Gatlinburg Tennessee

 Gatlinburg Tennessee is a beautiful little town right at the entrance to the Smoky Mountains Park. That being said, it is all for the tourists. The main street is all shops. They also have an aquarium, and other kinds of game shops, mini golf, arcades, etc. But it is mainly an area for shopping. We spent a day walking around and seeing what there was. I always love a good candy store, so we made a few pit stops to see what was there. 

Restaurants are all along this street as well. Even though we were there in them midst of the pandemic, the streets were jam packed with tourists. I guess in this part of the world there is no such thing as an off season. But it was a nice excursion to play the tourist and wonder through the town for a few hours. 

The Tuckaleechee Caverns in Tennessee

 

One of the days was supposed to be full of rain. We did a short hike in the morning and then decided to go explore the Tuckaleechee caves in Townsend, Tennessee. These caves are located inside one of the Smoky Mountain ranges. 

The caves are estimated to be 20 - 30 million years old, with an underground waterfall 210 feet tall. 

The caverns also host a seismograph system monitored by the US Department of Defense and the Unites States Geological Survey.

It was a guided tour, and really worth seeing. It's a very popular spot to explore in Tennessee, and of course the gift shop has rock candy. Definitely a spot worth stopping to see.

Pigeon Forge Tennessee

 Pigeon Forge is a small city right next to the Smoky Mountain National Park entrance. It's a bit less expensive than Gatlinburg, and not very big. The main road through town is only about 3 miles long and then you move onto the next town. 

But yes, this is where Dollywood is at. It was not open when we were there because of the pandemic, so it wasn't on our list of things to do.

I had picked to stay in Pigeon Forge based on my research that it was close to the park entrance and was cheaper than Gatlinburg. This town is definitely for the tourists. Pancake House restaurants and mini golf is on every street corner. There are arcades, lots of dinner theater places, small size roller coasters, games, quirky museums, etc. If you have children, this town is for you. Lots of quirky things to do and see to keep the kids entertained. Shops everywhere, candy stores, and lots of restaurants and fast food. And it was always jam packed with people. Everywhere you looked, anytime you tried to drive through town, it was a mess of people all the time.

Justin and I were there for the nature aspect, plus it was during the pandemic, so going to an arcade or quirky museum was not really on our list of things to do. Plus we were so tired by the end of the day we didn't really want to fight crowds of people. 

There were a lot of places where it was a family style all you can eat dinner with a show attached. We thought about going, and even attempted to on one occasion. But you had to buy tickets in advanced (they were all sold out) and it was rather pricey. $60 a person for dinner, which looked on the mediocre side, and a cheesy show. Just not our kind of thing.

The problem for us was definitely the food options. During the day was fine - we were hiking so we packed sandwiches and snacks, and breakfast we made in the room as we had a microwave, fridge, and single portable burner. Eggs and bacon and sausage probably made our neighbors jealous. Dinner came to be an issue every time. 

Being from Austin, Texas, we are spoiled for food choices. And it's good, hole in the way, real people authentic good quality stuff. To go to a town where your food options are fast food - McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, etc., was not really great. They do have restaurants as well, Outback Steakhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, and some other local style places. The food wasn't bad, but it just wasn't the options we enjoy. Needless to say dinner was always disappointing. When you don't eat fast food often, you often feel really sick afterwards. So if you stay here, and you are a foodie, be prepared to be disappointed. Or bring your own portable burners and cook your own food in your hotel rooms. That is the best option.

Streams in the Smoky Mountains

 

Just as a follow up to the waterfalls, lets show off some of the beautiful streams we saw along our hikes. Can you see why I'm obsessed? The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, so enjoy the scenery.

Horse Back Riding in the Smoky Mountains

 

We love horseback riding. If I could do it every weekend I totally would. I love it. There are lots of places to go riding in Tennessee in the park, or near the park, but there are options everywhere. There are some stable and a riding options right next to Cades Cove that we decided to try out. It was a leisurely 1 hour ride through the park. 

You cannot make reservations which was the downside. You have to get there when they open and wait in line to see what time you'd be slotted in. If you didn't want to do the horse riding, they do have a carriage ride you can take instead. Good to have options.

If you love riding, I recommend doing this. It's for beginners, it's slow, you have a guide with you making cheesy jokes and telling you some history of the park, and you are riding a horse in the beautiful mountains. I would do this all the time if I could.

So fun.

Cades Cove

 

Cades Cove is a driving loop at the end of one of the main highways that takes you up towards the top of one of the mountains. There's a gift shop there with your typical tourist items (and some pretty amazing soft serve ice cream), there's a picnic area, and you can even reserve a camping spot here as well. 

The loop is a 13 mile, one way driving loop that spits you out a few hundred yards from where you enter. There are old cabins along the way and churches that you can pull over and park next to and get out and wonder around. There are some lookout points you can stop at, and even some trails you can spend the day walking. There is also a little old timey section where you can wonder around the old style buildings and just enjoy the surroundings. It is a beautiful section to drive.

But because it is a small one way road, if the person in front of you decides to stop and take pictures (which they ask you not to do- use a turn out so you don't stop traffic), everyone behind you has to wait. The point to my ramblings - this is a slow drive through some beautiful scenery. 

You don't want to rush through it. Stop often to take pictures and just breath in the fresh air. We drove this loop many times because it was just lovely. It is closed to traffic one day a week so just walkers and bicycles can enjoy the road without worrying about traffic. I think it's a great idea. I also think this would be perfect for a half marathon race. The most beautiful setting to run ever. 

By the afternoon this is a very busy place with people and lines of cars. The earlier you get there, the less traffic and people you have to deal with. I thoroughly enjoy being in nature with no one around. 

The other reason why this is such a beautiful drive is that if you are someone who cannot get around on foot very well, or have a disability and can't manage the hiking aspect of uneven trails, it's something that can be driven without feeling like you are missing out. I love Cades Coves. Apparently black bears like to hang out here so there is a good chance of sighting them in this area. Though we never were able to see any here.

Hiking in The Smoky Mountains

Hiking in the Smoky Mountains is beautiful. All the great parts of nature that you crave and want to get lost in are here. As I mentioned previously, August here is hot and muggy. For us, we were finished with all the hiking aspects by about 1pm. It was just too hot for us to be hiking after that. Maybe we just don't have a tolerance for the heat, which is true. But calling it a day by 1pm was fine with us. We'd spend the rest of the afternoon driving through the wonderful scenery, and stopping at whatever shops or neat things we saw along the drive.

A few tips - this place is BUSY in August. As in, if you don't get to the trail you want to hike by about 8am, you're not going to find a place to park. Because my partner and I are ridiculous early morning people, we tended to get to whatever trail we planned to hike by about 6am. At 6am there were plenty of parking spots available, but we were not the first car there. It also means hiking in the early morning is a bit cooler weather than later in the day. And the higher up you get on the mountains the cooler the weather is going to be. It's wonderful.

We made sure to carry some rain ponchos with us just in case the rain hit while hiking. We actually used them more than once. Part of the reason the mountains are called the smoky mountains is that every morning they are covered in mist. It's so stunning. That also means it rains every day - which is why it's so green and beautiful. Umbrellas, ponchos, mosquito repellant, sun block, and LOTS OF WATER are all good things to make sure you have on hand. In addition, I did have to use a jacket a few times. It was fabulous to need a jacket in August.

Another tip is that the trail head signs saying how far the hike is to the waterfall - it lies. We went to do the rainbow waterfall hike (I'm obsessed with waterfalls and streams and rivers so be prepared to see a lot of these). The trail head said the waterfall was 2.5 miles to it. According to my fitbit, it was 4 miles there. 4 miles of climbing up a mountain. When you live in a city that has no elevation or hills, you get a bit over zealous on your first hike in years into actual nature. So a 4 mile hike up a mountain, and then the 4 mile hike back down the mountain, reminded us that we aren't 21 anymore. We may have overdone it. Don't do that. Moving was really hard the next morning.

Totally worth it, but we could have planned a bit better. Also, by the time we starting hiking back to the car (around 9am) the crowds of people beginning the hike was rather crazy. So glad we got to enjoy the trail in the early morning without hoards of people around. 

Sigh. How I miss this place. It's so pretty. I could live here.