifts.

Aerial tramway

The

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 2020. The tram ride runs and takes about 10 minutes.

Amusement park

The amusement park portion of Ober Mountain is open year-round. 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 Ridg ...

, including black bears, are available for viewing. 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 coast ...

, the Ski Mountain Coaster, indoor

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, 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 bumper cars, snow tubing, a rock climbing wall, and a

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Ober Mountain Adventure Park & Ski Area
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