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!

Our Visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yesterday, Chris and I visited our second National Park since hitting the road, The Great Smoky Mountains. It is the #1 most visited National Park in the U.S.  They estimated there were 10.7 million visitors in 2015. Just to compare the Grand Canyon which is the second most popular National Park only had 5.5 million visitors last year. 

We are currently staying in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee which is less than a 30 minute drive to the park. We got up bright and early to avoid the crowds.

We came in through the Gatlinburg entrance and when we first arrived we stopped at the Sugarlands Visitor Center to load up on some maps. The maps were all .50 to a $1 but there was no charge to get into the park which is pretty cool.

Our first stop to admire the river on the way to Cades Cove

We decided to head to Cades Cove which is a valley surrounded by the beautiful mountains and it is the most popular destination in the park. It is about a 30 minute drive from the visitor center. It is an 11 mile one-way loop. You can normally see a variety of wildlife including black bears, deer, coyotes, etc. 

They have riding stables at Cades Cove and you can stop and visit the horses. 

Blue tailed skink 

Out of all the cool wildlife we saw....a turkey

Along the road there are many places to pull over and admire the mountainous views. There are also a lot of old log cabin houses and churches to get out and walk around. We enjoyed the John P. Gable Mill which was built in the 1800's and is still a working mill. They even sell the corn meal in the gift shop. 

Lovely view of the mountains

John Oliver House

Mountains and lots of wildflowers

John P. Gable Grist Mill

Our drive around the cove probably took about two hours. There wasn't much traffic when we first got to the park but it did continue to get more crowded through out the day.

After our visit to Cades Cove we headed over to the Elkmont area so we could hike the Little River Trail. 

Why did the deer cross the road? I've got nothing.

Elkmont is a ghost town and has 74 historic structures which you can walk around but you are not permitted to enter. Of course, once we got there it started raining but it didn't rain too long. Chris got a nice little nap in before we got out and hiked.

Haha Sorry Chris had to do it

Spence Cabin part of "Millionaire Row" in Elkmont- you can actually rent out the cabin

Beautiful view of the  river from the Spence Cabin patio

One of the run down old houses on the trail

We enjoyed our hike. It is an easy and peaceful hike down a paved trail with the river on the side. There were some people fishing and playing in the water. 

Little River trail- nice wide paved trail 

We had a lot more things we were planning to do but by this time we had to get back home to the dogs. It was a long day of driving and walking around and we were tired. 

We would definitely recommend visiting the park. We already picked out what we will do if we are able to come back this week. Plus, it is free to visit which is always nice.