BMs Guide to the Smokies

[BeastMan]

Food:
Hate the be the bearer of bad news but I wasn?t impressed with food in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. For disclosure, I?m a tough customer being that I?ve worked in the industry for 20 years and I also didn?t really research real hard to find the hot culinary stars. I?m not going to go through everywhere I didn?t like but in a nutshell, everything has a mid-level chain feel, like a Chili?s or Roadhouse in terms of quality. Not shocking since we?re talking a booming tourist market. I?m not lying to you when I say the best entree I had all week was a roasted Cornish hen at the Dolly Parton Stampede Show. It was outstanding. I had a decent pizza at Gapetto?s in Wears Valley and a a decent steak at Alamo Steakhouse. Besides that, nothing worth mentioning for lunch/dinner. Now if you like breakfast, you?re in luck. There are a ton of pancake houses that serve damn good breakfast similar to that of a Cracker Barrel or better.

Location:
We stayed in Sevierville and I?d definitely do that again. 10 miles outside of Pigeon Forge and a little more than that to Gatlinburg. When we came a few miles down the mountain we were in Wears Valley that had a cpl stores and restaurants (including Gapettos). We were on top of a damn mountain and the view was incredible. I?d take that trade-off vs being in town any day. The downside was we drove a lot during the day. Our cabin was 4 stories, had a theatre, hot tob, and pool table. We had a ton of fun every night at the place once all the kids went to sleep.

Activities:
My kids are 2 and 1 so we were limited. Really look forward to returning when they?re older so we can do more hiking/exploring than touristy stuff like Ripleys, Alcatraz east, island park, etc... That crap is expensive as hell and average at best. With the free outdoor activities around, gotta take advantage of that. The guys did a half day wade trip with Fishing the Smokies guide service. Was cheap as hell and they gave us casting lessons and all the nessesary gear at no extra cost. Great value. Conditions were tough for us with the rivers and streams moving fast as hell. Didn?t catch many fish in the park but it was beautiful. It was also plan B because the Tuck River couldn?t be waded that day. All together good experience. The drive from Sevierville to Cherokee, North Carolina was incredible. The scenery was unreal and way less crowded than Cade?s Cove. Highly recommend just driving that for the picture opportunities. Also did Cade?s Cove and cant wait for my kids to be older to explore more of that area. Did the Gatlinburg Aquarium and it was much better than I expected. I pitched driving to Chattanooga for the aquarium but I?m glad we didn?t. We did a few distilleries and I found the ones in town seem more touristy and the ones further out felt more authentic. We bought all our stuff from the one in Wears Valley

If I missed something you?re interested in, ask away.

[BeastMan]

[BeastMan]

[basedog]

Nice photo's. Been a while since we've gone to the Smokies. My wife and I went to Branson last year, my first trip there, I suppose it's more for adults than kids but we really enjoyed a few shows and Dogwood Canyon was pretty dang good. Btw food at Branson was really good.

[BeastMan]

Nice photo's. Been a while since we've gone to the Smokies. My wife and I went to Branson last year, my first trip there, I suppose it's more for adults than kids but we really enjoyed a few shows and Dogwood Canyon was pretty dang good. Btw food at Branson was really good.

I’m over-critical of restaurants. I admit that. Plenty of folks wouldn’t be near as critical as I am. Just how I’m wired. Next time I go I’m definetely doing more research to find some gems. All the pancake houses were good. If you like breakfast, you’ll love your options up there.

[SpeckleDawg]

Nice pics. It's been a decade since I was up that way (a group of us watched State beat TN for the SEC tourney on tv and then we heckled all the orange we saw around town).

I have to ask though, WTF is "Dream Cream"...haha

[BeastMan]

Nice pics. It's been a decade since I was up that way (a group of us watched State beat TN for the SEC tourney on tv and then we heckled all the orange we saw around town).

I have to ask though, WTF is "Dream Cream"...haha

Hillbilly Bailey’s. Coffee + coffee shine + dream cream = Hillbilly fancy breakfast drink

[basedog]

I’m over-critical of restaurants. I admit that. Plenty of folks wouldn’t be near as critical as I am. Just how I’m wired. Next time I go I’m definetely doing more research to find some gems. All the pancake houses were good. If you like breakfast, you’ll love your options up there.

Hey Beast, my wife is gluten free (organic as well), we ate at a BBQ place in Branson, can't remember the name but they had gluten-less BBQ and the place rocked with how good and service was awesome with high school kids bringing out your food and cleaning tables. The guy taking your order was so knowledgeable and fast. It blew us a way and I can tell you the food was great. Homemade bread was out of sight, just saying.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Thanks for the write-up Beast! Depressing to hear that the food/restaurants are "chain-like". I know you said you're being critical, but with what you serve up weekly at home - I was hoping you'd found a gem or two. I prefer local places and rarely eat at a sit down chain restaurant. Not sure what my options will be when we head up there later this year, but may just let the kids pick.

Also, thanks for the tips and advice regarding activities. I will add the aquarium in Chattanooga isn't half bad, but not worth a drive over - so good call there by whomever vetoed your idea.

[Howboutdemdogs]

Great! My Pops had his company move him to Maryville when he retired years ago. It became a cheap Smokie Mountain vacation for years. Every year, the kids and I went to the Smokies and stayed at “Hotel Paw Paw”. Our favorite thing was to tube the Little River. Even in August it was always ice cold. The drive through the parkway was always beautiful. Everyone should go, but be aware that there are a lot of tacky tourist traps.

[BeastMan]

Thanks for the write-up Beast! Depressing to hear that the food/restaurants are "chain-like". I know you said you're being critical, but with what you serve up weekly at home - I was hoping you'd found a gem or two. I prefer local places and rarely eat at a sit down chain restaurant. Not sure what my options will be when we head up there later this year, but may just let the kids pick.

Also, thanks for the tips and advice regarding activities. I will add the aquarium in Chattanooga isn't half bad, but not worth a drive over - so good call there by whomever vetoed your idea.

To be fair I really didn’t research it in advance. So maybe if I look around online more beforehand I could have some ideas. The positive is that we got good service everywhere. And everything seemed to be well run. The Mel’s diner was one of the cleanest restaurants I’ve been in. Even the fast food service was good. The front of the house portion of the deal up there was significantly better than what I’ve had experience with in MS.

Part of wanting to go to Chattanooga was living there as a kid. We moved when I was 7 but my earliest childhood memories are there, including the aquarium, and I’ve never been back.

[BeastMan]

Great! My Pops had his company move him to Maryville when he retired years ago. It became a cheap Smokie Mountain vacation for years. Every year, the kids and I went to the Smokies and stayed at “Hotel Paw Paw”. Our favorite thing was to tube the Little River. Even in August it was always ice cold. The drive through the parkway was always beautiful. Everyone should go, but be aware that there are a lot of tacky tourist traps.

I noticed Ruby Tuesday national office in Maryville. My dad says the RT owner has some super nice lodge outfit up there. Maryville looked like a nice place to live. Clean small city and tons to do in close proximity

[Howboutdemdogs]

You are right Beast. Maryville is a hidden jewel.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Nice trip report, Beast. Doing any kind of trip with infants or toddlers is hard. It limits the what, when, and how for pretty much every activity you can think of. Just getting there and back is a feat.

I agree totally about the food. My lone experience was similar -- every place we tried, none of which was technically a chain restaurant, was generic at best. I'm definitely doing a deep dive on food research before we go again. Our best meal was, oddly enough, a restaurant inside of Dollywood.

I also had a similar experience re: driving around. When we were up there nearly a year ago for a few days, the trip centered around Dollywood and a few short ventures into the National Park. Dollywood was better than I thought it'd be, though the ages of our kids (4 and 1.5) severely limited what all they could do. But the trips into the park, man, even just the ones in the car were outstanding. (I had a couple of very, very short hikes while my kids were napping in the hotel with my wife -- our hotel was right on the border of the park -- and they were cool, but nothing better than the ones back home around Chattanooga. I needed to go further afield for the good stuff and couldn't.)

If you didn't make it up to Clingman's Dome, you should try to the next time. Even just driving up there is awesome. And if you're game for the mile or so walk up to the top of the peak? Well, here's how the view from the top looked on our trip last year:



Even though I'm a huge fan of the Aquarium in Chattanooga, I don't think I'd come down from the Gatlinburg area solely to do that. Now if you were passing through anyway or otherwise planned a Chattanooga stop, then yeah, it's definitely one of the things downtown worth checking out.

Glad you had a good time and got a little fishing in. I'm right there with you on the "Next time, when the kids are older . . ." train. One day, man. One day.

[BrunswickDawg]

The Smokies are great - but I prefer the North Carolina side. Even honeymooned at a little 1940s motor lodge in Bryson City that operates as a B&B so we could go hiking, rafting, etc. The food there was spectacular.

Don't knock Chattanooga as a destination. If you haven't been in the past 10 years or so, it has changed tremendously. Lots of great restaurants downtown near the aquarium, some very good museums, and it is still fun to do the old school Rock City/Ruby Falls/Incline Railroad tourist thing. We made it a stop on our trek to see my wife's family in MO when the kids were about 10-12. They liked it so much, my parents took them back with my niece and nephew a couple of years later on a Chattanooga/Nashville site seeing trip. They even stayed at the Choo-Choo for the novelty of it.

[basedog]

The Smokies are great - but I prefer the North Carolina side. Even honeymooned at a little 1940s motor lodge in Bryson City that operates as a B&B so we could go hiking, rafting, etc. The food there was spectacular.

Don't knock Chattanooga as a destination. If you haven't been in the past 10 years or so, it has changed tremendously. Lots of great restaurants downtown near the aquarium, some very good museums, and it is still fun to do the old school Rock City/Ruby Falls/Incline Railroad tourist thing. We made it a stop on our trek to see my wife's family in MO when the kids were about 10-12. They liked it so much, my parents took them back with my niece and nephew a couple of years later on a Chattanooga/Nashville site seeing trip. They even stayed at the Choo-Choo for the novelty of it.

Many years ago the Choo Choo had great entertainment and the food was ok. Been several years since we ate there but it wasn't the same as in the mid to late 80's.

[BeastMan]

The Smokies are great - but I prefer the North Carolina side. Even honeymooned at a little 1940s motor lodge in Bryson City that operates as a B&B so we could go hiking, rafting, etc. The food there was spectacular.

It’s funny you say that because when we went fishing we thought the scenery on the way to NC was incredible, especially right near the border on both sides. I thought that was the best Mountain views on the trip and it wasn’t the highest peaks

[BrunswickDawg]

It’s funny you say that because when we went fishing we thought the scenery on the way to NC was incredible, especially right near the border on both sides. I thought that was the best Mountain views on the trip and it wasn’t the highest peaks

My people are originally mountain folk - owning a tavern on the French Broad River in NC in the late 1700s before moving to Georgia in the 1820s - so I thought it was just my homeland speaking to me.

[Prediction? Pain.]

My people are originally mountain folk - owning a tavern on the French Broad River in NC in the late 1700s before moving to Georgia in the 1820s - so I thought it was just my homeland speaking to me.

I was born in Chattanooga, but my people are from Adams County and Neshoba County. I think the Southern Appalachians are equal-opportunity conversationalists.

[Prediction? Pain.]

Many years ago the Choo Choo had great entertainment and the food was ok. Been several years since we ate there but it wasn't the same as in the mid to late 80's.

The Choo Choo and the area around it has been substantially renovated over the past decade or so. Nextdoor there's a pretty cool guitar museum with an on-site concert venue, across the street there's a ridiculously good chocolate shop and a small, satellite distillery of the Chattanooga Whiskey Company, and then on the nearest side street there's a brewpub, a comedy club, an artisan butcher shop that doubles as an amazing restaurant, an upscale modern Italian place, and a phenomenal bakery, among other things. It's become a pretty hopping side of the city, actually.