Smoky Mountain Vacation

We’re headed to Tennessee this weekend for family vacation, staying near Pigeon Forge. We like to hike, swim, and eat.

What are some must eat at diners/restaurants?

What are your recommendations for hikes? No physical limitations in our group. And the girls love waterfalls. I can read a lot online but first hand experience seems to be the best info.

Any other cool attractions or areas we should visit? I see there’s a giant knife store so that’s on my list.

Thanks for any info in advance.

We enjoy Dolly Parton’s dinner theatre. It used to be called Dixie Stampede but they got pushed into renaming it. Food isn’t fancy but they bring it to you in courses while the show is going on. Don’t set too close or the horses and Buffalo will throw dirt in your plate.

And don't pet the horses prior to eating or your hands with stink when you go to eat your food. Learned that the hard way in Branson at the same show.

Dollywood

Cades Cove is worth it. Cool driving loop with plenty of spots to stop and poke around. Pack a lunch and drinks. GO EARLY IN THE AM, the deer, bear and everything else tends to go lay low once the temps get high and the first million cars go by.

"House of the Fairies" is cool to walk in to. I can't remember the trailhead/parking spot. Google will tell you.

Clingmans Dome is worth a half day

I dig a dinner at Huck Finns Catfish every time I'm in that area

Bennetts BBQ in Gatlinburg is decent.

No Way Jose's (Gatlinburg) had decent Mexican food the couple times I've been there.

Goats on the Roof is kinda cool if you have younger kids. Tourist trap but off the strip and cool.

Smokey Mountain Knife Works, Lodge Factory store, Buds Gun Shop are all something to do if the rest of the fam is hitting outlet malls, etc.

I'm a fan of Dollywood. Pricey, but everything is anymore. Wholesome fun. The craft village area is cool Get cinnamon buns and apple butter!

I thought the Titanic exhibit was cool.

Ober Gatlinburg was neat. Did that a few years back.

The Ripleys Aquarium is worth the money if you've never done it.

Sugarlands Moonshine is on my list every time I hit that area. They have live bands on Fri/Sat usually. Seen some good bluegrass and country there.

All of these are great suggestions. I'll also throw in a restaurant called The Goat. We ate there twice when we were there a few weeks ago. Burgers and steaks were both awesome and make sure you save room for the bread pudding.

Apple Barn cider mill. Fantastic food.! Don't forget to buy your parking pass for Smokey Mt national park.

We went whitewater rafting with an outfit right close by. I forget the name but a Google should find them.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!! Pretty sure I was going to Dollywood whether I wanted to or not, lol.

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions. We don't eat out when we go, so I'm no help there, but for sure go to Cades Cove. We usually stay in Cosby and the Cosby entrance to the park is always less crowded and there's some good trails there. Hen Wallow Falls is a good waterfall one.

Also - Note that Cades Cover is closed to vehicular traffic on Wednesdays.

IF you want to see Elk... definitely go to Oconaluftee Visitor Center. We also go over to Cataloochee - but it's a little more out of the way.

As mentioned before, eat at Huck Finn's if you like catfish. It's between PF and Gatlinburg. Good whitewater rafting toward NC/TN line on I40 at Hartford. Go into NC on I40 to hike at Max;s Patch. May see some elk around there. There are some caverns between Dollywood and I40 on hwy 411 that are interesting. Splash Country beside DW is great as well.

Drive over to hot springs N.C. the Smokey mountain dinner right on main st

A little different but the Bush baked bean museum I thought was interesting. Found it by chance taking a rural road.

This is near the caverns I spoke of earlier. Its the back way into DollyWood. Middle of nowhere.

Thanks for more ideas. We’re excited to go. I watched some videos and googled a few places mentioned last night I do love bushs baked beans!

A big shout for the apple barn.

Alum cave, Abrams falls and Laurel falls are hikes worth taking.

All these for hiking and for wildlife views for sure Cade's Cove. If you stay a night in Townsend it only takes a few minutes to get to the Cove when the wildlife is out early. On a side note I will have a case of Sugarland's Moonshine at the NTA Awards Banquet Auction donated by one of the owners.

I’m sitting in Townsend right now. Lots of good advice so far. We love to drive Cades cove early morning and late evening. Float the river with River Rats as well. Several good hikes depending on distance you want to go. Spruce Flat falls is an easy one with a waterfall. Wife and kids like the outlet mall and I like Buds gun shop and Smokey Mountain knife works. Dolly Pardons stampede formerly Dixie stampede is always fun entertainment. So many good places to eat from pancake pantry to Mel’s diner, etc.

I avoided Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg as much as possible. They were both crowded tourist traps. Roaring fork drive was much better than Cades cove imo. Mountain streams and old cabins. I walked to several of the waterfalls and they were all worth the walk. Clingmans dome at sunrise was worth getting up for

Research a stretch of road called Tail of the Dragon. Very scenic and curvy.

Bullfish Grill if it's still there. Best steak I've ever had.

If you go which it's worth it, take the time to watch the video. It's interesting on how they got their start. Also in the gift shop you can get the different flavors of beans you won't find around your area.

You all have given us so many great ideas. A few places in the park that were already on the list, some that weren’t but are now, and a bunch of other cool places to visit or eat at. Thanks again.

A trapperman member close to that area reached out to me, offered help if I needed and their phone number. What a great community this site is. I won’t name names but a big shoutout to them. I hope to not have to use the phone a friend option, but it is greatly appreciated.

We had a great trip to the Smoky Mountains. We saw plenty of turkey, deer, and some bear the last day. Everyone enjoyed the white water rafting, which we ended up stopping at the Bush’s Baked Bean store and museum on the way back towards our rental, that was cool. Not everyone enjoyed the hikes, haha, but we saw some beautiful falls, the views were amazing, and we all swam in the park the last day, and we wished we had everyday. Pigeon Forge and Gaitlinburg were worth visiting, but traffic. The live music was great. The Titanic museum was a hit with everyone. Here’s a few pics from the trip. Thanks again for all the great tips.

did you all raft the pigeon river?

Yes

I figured that Titanic thing was the typical tourist trap and obliged the kid to go. It was awesome! I recommend it to everyone now.

Glad you had fun on your trip. The traffic is nuts, but its a cool area.

Definitely gonna be smoky, unless the wildfire smoke clears out.