Top Budget-Friendly Mountain Trips

Enjoy some fresh mountain air without putting your wallet on a high-altitude diet at these three affordable trip hubs.

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Get around for .50 cents a person on the Fun Time Trolley, buy a Pigeon Forge Value Card for discounts on everything from meals to hotels, shopping and attractions, and enjoy a free-next-day ticket to Dollywood when you arrive after 3 p.m. Accommodations ranging from rustic inns to value-conscious resorts make for budget-friendly lodging.

Top 4 Nature-Loving Family Road Trips

Spring is in the air, which means it's time to get outside! Scenery and back-to-basics family fun take center stage on these cheap, outdoorsy family road trips:

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Amid the backdrop of the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains, this 105-mile stretch of highway (itself a section of the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway) is dotted with exits to kid-friendly hiking trails. Inexpensive campgrounds and cabin-style resorts make for a budget-friendly family vacation.

Asheville, North Carolina, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
This beautiful two-hour drive passes right through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Campgrounds are plentiful in the area, as are laid-back lodging options like cabin rentals and motels.