I will never stay in Gatlinburg again. The Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg tourist gauntlet is a poor contrast to the beauty of the Smokey Mountains. I’m not saying we won’t return to the mountains, but we would have to find a better place to stay. Perhaps a cabin in Townsend. Most of the restaurants in Gatlinburg are in the downtown area. There is very little selection in the outlying areas and what little you can find out there, is of mediocre quality. If you want to eat, or do anything else, downtown, you can add $10 to the cost of your meal or activity. Parking is $10, for one minute, or for all day. Want a donut? $10 plus the cost of the donut. Want to spend the day in Gatlinburg? Then the $10 is not a big deal.
The advantage of the resort we stayed at, is that it was close to the mountains. The disadvantage is that to get to ANYTHING, you must traverse the Gatlinburg gauntlet, or find an alternative route around town. Although there were a lot of resorts in our area, there was no place to buy as much as a bag of ice. Beware taking the alternate route around town. There are areas where the speed limit is as low as 15 MPH. If you travel at anything less than 30 MPH through this area, you risk the rage of a local who is trying to get someplace fast (yes, we experienced the rage). If you go fast enough to avoid the angry citizens, there will likely be a cop waiting to give you a ticket (fortunately, we did NOT experience that). You can’t win! I’m not saying all the locals are crazy. We met some of the friendliest people in the outlying areas.
Ok, enough ranting on the tourist traps. In case you can’t tell, I just don’t like them. It doesn’t matter if it’s Gatlinburg, or any other place that caters to tourists. They are not for me. Some people enjoy the shops and activities in the touristy areas, and they might have a completely different opinion of Gatlinburg.
There is an amazing experience you get in Gatlinburg. When you enter the National Park, suddenly there is peace. The town is packed full of tourist garbage all the way to the park entrance. When you pass through the entrance, you are in another world. A beautiful, relaxing world. I understand that Smokey Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the country. I also read that traffic in the park can be a parking lot, especially in popular areas such as Cade’s Cove. Fortunately, we did not experience that when we were there. We went to about every area of the park that is accessible by car, and a few areas that are only accessible by foot.
Our favorite roads were:
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail – This road started about 2 blocks from our condo. It is not heavily visited since it is outside the main park. It’s about a 9 mile one way road that quickly gets you into a wonderful area away from town. In fact, the road ends up on the other side of town, so you can pick up some supplies and gas up. There are some interesting homesteads, an old mill, and a nice stream along this road. Our only bear sighting was in this area.
GSM Institute at Tremont – There is a turnoff to the institute along the road to Cade’s Cove. I’m sure most people pass it by. If you drive up the road to the institute, there is a dirt road that continues another three miles that follows the Middle Prong of the Little River. The only people we saw on this road were photographers with their cameras set on tripods, shooting the rapids.
Rich Mountain Road – This one way dirt road leaves Cade’s Cove about half way around the loop and goes over the mountain and into Townsend. Only saw one other vehicle on this road, but lots of nice scenery.
Greenbrier – The Greenbrier road is several miles east of Gatlinburg. Another dirt road without much traffic. It’s a five mile road that follows the Little Pigeon river. Great scenery and nice trails.
As you can see, my favorite areas were on the roads less traveled. It was easy to pull over at any time and get out and enjoy the fresh air and the beauty. Taking a picnic lunch to these areas always resulted in finding a nice secluded spot to have lunch. Very relaxing, except the time Norine thought I saw a bear.
The areas I liked best were actually a lot like the Ozarks, on a larger scale. The deep woods, crystal clear water, and multitude of waterfalls were something I never got tired of. It made me realize that we need to spend even more time in the Ozarks. There is so much that is close to home that we haven’t seen yet.
