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need advice on Dollywood/Pigeon forge area

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 Family wants to take a trip from here to the Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee, anyone on the forums that can give me any good places to go in that area as well as places to avoid such as hotels, cities, famous landmarks.

 

 I have only passed through parts of Tennessee but never stayed there .

 

  Thanks.   

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 Family wants to take a trip from here to the Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee, anyone on the forums that can give me any good places to go in that area as well as places to avoid such as hotels, cities, famous landmarks.

 

 I have only passed through parts of Tennessee but never stayed there .

 

  Thanks.   

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Prices are higher this time of the year but not that bad compared to other areas. Problem will be getting reservations. We just came back 2 weeks ago. Although we take the rv.   If you don't mind driving 45 min to 1 hour to get there you can look at places to stay in Morristown, That's the last town with places to stay before Pigeon forge. 

A trip up to Clingmans dome is suggested. Just beware its A bit over A mile hike up the mountain to get to it. Its A paved walk with benches to take A break at along the way.

Check out the Knife Store and the Gun Shop on the main drag heading into Dollywood.  The Helicopter rides aren't cheap but worth to us.

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Spent about a week there a few years ago, rented a cabin, which is a great way to experience the area.

Second Clingman's Dome, great views. Smokey Mountain National Park is a beauty, definitely spend time there.

Best breakfast place is on the road that enters the park (less than a mile from the entrance, I think), on the left heading south. Can't remember the name, but it has a "swiss chalet" atmosphere.

There's a good size Bass Pro , too, near the interstate.

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Haven't been there in a few years but this place was a lot of fun:

http://www.parrotmountainandgardens.com/

 

Also, check out the Memories Theater which has an impersonator show that was worth the money and Dixie Stampede which is a fun night out. Gatlinburg has some nice stuff too. Ripley's Believe it or not museum and there is a car museum as well which is cool.

 

-Jim

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Don't know how much time you have, but a trip down Skyline Dr in the Shenandoah Mountains show some of the natural beauty of this country.  Luray Caverns about half way down to the west.  At the bottom and just a little east is Monticello and Michie's Tavern.in Charlottlesville, VA, Back on I81 to Pigeon Forge and the area, down to Great Smokies and Clingman's Dome, east to Ashville, NC and the Biltmore area and then work you way back home.   Always found a change of scenery and short rides to new destinations kept the kids from getting bored.  Stick to main reasons for the trip, avoid the obvious traps

 

Lot's of places, I know, just food for thought,  As a kid, I always liked when we traveled to different spots ,mixing history, natural beauty, and fun stuff on the way trip.

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Look at renting a cabin in Gatlinburg.Its right next to Pigeon Forge and there are alot of things to do there to.We go there just about every year.This link is just one site theres a bunch more if you do some digging.Of course Smokey Mountain Knife Works is a must.Think of Cabelas for knives hahaha.I heard they put a Buds Gun Shop next door but I havent been there since.Have Fun!!!

 

 

http://www.mountainchalets.com/?source=adwords&nck=8775639756&gclid=CJqXiOn18M0CFZdZhgodf8wJuA

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I'm just back from a week there.   The second time in 5 years the family picked that as a destination.

 

I'm not a fan of the area in general, but the park is nice.    The drives are beautiful, and there are some nice hikes.   It is extremely crowded this time of year--you'll be waiting or circling for parking at the popular trailheads, and on the shorter hikes to the various waterfalls near the park entrance you will never be out of sight of other hikers before and behind you.    But, the further you get into the park, and the longer the hike you select, the better you'll like it.   Clingman's Dome is probably worthwhile despite the crowds.   It's a paved 'trail' to a big spiral concrete structure, but pretend that isn't there, and enjoy the views.  The drive around Cades Cove is cool as well.   If your destination is the park, be sure and use the bypass around Gatlinburg coming and going, or you'll lose half an hour to traffic.

 

The Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville strip is without a doubt the tackiest tourist destination in America.    It makes Wildwood look like the museum district in Paris.  Mile after mile of tourist traps.   Last night we went out for dinner, and driving 4 miles on the main drag took 45 minutes.  That said, we enjoyed a couple of good BBQ restaurants while we were there, 7 wineries with free tastings, and I think 5 moonshine distilleries also doing free tastings...of 10 to 14 flavors, depending on the destination.   I didn't encounter anything I wanted to buy to bring home, but the tastings were fun.  

 

The kids enjoyed Dollywood, and said the lines weren't bad at all, midweek.  A few years ago we went to Dollwood's nearby waterpark, and while it looked like a good park, it was also massively overcrowded.   Like, 40 minute lines for any slide.      We avoided all other tourist attractions, though I'm sure some are probably entertaining.   The area has a lot of stuff related to the Hatfields and McCoys, Dukes of Hazzard, and Mark Twain's views of life on the Mississippi, even though none have anything to do with Tennessee.

 

There are some interesting stores to wander around.  There is a Bass Pro Shop in Kodak, TN, as you exit I40 a few miles north of Sevierville.  I enjoy browsing there, but every item I was keeping my eye out for was more expensive there than at the Cabelas in Hamburg (which we fortunately stopped at on the drive down).  

 

Halfway between there and Sevierville, you'll find Smoky Mountain Knive Works (which now has an attached gun shop), which shares a parking lot with Buds Gun Shop, and The Lodge Cast Iron cookware outlet, and a big tool outlet.   

 

Smokey Mountain Knifeworks is huge, and mostly filled with cheap crap for the tourists.   I do believe there must be higher-end stuff in there as well; I didn't take a lot of time to look around.  

 

The attached gun shop had quite a bit of .22 and some powder and primers, but prices were high.    

 

The tool store advertises name brand power tools heavily, but inside it's a lot like a Harbor Freight, with a small selection of Dewalt tools.    

 

The Lodge makes a lot of low-grade cast iron cookware--nothing I wanted to take home.

 

Bud's gun shop and range is cool; less merchandise than I expected, but a great selection of guns, and most of the long guns are in racks in the store proper, so you can browse and fondle without having to find a clerk.    And the clerks were more than happy to show you all the handguns they had behind the counter.   No reloading supplies, some .22, but prices for ammo were high. 

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Thanks to all who responded,  we got back a few weeks ago and it was a good trip.  we did all the things recommended, clingmans dome, Dixie stampede, Dollywood park and splash park although didn't have time for gun shops.  Gatlinburg was very crowded and lots of traffic but a place to at least drive through and see once.    after 4 days there we headed to Nashville and went to all the sights there, I always liked country music from my young days listening to station WHN 1050 back in the early 70's  so Nashville was nice.  the strip they call "honkytonk row" was  interesting ,  wish we had something like that around here.    I was amazed at the amount of construction going on in Nashville, large cranes building big buildings all over.  was also amazed at the cleanliness of the highways we took ( rt 81 to rt40)  hardly any old truck tires or other debris to be seen. also almost all establishments have no guns allowed signs on their entrance doors,  wording seems to make it a crime if your caught.

 

thanks to all who responded

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