Photos: Gatlinburg Skybridge

“Come on child,” said a presumed mother, encouraging a young girl around a flopping woman at the glass paneled midpoint of the new Gatlinburg SkyBridge. It’s 140 feet above the sloping terrain with stellar views of the Great Smoky Mountains and it inspires assortments of reactions. Some people flop on the panels for photos as others hesitantly cross. Children cry. The bridge shakes. But in a good way.

The attraction debuted last month and tickets for all day access to the Skylift, which gets you to the Skybridge, are $17-$22. Summer hours of operation are 9am-11:00pm. Parking in the area is $5-10. On my way into Gatlinburg heading west on #441 through the national park I ran into several traffic jams because of an abundance of moose hanging out on the shoulders.

About the author: Sean Rayford is a South Carolina photographer known most for his work in photojournalism. This was one of the first photo trips Sean made with his micro camper-van.