Vacation in Gatlinburg/ Great Smoky Mts. Nat'l Park

[Douglas-001]

I found an older thread on the subject and was able to actually speak with another member on things to see/avoid in the area but also wanted to ask the collective for some more ideas and opinions. Wife and I celebrating our 21st. wedding anniversary and are renting a small cabin. Plan is to hike the park and any surrounding areas that may offer trails. I reckon there are more goons-uhh...members who are familiar with the area or the park and may offer ideas on best hiking areas, best steakhouse, best liquor store, places that are perhaps off the beaten path and give a taste of the local food and culture. I have no plans to pull any teeth, or go barefoot to try and fit in, so let's get that out of the way........we'll be there in June for a week and it will be the first time in the area for both of us. I welcome any personal testimony and advice. Thanks as always!

Doug

 

[The D]

I don’t have any input, I’m just tagging in for the info

 

[weaselrunner]

I don't know what it's like now. But when we were there at the end of the 90's, we took a ride over to Cherokee nc. There was a living history museum there. A native American version of Jamestown.

And don't forget smokey mountain knife.

 

[quietmike]

The Old Mill has great food, especially at breakfast. I eat myself sick every time we go there.
We usually stop at Sugarland Cellar winery, and go across the street to the Nantahala outdoor center.

 

[Maggot]

Im sure this =goes without needing said, but be armed. There are fucktards even in paradise.

www.cnn.com › 2019/05/14 › usArmy veteran killed on Appalachian Trail used outdoors to ...​

Army veteran killed on Appalachian Trail used outdoors to cope with PTSD. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Joe Biden, speaks after she was nominated for Associate Justice of the

 

[thejeep]

how far would you like to hike in a day?

 

[502Chevelle]

If you go over the Mtn towards Cherokee, there is a large parking lot at the top. The App Trail goes both ways north and south out of the parking lot and you can get a nice hike in. Hike to Clingmans Dome and go up in the tower and the view is incredible for miles and miles. You can also drive there. The road up to the parking lot is usually closed in the winter, but it’s been mild, so maybe it will be open.

 

[rjacobs]

Dont actually go into Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge...

I just saved your vacation....


We were there last Sept 2020, but we went to drive all the crazy roads in the area so we went for a different reason. We stayed like 7 miles east of town in a cabin.

Restaurants we ate at:
Smoky Mountain Trout House... Definitely a recommend. Trout prepared like 20 different ways. Was good. Small place, parking is across the street, dont try to park in the hotel parking lot next door.
Alamo Steakhouse... Definitely a DO NOT recommend. Waited over an hour. Food was sub-par, 2 of the 4 meals were cold and the food that came back was not good enough quality to eat, 2 of the meals were comped so we had that going for us. I ate mcdonalds for dinner...my mom ate a sandwich at the cabin...
Hungry Bear BBQ: meh... wasnt bad, wasnt great. we got there late and they were out of a lot of stuff.

We ate in our cabin most of the time. "in town" is a HUGE HUGE tourist trap. Over priced everything(food included), stupid stupid crowded, etc... We went into town after dinner to get a coffee mug(my wife collects from our travels). $10 to park to walk across the street and get a $15 made in china coffee mug.

If you get over to Blue Ridge Pkwy and make it as far up it as Little Switzerland its a super cool little town. Lots of little cool towns over that way. We drove this double loop from there. Lots of cool little towns and what not along the way. Hidden gems I think. https://diamondback226.com/

Again we were out there to drive all the crazy roads(tail of the dragon, Cherohala Skyway, 32 south of Cosby, Blue Ridge Pkwy, Diamondback 226, etc...) but going into Gatlinburg proper was not my idea of "fun" even if just for dinner.

 

[K470]

We stayed outside of Pigeon Forge in a cabin did most of our meals there. I will recommend Crockett's Breakfast and their cinnamon rolls.

As for hiking, Rainbow Falls and Alum Cave are two trails I liked. I haven't hiked many of the trails but those two were nice. Clingman's Dome has great views if the weather cooperates.

 

[SilentStalkr]

I found an older thread on the subject and was able to actually speak with another member on things to see/avoid in the area but also wanted to ask the collective for some more ideas and opinions. Wife and I celebrating our 21st. wedding anniversary and are renting a small cabin. Plan is to hike the park and any surrounding areas that may offer trails. I reckon there are more goons-uhh...members who are familiar with the area or the park and may offer ideas on best hiking areas, best steakhouse, best liquor store, places that are perhaps off the beaten path and give a taste of the local food and culture. I have no plans to pull any teeth, or go barefoot to try and fit in, so let's get that out of the way........we'll be there in June for a week and it will be the first time in the area for both of us. I welcome any personal testimony and advice. Thanks as always!

Doug

First, congrats and happy anniversary! 21 years is a long time. If you can stay in Townsend and travel the BACKROADS around town then you will save yourself a lot of time and grief! Don’t tell anyone about this! Downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are super crowded all the freaking time. It’s literally like a vegas of the East or getting there.

How long are you staying? How good of shape are you in? Do you love to hike? I can make some great recommendations as the fam owns a cabin near there and we go at least 2x a year. Of course, I also get pissed now every time I go because they are literally littering the land now with cabins and hotels.

The Old Mill has great food, especially at breakfast. I eat myself sick every time we go there.
We usually stop at Sugarland Cellar winery, and go across the street to the Nantahala outdoor center.

Old mills is good to go but get there early unless you love to wait abd love crowds. Early afternoon right before they open for dinner is good.

 

[sll]

I live 60 miles away......go for the day to the area about 3 times a year. You can stay at the beach for a week for what you can do 3 days there. But hey, everyone needs to try it once. A must see for you will be the Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville. Huge place and you will be amazed at how many knife manufacturers are out there. You will se that Gatlinburg itself is not much to see in the town itself especially since the fires destroyed a lot of the land around it 6-7 years ago. Most of the attractions and outlets are in Pigeon Forge/Sevierville now.

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

There's several different caverns in the area. Forbidden caverns is a pretty good tour and it's been a few years but I enjoyed Tuckaleechee caverns. If you are into old motorcycles take a trip over to Wheels Through Time. You will need several hours to go through it. Almost everything in there is in running condition and they start some of them up and ride them around inside. Several years ago they had a TV show called What's in the Barn or something like that.
From there a short ride down to the Moonshiner 28. It runs along a smaller river. There's several waterfalls along the way. One is called Bridal Veil falls. You can walk behind the falls.

 

[acudaowner]

yea a small cabin in the woods congrats on making it for 21 years it's nice to think there are still people who make it together that long . Hope you both enjoy a hard earned anniversary and to many many more .

 

[hino895]

My sister lives a few miles away and I try to stop in occasionally for dinner.
We always go to
“the taste of dandridge” restaurant.
Always get a full rack of baby back ribs.
Probably the best I’ve ever had.

 

[Douglas-001]

Many thanks members for the kind words about our anniversary. Officially it is 21 years, but we have been steady almost 30 years now....I got her medication just right.......as far as hiking distance, last year at Daniel Boone Nat'l Forest we averaged 7 miles a day for the whole week. Probably rookie numbers, but her background as a semi-professional photographer had us stopping every 20 paces....I reckon we could cover at least the same, maybe more....we'll be there 5 nights then head west to Nashville to see our nieces. Absolutely cook a lot at the cabin, but was hoping to find a local hidden gem of a steakhouse for the actual anniversary date (6/21). I'll bring a bottle or 2 of booze but will be on the lookout for any good bourbons down in bourbon country. No plans to shop the city, just pass thru as needed to get to the park and trailheads. Of course I researched the TN. reciprocity carry laws just as I did for KY. This load out worked fine in KY. Perhaps a slight modification....bear spray...most likely effective against 2 legged wanna be predators....

The S&W is hers along with the blue ESSE....I'll try to find some park maps to help pick out some trails. Thanks again!

 

[Onewolf42]

Unless you really like knives or Go-karts there's no reason to visit Pigeon Forge.

If you like driving, my favorite road in the world is the Cherohala Skyway between Robbinsville NC and Telico Plains TN.

Little River Gorge Rd is a beautiful drive as well between the Townsend Wye and Fighting Creek Gap Rd.

 

[Lawless]

From Pigeon Forge it isn’t far to Cade’s Cove. It’s a great place to visit.

The whole population of the area just disappeared, left as government bought it up. Cool story and place.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I always stayed in Pigeon Forge. River view camp ground I think it is has some nice cabins and it’s quiet and not super touristy. They don’t have hot tubs or Mountain View’s or anything if that’s what you’re looking for and the cabins are close together. There’s a ton of cabin options on the mountains though.

Flapjacks and the other pancake houses are awesome for breakfast. There’s one on the right when you’re headed towards Gatlinburg when you’re almost out of town too that’s super solid. Dinner and lunch, a lot of great places. The mill as suggested is great. Most of the places are tourist traps though.

You can find great trails on alltrails, I usually just hit the AT right off the parking lot at the NC/TN line if you’re headed towards Cherokee over the mountains. Lots of great outlooks.

I hate amusement parks but Dollywood is worth it to see the eagle sanctuary and also the little wagon food style kitchen that’s near it, the shredded beef, beans, and cornbread is crack. I literally pay the admission fee just for that without getting on a single ride. The Dixie stampede is also pretty fun for dinner and the food is solid, I’ve been to all the dinner show places there and the others are pretty meh.

 

[Onewolf42]

From Pigeon Forge it isn’t far to Cade’s Cove. It’s a great place to visit.

The whole population of the area just disappeared, left as government bought it up. Cool story and place.

Cades Cove is nice, but the road in/out is a parking lot on the weekend during the summer.

 

[thejeep]

In June it will be warming up. Check the park map and see which creeks are close to your destination and pick one with a trail that parallels it somewhat. So you can take a dip. Little river trail out of elkmont may be crowded that time of year because of the lightning bug synchronization. Look it up.

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/upload/GSMNP-Trail-Map_JULY21.pdf

If you went to cling man’s dome early, then you could take forney
Creek trail to campsite 68 where there is a cascade eat lunch backtrack and hit the forney ridge trail to Andrew’s bald and then hit the car /clingmansdome for sunset.

Middle prong trail out of tremont has a nice creek.

Trillium gap trail up mt Leconte is close to Gatlingburg.

Gregory’s bald if you can figure out a palatable day hike. (You could do a big loop out of cades cove to get there but your feet will hurt)

If you went to cades cove, you could take the Anthony creek trail up to Spence field or thunderhead/rocky top (the real rocky top tn) it would be a big day, but not bad.

If you went to the town of Cosby. You could take low gap trail up to the Appalachian trail. Then go north and take the mt camerer trail to the tower. It is great but will be a big day. 5ish up and then back down.

If you want a side trip on the way to Nashville go to the Great Falls Dam power house and check out the twin water falls. That is rock island state park outside of McMinnville.

 

[thejeep]

Also it will probably rain at least a little bit so don’t forget a light weight long sleeve wicking shirt and a light rain jacket

 

[mi223]

Not sure how the location would work for you, but we went to Cummings falls(I think that's how it is spelled).

There is a few different trails down to the waterfall. You can basically go under the fall. It was a pretty neat experience. We did the short trail do to time. It wasn't a long hike then walked up the river to the fall

 

[Redmanss]

Something I didn't see mentioned, specifically about alcohol sales. Sevier County is still a "dry county", albeit with exclusions. Only Gatlinburg has liquor stores, and what they sell comes at a premium price. You can buy beer elsewhere, but no booze. Can't remember on wine, seem to recall only in Gatlinburg as well, but it's been a few years since I was there (used to live in Knoxville). You can get drinks at restaurants, again at a premium. There's a few 'shine joints, good stuff if it's your thing, but again at tourist trap prices. I always bought my shine in Knoxville at 2/3 or less the price as Sevier County.

I always brought my own alcohol from out of town when I stayed in the Smokies, and highly recommend you do the same to stock the cabin for your stay.

Dont actually go into Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge...

Best nutshell advice in this thread. Enjoy the nature of the mountains, only thing in town I think worth the trip is Dollywood itself, the rest is traffic riddled tourist hell.

 

[TheBigCountry]

Take a ride out to Bulls Gap. You’ll find a country store called Yoder’s Country Market. Get some of the old-fashioned ham, cheese, bologna, bread, sweets, you name it (the whoopie pies are deadly).

Go hungry and make sure to get one of of their sandwiches for lunch. It’s all handmade Amish old time food. They owners are kin to my wife, and good people.

 

[SilentStalkr]

In June it will be warming up. Check the park map and see which creeks are close to your destination and pick one with a trail that parallels it somewhat. So you can take a dip. Little river trail out of elkmont may be crowded that time of year because of the lightning bug synchronization. Look it up.

https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/upload/GSMNP-Trail-Map_JULY21.pdf

If you went to cling man’s dome early, then you could take forney
Creek trail to campsite 68 where there is a cascade eat lunch backtrack and hit the forney ridge trail to Andrew’s bald and then hit the car /clingmansdome for sunset.

Middle prong trail out of tremont has a nice creek.

Trillium gap trail up mt Leconte is close to Gatlingburg.

Gregory’s bald if you can figure out a palatable day hike. (You could do a big loop out of cades cove to get there but your feet will hurt)

If you went to cades cove, you could take the Anthony creek trail up to Spence field or thunderhead/rocky top (the real rocky top tn) it would be a big day, but not bad.

If you went to the town of Cosby. You could take low gap trail up to the Appalachian trail. Then go north and take the mt camerer trail to the tower. It is great but will be a big day. 5ish up and then back down.

If you want a side trip on the way to Nashville go to the Great Falls Dam power house and check out the twin water falls. That is rock island state park outside of McMinnville.

Perfect. I just want to say IMO the best time to go is in the fall to any of these places, but to each their own. I was going to mention some of these as well. I’ll add Abrams Falls Trail inside Cades Cove. It’s pretty awesome and if your wife loves photography, like I do, then she will likely enjoy the falls. Chimney Tops is also a fave of mine, especially at sunset but be careful and take lots of light cause to really enjoy the sunset you’ll have to hike back in the dark. Can’t wait to hear about how the trip went.

 

[eflyguy]

What do you like to do?

I've been going up there for a couple of decades - hiking, fishing, riding, driving, eating. Dozens of times just a day trip from Atlanta.

There are a thousand or more things to enjoy. Except for Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Hell on earth, for me.