Our visit to Pigeon Forge, TN

We really weren't expecting much when we decided to stay in Pigeon Forge. We knew it was close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood but we had no idea it was a giant tourist trap. There are tons of restaurants, museums, hotels, gift shops, dinner theaters, arcades, etc. all over the place.

I don't remember ever seeing anything quite like it. You could visit here a long time and never run out of things to do.

On the way in to town we came in on Parkway and we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for about 30 minutes. That pretty much happened any time we had to go down it.

We have already learned going to crowded tourist places really aren't so fun when you aren't on vacation.. Here are a couple of places we visited while we were there.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park


This was by far our favorite thing to do in Pigeon Forge and the reason we decided to stay there in the first place. It was free to visit and less than a 30 minute drive from our RV Park.

We previously did a blog post about our trip to the Smoky Mountains. If you are interested you can check it out here.
 

The Apple Barn and Cider Mill



the store

I'm so glad my friend, Bren, recommended The Apple Barn & Cider Mill. They have a large store that sells all kinds of goodies. We got apples, salsa, apple butter, muffin mix and soap.  I loved everything I got there.

They also have a candy factory, winery, bakery, ice creamery and a restaurant. The wine tasting is free and they had some tasty wines.

The Incredible Christmas Place

 I really LOVE Christmas and Halloween. So, I decided to drag Chris along with me to check out the Incredible Christmas Place. At first, I thought it was a little weird they had this giant Christmas store open all year round, but I enjoyed doing some window shopping. They even have a large Christmas Place Inn across the street.

A Christmas explosion



Chris writing out his Christmas list.

I think Chris ended up having fun too. haha

I was super proud of myself I didn't buy anything!

Margaritaville

Where do you go in a tourist town when you are hungry and craving margaritas? Margaritaville of course. It was a little pricey but our food and drinks were good.



Everyone has to go to Margaritaville at least once...right?



This taco salad was super unhealthy but it was also delicious!

Sawyer's Farmhouse Restaurant

Chris in front of the giant rooster outfront

We noticed there were pancake houses everywhere so we decided to see what all the fuss was about. Sawyer's was #5 of top places to eat on Trip Advisor. I ordered the strawberry banana pancakes. They came covered in this super sweet strawberry sauce. It might look good but it wasn't.

Chris got the chicken and waffles. His wasn't so bad but he still said he wouldn't go back.

Three Bears General Store

When we went to Sawyer's they gave us a coupon for 1/4 pound of free fudge at the general store. Who could refuse such a thing? Where is the picture of the fudge you ask? We kind of scarfed it down too quick. It was good.

  

This store was gigantic and actually had live bears inside. You have to pay to see them and we decided not to do that. 

Chris enjoyed this giant bear seat inside lol

Yeah that's a pretty strange store front

Even though it was a crazy little tourist town we still found it amusing and managed to enjoy our time there. I don't think we will be going back anytime soon, though!