What was once a popular destination for family fun is now an eerie look into the past.

Urban Exploring and the Fascination with Abandoned Places

There is something so eerie about abandoned places.  I think it's because seeing a place that was once full of life being slowly reclaimed by nature is unsettling. It's a stark reminder that nothing lasts forever, no matter how invincible it may seem. Some people have even created a hobby out of exploring abandoned places, a practice known as "urban exploring."

With the popularity of social media and people's fascination with abandoned places, urban exploration has become a popular activity for thrill-seekers and photographers.

READ MORE: See Photos of a Ghost Town Located Within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 

If you search any social media site for "urban exploring" or "urbex" you will see thousands of photos and videos of folks exploring abandoned places.  Looking up these phrases is how I stumbled upon the remains of an old amusement park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Gatlinburg's Forgotten Amusement Park

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

I've been to Gatlinburg a handful of times, and I had no idea that just off the main street are the remains of an amusement park.  It's weird because from the road, you can actually see part of the old amusement park.

This was once where people would get on a ski lift to enjoy Fun Mountain.

Fun Mountain - Gatlinburg's Long Lost Park

According to The Gatlinburg Inn, the property that eventually became Fun Mountain was once a hotel.  The Mountain View Hotel was founded in 1926 and was a three-story, 100-room hotel.   Eventually, the property was sold, and the hotel was torn down to make way for Fun Mountain.

In 1993, Fun Mountain opened, and you can still see what the website looked like thanks to the Web  Archive.  According to the Fun Mountain website, the chairlift that still stands today was once the longest chairlift in Gatlinburg.  It's kind of eerie to see it today.  Many of the chairs are still suspended along the cable over the tree tops that are slowly catching up to them.

Get our free mobile app

Here is the list of rides that were once available at Fun Mountain:

• Gatlinburg's Longest Chair Lift
• Bear Jam Bumper Cars
• The Go-Get-Em-Go-Carts
• The Waterfalls Miniature Golf Course
• Bump-Em Bumper Boats
• Area's Largest Arcade
• The Do-Se-Do Scrambler Ride
• The Million Dollar View Antique Carousel
• The Ridge Swinger Swing Ride
• The Mountain Dew Tilt-A-Whirl
• VR Voyager
• The 3 Story "Climb Mountain" For Kids and Parents.
• The Smokies Mountain Electric Train Ride
• Midway Games where you can win Great Prizes
• The Cloud Grabber Farris Wheel
• The Mountain-High Rickey's Rocket
• Scenic View of Downtown Gatlinburg
• Children's Motor Cycle Ride
• Bungee Trampoline
• Children's Jeep Ride

You can see incredible footage of the remains of Fun Mountain in a video taken by JPVideos. It's an incredible look at what still remains of the old amusement park.

What Happened to Fun Mountain?

I can't find any exact reasons Fun Mountain failed, but I can find some interesting ideas as to why people think the park failed.  Of course, the biggest speculation is financial complications.  Building and maintaining rides is not cheap.  Another potential reason, according to The Smokies, could be Dollywood.  Which makes sense.  Dollywood has been a popular tourist destination for years, but in 1993 it was really in its growth phase.