If you’re walking the strip and want something different than grabbing fudge or ice cream, the Goo Goo Cluster Gatlinburg experience lets you build your own chocolate bar—and it’s way bigger than you expect.
This is an easy add if you’re already exploring downtown. It feels like a quick stop, then turns into a full little experience. You customize everything, watch it get made, and walk out with what is basically a brick of delicious chocolate.
If you’re planning out your day, this fits perfectly alongside other stops—check out my guide to Downtown Gatlinburg and learn more in my post about Downtown Gatlinburg: The Ultimate Guide to Restaurants, Attractions, and Things to Do to map it all out.
And if you’re staying nearby, it helps to be within walking distance so you’re not carrying a chocolate slab across town—find hotels near the Gatlinburg strip here.
The Goo Goo Cluster store is right on the strip near Reagan Terrace Mall, so it’s easy to pop into while you’re already walking around.
You don’t need a reservation or any kind of plan. You just walk in. It’s a good stop when you want something sweet but don’t want to just grab another piece of fudge and keep walking.
When we walked in, they greeted us right away and explained how everything works.
You start at a self-service kiosk, which walks you through building your custom cluster step-by-step. It’s simple, and scrolling through all the options is part of the fun. You’ll feel confident in your choices… until you realize you just added five toppings and have no self-control.
Once you place your order, you move over to the chocolate bar and watch them make it right in front of you. That part was one of my favorite parts. It’s quick, but there’s something about watching your exact order come together that makes it feel more like an experience than just buying candy.
The whole thing takes about 10–15 minutes, including a few minutes at the end where it cools before they hand it to you.
This is where things get dangerous—in the best way.
At the kiosk, you build your cluster layer by layer. Some of the options include:
Then the chocolatiers take over and start assembling it right in front of you using premium chocolate.
This isn’t something pulled from a display case. It’s handmade, built to your exact order, and you get to watch the whole thing happen.
One thing to know—this is not a small snack. This is a massive chocolate cluster. I was not expecting it to be as big as it was, and I ended up eating on it for a few days.You think you’re just going to have a bite… and then you’re still eating it the next day.
The custom Goo Goo Cluster costs $15.
For what you get, it felt worth it:
If you compare it to grabbing multiple desserts on the strip, this ends up being one of the better-value stops.
Yes. This is one of those simple things that ends up being more fun than expected.
It doesn’t take up a big part of your day, but it adds something different to your time in Gatlinburg. You’re not just buying candy—you’re picking everything out and watching it come together.
If you’re already walking around downtown, it’s an easy yes. Especially if chocolate is involved, which… feels obvious, but still.
I’d do it again without hesitation.
You don’t need a reservation
It takes about 15 minutes total
It’s rich and large, so consider sharing
It’s right by Reagan Terrace Mall, so it’s easy to add into your route
If you’re building out your day, you could easily pair this with a full itinerary—check out my guide on How to Spend 24 Hours in Gatlinburg: 3 Perfect Itineraries for a One-Day Smoky Mountain Getaway to plan around it.
If you’re making a full Gatlinburg trip out of it, staying close to the strip makes your life easier. You can walk everywhere, pop in and out of places like this, and not worry about parking.
You can browse hotels near downtown Gatlinburg here to find something central.
If you’re coming from outside the area or planning a Smoky Mountain trip, renting a car gives you flexibility to move between Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and the national park without relying on rideshares—renting a car makes this much easier if you want to explore more than just the strip.
This is one of those small stops that ends up being a highlight.
You walk in thinking it’ll take five minutes, and leave with a custom chocolate creation that weighs more than expected and somehow lasts for days.
Between choosing your ingredients, watching it get made, and walking out with something you built yourself, it’s a fun break from the usual shops on the strip.
It’s also great if you’re filming or taking photos—the process itself is half the content.
If you’re already in downtown Gatlinburg, this is 100% worth popping into. And if you’re planning your food stops, you can always pair it with a full meal—see my full review of Top Places to Eat in Gatlinburg: Where to Dine from Breakfast to Dessert so you don’t accidentally replace dinner with chocolate. (Although… no judgment if you do.)
A hotel that’s also a free 24-hour contemporary art museum penguins included. We booked a Corner Suite at 21c and it was massive: separate bedroom, living room, dining area, 699 square feet to spread out in. The bathroom alone had a double vanity and custom Rookwood Pottery tile that made getting ready weirdly entertaining.
The location is downtown, two minutes from Fountain Square, walkable to Boca for dinner, and close enough to hop the free streetcar into Over-the-Rhine. If OTR is where most of your plans are, you might want to stay closer to that neighborhood instead downtown worked for us, but we spent more time in OTR than we expected to.
And yes, there’s a recycled-plastic penguin sculpture that will absolutely scare you the first time you open your door and forget it’s there. Link in bio for the full review rooms, parking, walkability, and everything else before you book 🎨
Three neighborhoods, one streetcar, and more Cincinnati specialties than I could finish in one afternoon.
We hit a goetta breakfast sandwich, chocolate chip ice cream from a shop that’s been at it since 1870, a Liège waffle that earned its Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives spot, and Cincinnati chili the way it’s actually meant to be eaten... over a hot dog, buried in shredded cheddar.
$75 got us three and a half hours, a local guide, free streetcar rides, and a genuinely full stomach. Don’t eat breakfast before this one, the portions add up fast.
My third Secret Food Tour in my third city, and it’s still undefeated.
Link in bio for the full review cost, route, parking, and every stop we hit 🥟🌶️
13 creek crossings, a canyon that keeps closing in around you, and a hike I’d genuinely put back on my itinerary, West Fork Trail was the one.
We got to Call of the Canyon at 7:15am and the lot was barely a quarter full. By 12:30 it was 85% full, so if there’s one tip that matters most, it’s this: go early.
The maintained trail is 6.6 miles round trip, mostly flat, mostly shaded, but I kept my regular tennis shoes dry the whole way by hopping across the rocks at each crossing. It’s rated moderate, and honestly that’s about the distance, not the terrain.
Here’s what nobody tells you though ✨ the maintained trail isn’t the end. We changed into water shoes at the official endpoint and kept going another mile straight through the creek, canyon walls narrowing around us the whole time. That extra mile ended up being my favorite part of the entire hike.
5/5 for me. I’d bring the water shoes again in a heartbeat.
Link in bio for the full guide parking, timing, what to pack, and everything I wish I knew before I went 🥾
Two hours, zero regrets. The Pink Jeep Broken Arrow Tour is hands down one of the most fun things we did in Sedona.
Open-air Jeeps crawling over slickrock, backcountry views you can’t reach on your own, and the famous Road of No Return, steep, thrilling, and somehow completely safe the whole way down.
If you’re picking one paid activity in Sedona, make it this one.
You have to do @pinkjeeptours 🌵🚙 Link in bio for the full review.
Dinner beside Oak Creek at Cress, and yes, it’s a splurge, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.🤍
Candlelit tables under the trees, the creek running right beside us, a menu that mixes Arizona ingredients with French technique. We ordered a little of everything: the squash and beet salad, milk rolls with three different butters, sweet potato gnocchi that somehow felt light instead of heavy. Then two desserts because we couldn’t decide. The Vanilla Crème Caramel with Manchego cheese completely stole the show, salty and sweet in a way that sounds strange until you taste it.
Plan on $100–250 for two depending on what you order, and this isn’t the spot for a quick casual dinner, it’s slow, intentional, and worth every minute. Book ahead and ask for a creekside table if you can.
If you’re looking for one unforgettable meal in Sedona, this is it. Link in bio for the full review 🍽️
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