Going to Smoky Mtns, but afraid of bears!

[dispor]

We have many black bears here - they come in our yard every week

Make sure to coat yourself in honey. Bears hate honey.

(or yogurt?) LOL!

We stayed at The Summitt Condos and loved it! Would stay again in a heartbeat. Homeaway has lots of rental and I was shocked how many hotels there were with vacancies!

We didn't visit the park at all and spent 3 days at Dollywood! Had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check out the condos. We plan on going to Dollywood, too.

The bear picture in my signature was taken on our vacation property here in Michigan, about an hour's drive from where we live.

As far as cabins in the Smoky Mts. go, both of our vacations there we have rented a cabin from Sunset Accommodations in Pigeon Forge. Our first cabin was Mountain Whispers, and this last time it was Lasting Impressions. They have pictures on their web site of all of their cabins. We have been very satisfied with this rental company, and I would recommend them highly.

I'll check out those cabins. The bear in your sig. has been freaking me out! He looks huge!



Thank you all for your help!!

I am hoping to include the following in our itinerary:

Dollywood
Cades Cove
Roaring Forks Motor Trail (anyone ever been? How narrow is it?)
Tubing (anyone been?)
A small piece of the Appalachian Trail (just so we can say we were there)

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

 

[Daydreamer64]

We encounter tracks every so often in our yard. We make sure to be extra loud if we run out to the yard or car at night.

One night my DS's went to the car to get some school books and swear they saw a big bear- they were as white as snow. We teased them about being scardy cats until the next morning, there were tracks where they thought they saw it.

Bears tracks come in all shapes and sizes, the front paws look different then the back because of the whey they walk. They have 5 toes-not four like a wolf, coyote, bobcats or mountain lions.

http://www.bear-tracker.com/bear.html

It's easy to run out to the car to get something and not think of them being in the yard at night. Bang some pots or make lots of noise and wait for a second or two before running out into the night if you rent a secluded cabin!

HTH

Oh yeah, also making noise at night is helpful to let the opossums, racoons, and SKUNKS know they need to clear out. You haven't lived until you accidently scare or corner one of these animals. :0

 

[bgirldeb]

We just returned from a spring break trip and never saw a bear! DD was a little disappointed. We stayed at The Summitt Condos and loved it! Would stay again in a heartbeat. Homeaway has lots of rental and I was shocked how many hotels there were with vacancies!

We didn't visit the park at all and spent 3 days at Dollywood! Had a great time and can't wait to go back!

We've stayed at the Summitt three times now. Awesome view, and great place for the price! The drive up is a little daunting the first time, but you get used to it!

Make sure to coat yourself in honey. Bears hate honey.

OP,We've been to the Gatlinburg area over half a dozen times and have never seen a bear.

 

[Jolly Ole Bert]

I've lived & worked in Gatlinburg since 2003. You have nothing to worry about with our bear if you follow a little common sense. The North American black bear are not nearly as aggressive as the grizzly bear/brown bear out west.

We see them every now and then in downtown Gatlinburg. Take for instance last October after work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWB61uim0eI
But keep your distance and you will be fine. Most of the horrific bear attacks you hear of are surrounding grizzlies or polar bears, which obviously are no worry in our area.

 

[bgirldeb]

I've lived & worked in Gatlinburg since 2003. You have nothing to worry about with our bear if you follow a little common sense. The North American black bear are not nearly as aggressive as the grizzly bear/brown bear out west.

We see them every now and then in downtown Gatlinburg. Take for instance last October after work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWB61uim0eI
But keep your distance and you will be fine. Most of the horrific bear attacks you hear of are surrounding grizzlies or polar bears, which obviously are no worry in our area.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

 

[karibritt01]

I have vacationed in the NC mountains several times a year my entire life. I have never seen a bear, though we did hear one once when I was about 13. Enjoy the mountains and do not worry over it!

We always rent homes from www.homeaway.com. It is a website of rentals by owner and through rental companies, and the sizes and prices vary greatly. We usually look for a nice cabin with a hot tub!

 

[3boymthr]

We haven't been to the smokies but do go camping in NH a lot and there are a lot of bears there. I've had them brush up against the side of my tent at night.

One piece of advice that was given to us by a park ranger at the NH state park we camp at - if you are going hiking or camping and are worried about your food tempting a bear - You should also not make yourself smell like food. Do not wear lotions or use soaps, makeup, sunscreen, etc. that are fruit or otherwise food scented - no coconut, kiwi, passion fruit, etc. Do not carry these items with you in your pack or keep them in your tent or car. Unscented toiletry items are best when camping or hiking in bear country.

Also, if it is that time of the month do not go hiking in bear country. Apparently they are very tempted by that smell.

But as others say if the odds of running into a bear are slim then take all my advice with a grain of salt and don't let it ruin your enjoyment of the area.

 

[Jim Robinson]

Bears are generally not interested in human interaction. Many of the bears you see in the populated areas of Gatlinburg are used to seeing humans, so they are not "afraid" necessarily, just dis-interested. Unless, of course you give them a reason to take interest, such as food or threatiening their young, as you mentioned. We rent log cabins in the Sevier County/Gatlinburg area and we have about 100 log homes available in the "Sky Harbor" area. There you are likely to see a bear from the deck or window of your cabin. Visit our web site at patriotgetaways.com to browse our inventory. Whether you stay in a cabin or not, I hope you enjoy your trip to the Smokies!

 

[Pastamom]

We went to the Smokies last summer and had a great time. We saw a couple bears from our car and 1 when we were hiking on a trail. The bear just ignored us and went on his way. A bunch of people got pretty clase to take his picture (not the smartest thing to do IMO)

Here's where we stayed. Very, very nice.
http://www.legacymountainresort.com/

We also did some rafting (gentle) but they have more adventuress ones.

If you get a chance - check out the Arts and Crafts trail - It's a bunch of local artists in the ares. great for some souvenirs.

 

[Crystal0608]

...


Tubing (anyone been?)

...!

Dollywood is awesome (cheaper to take tram at Old Mill than to park) and Cades Coves is beautiful (think it was closed for a while recently). I love the Inn at Christmas Place .

Re the tubing:
Long story but I wouldn't recommend it for children on the upper river even if they are great swimmers and in all the Townsend tubing places it says for ages 6 and up (especially if it has rained recently!). I've been to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg a lot and last May was our first time tubing, kids were 8 & 7. We tubed on the lower river and it was shallow and fun and I feel it was safe though my kids won't get in a river again.

The upper river is a different story- the undercurrent was MUCH stronger than I have ever experienced in the ocean and when my dd hit a rock and fell out of the tube (we were tethered) I jumped in to grab her and it was all I could do to hold her head above water with her having a lifejacket on. Both of us are great pool swimmers and it was pulling ME to the bottom hard (280+lbs). It pulled my shoes off and the water was slamming dd & I into a large rock that we held onto trying to not go over the rapid of pointy rocks w/o a tube. There are no guides on the river to help, they just drop you off. A nice fellow tuber gave me his tube after what seemed a long time passed of screaming for help. The man subsequently ended up at the hospital after going over the rocks w/o a tube.

DD's leg had got trapped between two rocks underwater (not visible) and it jerked her leg bad b/c I was holding her and the tube and the water was pulling and I wasn't letting go. I got her loose and went down the rocks backwards on my back holding the tube with one hand and my legs & one arm holding dd. It was the most horrific experience in my life, shaking now thinking about it. Some people pulled dd out of the water and then me. DD was screaming & had blood running down her legs. I helped carry the hurt man up the hill to a campsite and we were so lucky the KOA was on the left and some campers alerted the campground to call the ranger and 911. My dd didn't break anything, but she got tore up on her leg & bruised up. I didn't know I was bleeding until it was pointed out, cut open deep cuts on a lot of my body. It's been a year and my back/shoulder area is still scarred badly.

My dh was ahead with my ds and didn't see it happen and I was in a panic if my ds went over ok (wasn't told @ the current or rapids, assured it was safe) and dh said he waited at the end about an hour until he saw an ambulance and knew something was wrong. Anyways, not so family friendly.

 

[Buckalew11]

So, OP, I hear there are many more bear sightings already than usual. Hate to be the bearer (did I just say that?!lol) of bad news for you. Just read though the thread, note all the hints and come on and have a wonderful trip!!

 

[KJ Luvs Pluto]

We camp in grizzly country and we're very careful about not hiking in the same clothes that we cook in. Don't want to be hiking in the backcountry while smelling like bacon - That's just being a dinner bell

 

[TN Hockey Mom]

My advice is don't go off anywhere alone. My MIL was killed by a bear in the Smoky Mountains in 2000. They couldn't find that she had done anything wrong - probably stumbled across them accidentally (a mom and 2 cubs). By the time anyone heard her it was too late. Even when help arrived the bears wouldn't leave. She grew up in the area and hiked all the time. You just never know. Be aware of your surroundings.

 

[dispor]

My advice is don't go off anywhere alone. My MIL was killed by a bear in the Smoky Mountains in 2000. They couldn't find that she had done anything wrong - probably stumbled across them accidentally (a mom and 2 cubs). By the time anyone heard her it was too late. Even when help arrived the bears wouldn't leave. She grew up in the area and hiked all the time. You just never know. Be aware of your surroundings.

I am so sorry. I hope this thread didn't upset you. (From one hockey mom to another!)

We will take the precautions listed on this thread. Thank you all for your suggestions.