What to do in Gatlinburg, Tennessee?

[Endur]

Thanks for all the input. Went to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the Smokey Mountain National Forest. Did some hiking, saw some of the touristy things around Gatlinburg and Forge, and I found an off-road compound not too far from there called Outdoors in the Smokies. Overall it was a blast, but I would have liked more than two days.

A few pics:

[jsbhike]

Bass Pro is in Kodak, TN and named after the camera.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak,_Tennessee

Good that you made it down prior to the fire. We went summer 2017 and after seeing which hill sides got hit were surprised the house places and business off Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail didn't get hit.

[jsbhike]

Really good food for breakfast and lunch and a nice environment including a few fish and game mounts upstairs.

http://pancakepantry.com/

[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.

[jsbhike]

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.

The lookout area is Newfound Gap and the TN and NC State line is there too.

You also drove past the trail head for Alum Cave bluffs which is one of the trails up to Mt. LeConte and LeConte Lodge. Think LeConte Lodge is still the highest elevation lodging in the eastern US and on my places to stay list and hoping I haven't waited too long.

http://www.lecontelodge.com/

[Boy Scout]

Thanks jsb, Newfound Gap is what I couldn’t recall. It’s pretty neat that the Appalachian Trail goes through both Clingman’s Dome and Newfound Gap lookout.

[chuckman]

Thanks jsb, Newfound Gap is what I couldn’t recall. It’s pretty neat that the Appalachian Trail goes through both Clingman’s Dome and Newfound Gap lookout.

I love the GSMNP, and I have put in many miles on the AT in that area. There's some pretty remote ad rugged terrain in the GSMNP.

[agr1279]

Imagination Mountian Campgroud in Cosby is close to Gatlinburg. It is a very nice campground and the owner is a former cop from CA. It used to be part of the Jelly Stone franchise. We try to go in October every year with friends.

Dan


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[jsbhike]

Green Briar area(several miles past city hall) seemed to be a lower volume area than many others down there. Lots of wild flowers in the spring(found out about the area and flowers from the now closed Happy Hiker) and also another route to LeConte Lodge.