With the family. Staying in a cabin. Any suggestion for food and entertainment ?

We just got back from Gatlinburg.

We stayed in the following cabins and I highly recommend them:

www.cabinsofthesmokymountains.com

As far as places to eat in Pigeon Forge, I recommend (we didn't eat out a whole lot):

We found these places by just looking at TripAdvisor on our phones. That is always a great place to start and hear a lot more reviews on the top restaurants in the area.

Mamma's Farm House - All the food comes to the table Family style and it is all you can eat. Pretty good southern home cooking.
http://www.mamasfarmhouse.com/

Old Mill Restaurant - This was our favorite restaurant. Really good food and comes in large portions that can be shared.

http://oldmillsquare.com/restaurant.htm

There are a ton of chain restaurants in the area as well. If you aren't from the Tennessee area, I also really recommend you eat at Corky's Ribs and BBQ. This is a Memphis based BBQ place, and it is consistently voted as one of the best!

http://www.corkysbbq.com/

Things to do:

The Aquarium in Gatlinburg was actually really neat and we left there very impressed by it. I highly recommend that.

I don't know if you are going to Dollywood, but just FYI, if you arive to the park after 3:00 PM, then you get into that exact same park for FREE the next day. So, it is almost like a 2-day for the price of one.

There are a ton of tourist type things to do such as Go-Karts, mini-golf, adventures, ziplines, etc. Pigeon Forge is where most of all that type of entertainment is located and Gatlinurg seems to be a lot more small shops and history.

There is a cool gondola in Gatlinburg that will take you from the city up to the ski resort.

And of course the Smoky Mountain National Park is beautiful and there are some really nice hikes. The highest point in the Smoky's is Clingman's Dome and there is a neat lookout point that you can drive up to.


[This message has been edited by TripleTAggie08 (edited 7/18/2012 11:15p).]

Thanks Triple T

I will throw this in...I had heard of gatlinburg before but knew nothing about it. I didn't think anything about it until I had to drive through that and pigeon forge two weeks ago. I was a little surprised by pigeon forge and all the randomness of the town and buildings....

I would definitely agree about Pigeon Forge. My only recommendation is don't judge the area by Pigeon Forge, it is a lot of cheap tourist attractions. Gatlinburg and the national park is a completely different experience. However, I dont know your age group going with you, but all of that entertainment is good for teenagers who just want to get out (assuming they are driving age, etc.) and go do something on their own for a little while at night, because most of Pigeon Forge stays open really late.

There is an old settlement in the Park called Cades Cove. It is neat to drive through and see all the old buildings. My main recommendation is just to spend time in the Smoky Mountains National Park. I would say that a majority of visitors there don't even go into the park, even though it is right next door. Gatlinburg is very touristy, but it is still in a scenic setting and has some nice historic looking buildings. Pigeon Forge looks like Gatlinburg overflowed and threw up along the main highway.

If you do go to Cades Cove...be sure to be prepared to take your time driving through it. It is about 12-15 miles r/t but everyone drives it around 10 mph. It is a scenic drive and there are hiking trails to get off and walk through.

If you want to go to a more family friendly tubing than NB, then you can go in Townsend...which is right around the corner from Cades Cove.

Thanks for the responses. My 3 kids afes are 21(ag bonfire brown pot), 17 and 16. We have scheduled a rafting trip, zip line tour and several hiking trips.

quote:

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The highest point in the Smoky's is Clingman's Dome and there is a neat lookout point that you can drive and *walk* up to.

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FIFY

Love the Smokies.

I recommend the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg for breakfast.

http://www.pancakepantry.com/