Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Must see things in Gatlinburg TN area?

Don’t feed the bears.
If you take home food at night, bag it up and seal it up real good or the bears will get in your tent.

Been there, done that. My recommendation is to get out of Gatlinburg and drive up into the NC mountains.

If you want to stay out of the hustle and bustle, Townsend is a good quiet place to stay. It's a short drive to Cades Cove from their. We stayed at the Best Western Cades Cove Inn and really enjoyed it.

What the hell is in Townsend? My wife's sister and her husband go there about once a month it seems. I've driven through there, and missed whatever the attraction is.

I have worked up there for nearly 30 years dellivering for UPS. Gatlinburg isn't my idea of a vacation but if you wanna do the moonshine thing and like a live band, then the weekends are the time to go. Traffic WILL be a pain the keister though.
The aquarium is pretty cool also.

If you are staying in PF, then the Local Goat is the place to go for a meal. Its a little more than average on price but I haven't heard a bad word about the place yet. Its directly across the Parkway from the Titanic.
If kids are involved, Goats on the Roof is a pretty fun mountain coaster to do. Their ice cream and fudge shop ain't bad either.

Cades Cove, Newfound Gap, Clingmans Dome and Green Briar are always a safe bet on seeing some scenery.

Smoky Mtn Knife, Buds Gunshop, JFloyds Golf and Guns are also places to see if you are wanting to turn loose of some $$.

When are you planning on coming?

Ride to catalochie( can’t remember spelling. Will see lots of elk. Cases cove is nice.

I’m from sevier county( pigeon forge and g-burg). It’s pretty much a tourist trap. Still live there for just a few more months before moving.

Knifeworks has guns and all kinds of stuff. Buds gun shop is right there behind knife works, but sucks. Tennessee silencer company is not too far from pigeon forge, small shop with all kinds of cool stuff. Robert has lots of full auto toys!! J Floyd golf and guns is right as you come into sevierville on left. Does from time to time have interesting guns. Not many really good restaurants in the area.

Old Mill isn't bad. Smokey Mtn Brewery is pretty good. Little else, mostly grazing buffets for tourist.

Food at the Old Mill and Apple Barn sucks major ass.

Run now by nasty armenians.

Shoneys quality.


Go to Publix and do yourself a favor; get some ribeyes and grill them yourself. Save $75



Place is rat race, go cart bullshît, goats on the roof roller coaster, trinket shops with all the same dale earnhardt flags and rebel flag bikinis and hookuh bongs.


Little House of pancakes on 321 has the best pancakes and good service. Operated by white people.

Any other place that says pancakes and looks like a log cabin is crap.

Cherokee is a dump too.

And if there is a UT home game, youre screwed- bumper to bumper traffic
And if there's a "Car Show" youre screwed- bumper to bumper traffic. FYI theres a goddamm car show almost every weekend.

Or a shriners parade, or some other obligatory "festival"

Drive to cades cove
Hike to a waterfall
Drive to newfound gap
Drive to clingmans dome
Hike to alum cave bluffs or go the full wqy to Mt Leconte lodge (10 miles up and back)

I guess it depends on what some people call a vacation. If you're vacationing for some piece and quiet, then stay in Townsend. You can take the short drive to Cades Cove from there and do some sight seeing and a picnic. If you're vacationing for hustle and bustle then stay in Gatlinburg. My wife and I did enjoy going to Anakista in Gatlinburg the last time we went.

30-60 minutes at Smokey Mountain Knife Works? Only if you’re going in to take a leak...

Smoky Mountains National Park. The rest sucks.

Clingman's Dome, Smokey Mtn Knifeworks,

Don't stop in mid-July if you're throat is dry.

a great hike just a few minutes into the park is Chimney Tops. IMO, the best part of it is the first 1/2 mile or so, unless you are really set on a mountain view - the last mile of it is a bit of a monster.

I've hiked to the lodge at the top of Mount LeConte. Its a fun hike but my calves were sore for 2 days afterwards.

We've tubed down a small river in Townsend which was fun - the family loved that, and we've gone white water rafting in the NC side. Another thing we do is go to Tellico Plains on the Cherohala Parkway then drive up to the Sweetwater Dairy farm and load up on Sweetwater Valley Farms cheese.

If you really want to make a day of it, drive the dragons tail , go to Joyce Kilmer National Forest and then come back on the Cherohala - great drive as long as your passengers don't get car sick easily.

great aquarium there now

IIRC, that's the place we ate at too.. Very good.

I loved Dollywood.. Would go again if I had the chance..

Gawwddd... you’re such a racist.

He's trying to take my title away.

But he's telling the truth. 20 years ago we went there every year. The women would shop and my dad and I would trout fish the creek running through town. I took the family there 3 years ago for a weekend and swore I would never go back. Gatlinburg is a horrible place. Half the shops we went into were run by some foreigner the spoke broken english. It like the myrtle beach of the smokey mountains.