Originally Posted by
Boy Scout
Just passed through the area last weekend. Stayed at the Inn on the River in Pigeon Forge, which was a great hotel. As for the rest of PF, it was WAY too busy and populated/touristy for me. We went to The Island, which is a free entertainment venue on the main strip. It was neat, but nothing I hadn’t seen before on vacation.
My son and I did make a run up to Sevierville to Smoky Mountain Knife Works and to Bud’s. SMKW was a neat shop and I got to get my hands on a bunch of knives and tools that I had been looking at, but I walked away with a $4.00 flashlight cone for directing traffic. Prices were decent on most things, just nothing that I wanted to drop the money on and the hands-on time let me know that I didn’t want to buy what I had previously been thinking about buying. As for Bud’s, nothing to write home about, it’s just a regular shop with a decent selection of ammo ($19/box of 50 Federal FMJ 115 gr.) and a big indoor range.
The big draw for our short weekend jaunt through there was the day at Smoky Mountain National Park. Agreed on visiting Clingman’s Dome and the main lookout on the way to Clingman’s from the north (don’t recall the name, but it’s HUGE, you can’t miss it). I would’ve liked to hike but it wasn’t in the cards for this trip.
Gatlinburg was neat, but definitely plan on staying there as it costs to park everywhere and it’s easier to get around on foot. Just make sure to work on your cardio before you go, the hills and altitude can make it rough if you’re a flatlander.