Where are all the Tennessee members at?
A lady friend wants to go to Gatlinburg at the end of Oct or beginning of Nov. What is there to do there as far as shooting, hiking, off-roading, must see/do's?
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Where are all the Tennessee members at?
A lady friend wants to go to Gatlinburg at the end of Oct or beginning of Nov. What is there to do there as far as shooting, hiking, off-roading, must see/do's?
Gatlinburg is very tourist oriented, so everything that comes with that is there (high prices, crowds.) There is a lot of places in Smoky Mountain National Park to hike and there are some historical buildings that are pretty neat. If you are driving, stop a night or 3 in Nashville. That is the place to go in TennesseeQuote:
Originally Posted by Endur
Not in Gatlinburg, but Sevierville, is Buds Guns with an indoor range. It is near Smoky Mountain Knife Works.
Buds Guns and Smoky Mountain Knife Works are both good stops. There's a Bass Pro in Sevierville as well. The Smoky Mountain National Park has tons of outdoor recreation available. I'd recommend heading to Cade's Cove and driving the loop. There's a lot of history there. The views are also great, and there's tons of wildlife to be seen. I'll be there in a few weeks myself. We take a camping trip up to Cade's Cove every year. The hike to Avery Creek Falls, which starts about halfway around the Cade's Cove loop, is a nice out and back 5 mile hike. I haven't driven it, but apparently driving along the Roaring Fork at Gatlinburg offers some great views.
Thanks. Are these off-road trails or on-road?
Cades Cove is paved, all the trails in the park on hiking only. There are some gravel roads in the park, but I wouldn't consider them off roading by any means. Roaring Forks is at the edge of Gatlinburg and is also paved.
Abrams Creek/Falls is the trail at the back of Cade's Cove.
The time that you are planning your trip is going to be very crowded. If you go to Cade's Cove expect bumper to bumper traffic around the loop with long stops because everyone wants to see a deer or a bear and they don't mind blocking traffic to do it. The Cove is a beautiful place and worth the hassle if you've never been there. (Take snacks and drinks)
Go to Clingmans Dome.
If you're into outdoors, you will love Smoky Mountain National Park. The natural beauty is amazing. We saw bears just while driving through the park. Find some off the beaten path trail and have fun. Crowds are considerable during peak times of day and at the "main" attractions, but the smaller trails are much more isolated and equally beautiful. We fly fished when we visited but will not repeat that. Tons of work for things just a little bigger than guppies. Not a crowd pleaser, at least in our group. In other news, I think the Gatlinburg area has the highest pancake house per capita in the world! Have fun!
Went last year with my wife in early November...rented a cabin and stayed away from the touristy stuff. Mostly did some hiking and hit some of the vehicle loops. I think it was out of cases cove that we took a one lane directional dirt road that was one of the original access roads. If you look you can find some decent stuff like that to get away from the crouds but definitely was not off roading. Chimney tops was a pretty sweet hike, short but the views from on top were amazing. Get to that trail early though bc it gets packed!
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Thanks for all the input men.
Are there no off road trails around there?
In southern KY there is an offroad park around Wildcat Mountain. It is along I 75. There is a group in Pigeon Forge that provides offroad rides, but I think you ride with them. It never was appealing to me.
Not Gatlinburg, but very close.
http://www.windrockpark.com
Thanks for all the input. Went to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the Smokey Mountain National Forest. Did some hiking, saw some of the touristy things around Gatlinburg and Forge, and I found an off-road compound not too far from there called Outdoors in the Smokies. Overall it was a blast, but I would have liked more than two days.
A few pics:
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...psi6cew7cq.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps1ctff0yg.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...psoyp7zlvd.jpg
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...ps6u63yxfl.jpg
Glad you enjoyed the trip. That part of Tennessee is a nice little jewel in the South. We go there about 1-2 times per month...but we live in Knoxville.
How much has re opened after the fires? I was hoping to visit later in Jan.
Bass Pro is in Kodak, TN and named after the camera.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak,_Tennessee
Good that you made it down prior to the fire. We went summer 2017 and after seeing which hill sides got hit were surprised the house places and business off Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail didn't get hit.
Really good food for breakfast and lunch and a nice environment including a few fish and game mounts upstairs.
http://pancakepantry.com/
The fire was in 2016 and they have rebounded from it. Supply issues and trying to to get people to work is an issue now. I live on the north side of Knoxville. Some restaurants shutdown early because folks won't work. I thought the Covid money was being cutoff?? :mad:Quote:
Originally Posted by joe138
My Dad was born and raised in Gatlinburg, TN. I rarely go there anymore because of crowds. We camp over in Townsend, TN. Have reservations for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.
Your first time just try to see as much as possible then decide what you want to focus on next time. They have something for almost everyone.
My problem is I'm getting old and I remember when Gatlinburg would shut down in early November and reopen in the spring. Good times back then for a kid that just wanted to be in the woods.
I remember going to Gatlinburg in the very early 70's...man there wasnt anything there!
The one thing I know was there back then, that I hope is still there..haavent been since early 2000's...is the Taffy machine in the window.
One of only a few left, this thing has been twisting taffy about as long as Ive been alive.
But outside of that...I remember a guy had a little black bear on the side of the road at a pull-off, you could get your picture made for a dollar or so.
It was very remote, as I said few modern conveniences outside shady motels, and I dont recall many eatin joints either.
My last trip, was my last trip. Cant take the crowds in that small a place, and its just too touristy for me.
Im fortunate enough tho to live in a part on TN where I can drive 15 minutes and have scenery that to me & others rivals that of that whole area.
I too, remember when that area shut down for winter.
They are still making taffy. Probably got some newer machines. It's a wonder I didn't pull a tooth out when I was little.
My Grandmother lived on what's called Ski Mtn Road. Yea the road went up to the ski lodge. I could walk out her door, cross the road heading east and in 100 yards I was in the G.S.M.N.P. A couple of times I got turned around for a few hours until I found my way out. Folks would have a fit today if a young kid wandered off like that.
Townsend, TN is the last city on the right heading towards Cades Cove. Still fairly small and not crowded and I want to stay there some day for that reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Straight Shooter
Also, it is maybe an hour south of Maryville so if S&W has tours or a bargain hut that could be a future cool thing
Quote:
Originally Posted by RugerMKII
Thanks for the info on the taffy machine..I saw a show about that specific one a long time ago...if it were to break they said they couldnt fix it or something like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by jsbhike
Yes, Townsend is a cool place. Just get on out a little from the tourist stuff and to me its more enjoyable.
Thats so awesome about S&W moving there, too.
When I was trucking I used to know a lot of little backroads around there.
Only there once, about 8 years ago maybe, family and I had a condo nearby for a week. I liked Gatlinburg. Kitchy, like Myrtle Beach and Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida, used to be. I loved the NOC store right before the entrance into the national park. I could spend hours and thousands of bucks in there. Gatlinburg is also the place to be if you plie pancakes for some reason.
Just passed through the area last weekend. Stayed at the Inn on the River in Pigeon Forge, which was a great hotel. As for the rest of PF, it was WAY too busy and populated/touristy for me. We went to The Island, which is a free entertainment venue on the main strip. It was neat, but nothing I hadn’t seen before on vacation.
My son and I did make a run up to Sevierville to Smoky Mountain Knife Works and to Bud’s. SMKW was a neat shop and I got to get my hands on a bunch of knives and tools that I had been looking at, but I walked away with a $4.00 flashlight cone for directing traffic. Prices were decent on most things, just nothing that I wanted to drop the money on and the hands-on time let me know that I didn’t want to buy what I had previously been thinking about buying. As for Bud’s, nothing to write home about, it’s just a regular shop with a decent selection of ammo ($19/box of 50 Federal FMJ 115 gr.) and a big indoor range.
The big draw for our short weekend jaunt through there was the day at Smoky Mountain National Park. Agreed on visiting Clingman’s Dome and the main lookout on the way to Clingman’s from the north (don’t recall the name, but it’s HUGE, you can’t miss it). I would’ve liked to hike but it wasn’t in the cards for this trip.
Gatlinburg was neat, but definitely plan on staying there as it costs to park everywhere and it’s easier to get around on foot. Just make sure to work on your cardio before you go, the hills and altitude can make it rough if you’re a flatlander.
The lookout area is Newfound Gap and the TN and NC State line is there too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boy Scout
You also drove past the trail head for Alum Cave bluffs which is one of the trails up to Mt. LeConte and LeConte Lodge. Think LeConte Lodge is still the highest elevation lodging in the eastern US and on my places to stay list and hoping I haven't waited too long.
http://www.lecontelodge.com/
Thanks jsb, Newfound Gap is what I couldn’t recall. It’s pretty neat that the Appalachian Trail goes through both Clingman’s Dome and Newfound Gap lookout.
Imagination Mountian Campgroud in Cosby is close to Gatlinburg. It is a very nice campground and the owner is a former cop from CA. It used to be part of the Jelly Stone franchise. We try to go in October every year with friends.
Dan
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Green Briar area(several miles past city hall) seemed to be a lower volume area than many others down there. Lots of wild flowers in the spring(found out about the area and flowers from the now closed Happy Hiker) and also another route to LeConte Lodge.
I love the GSMNP, and I have put in many miles on the AT in that area. There's some pretty remote ad rugged terrain in the GSMNP.Quote:
Originally Posted by Boy Scout