SAM Magazine—Gatlinburg, Tenn., May 4, 2026—The 14th annual SAM Summer Ops Camp is headed to Gatlinburg, Tenn., Sept. 1-3, 2026. Known as the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park—the most visited national park in the United States, with approximately 12 million visitors anually—Gatlinburg is home to a wide variety of summertime mountain experiences that camp attendees will draw inspiration from for their own operations.

Summer Ops Camp was previously held in Gatlinburg in 2019. Since then, the mountain destination has seen explosive growth. Operators at Ober Mountain, Boyne Resorts’ Gatlinburg SkyPark, and Anakeesta, for example, have made significant investments in new activities and experiences to keep their offerings fresh for Gatlinburg’s millions of multi-generational visitors. The town itself is also an example of cohesiveness, strong branding and theming, and meticulous upkeep from end-to-end.  

Ski area operators will explore the latest attractions and summer parks from a guest perspective and take part in classroom and on-site education sessions focused on growing and managing summer business. Topics include AI search optimization (with an exclusive ski area-specific report from Centium), risk management, passion-based travel trends, attraction development, strategies to capture seasonal demand, community-driven visitation, programming the natural environment, and operational considerations such as branding, pricing, wayfinding, and food and beverage, among others.

"Summer Ops Camp is one of the few industry gatherings where the learning actually sticks, because you're seeing the work in context, not slides about the work,” said Stephen Kircher, Boyne Resorts president and CEO. “Our team has sent leaders to this camp for years, and they always come back with something useful. We're proud to host the opening night at SkyPark and looking forward to welcoming everyone to Gatlinburg."

"We look forward to welcoming Summer Ops Camp to a morning at Ankeesta, an award-winning mountain-top adventure park that blends spaces that feel timeless, purposeful, and alive with wonder," said Ankeesta managing partner Bob Bentz.

“On behalf of our entire team at Ober, we look forward to welcoming you to experience all the new adventures at Ober Mountain, Tennessee’s only ski resort,” said Todd Clarke, Ober Mountain general manager. “As a year-round destination in Gatlinburg, we’re committed to balancing exceptional winter experiences with exciting summer offerings, all while serving the millions of guests who visit each year.”

Gatlinburg is the first two-time destination for Summer Ops Camp, and for good reason. It’s more than the magnet attractions of modern mountain coasters, zip line tours, and thoughtfully designed canopy walks that make a return to Gatlinburg attractive—it’s also the creative food and beverage offerings; connectivity between the town, its businesses, and the national park; and the flowers (yes, the flower beds and fairy gardens are a notable beautification takeaway) and other experiential design elements, plus much more. 

“We purposefully design Summer Ops Camp as a unique high-value experience, where conversations happen in the field,” said SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. “This format allows for collaborative understanding and idea sharing from beginning to end, and there’s so much we can learn from how Gatlinburg does four-season business. Campers went home with tons of takeaways back in 2019, and there will be even more this time around, with eye-opening new attractions and different approaches to engaging and capturing guests.”

Registration will open in May. Packages are inclusive of lodging, meals, educational sessions, workshops, experiences, and a gift bag. Learn more at saminfo.com/summer-ops-camp.