Looking to vacation in Pigeon Forge TN

[mom2t]

We rent a friend's cabin in Wears Valley when we go. We live 2 1/2 hrs. away and go at least once a year. I remember PF when it was just the Old Mill and a few motels and pancake places. I have been going for over 45+ years. For a great steak eat at The Alamo and The Old Mill Restsurant is great - ask to sit next to the window. Outlet shopping is great there. Cheddar Restsurant is very reasonable to eat at. The Island is fun shops. Paula Deen has two restaurants there.

 

[mom2t]

We just returned from a week long vacation there with my parents and 2 of my boys. We stayed in a condo in Gatlinburg about 4 blocks off the main parkway. Pigeon Forge is about 5 miles away and everything there you drive to. Gatlinburg is more walkable (and if you don't stay within walking distance of the parkway you have to pay to park).

Like a PP said you can get caught up in spending a fortune on things but I knew this going in and told my boys we would not do everything we saw. We did a good combination of nature activities and fun touristy things. We did Dollywood (we just did 1 day but you could do the 3pm get in next day deal...also park in the Patriot Parking lot like someone else mentioned. 50 cents to ride the trolley in per person versus $12 parking in their lot), we found a groupon for ziplining with Wahoo (fun!), Titanic museum (groupon), mountain coaster (groupon) we gave the kids $10 each to play in the arcade. We drove thru Cades Cove, Roaring Fork motor trail, had picnics, hiked to Clingman's Dome, (if you only do 1 free activity I would choose this), hiked another short trail, and walked downtown to look around and eat. All total we spend less than $1500 including our condo (which we split in half with my parents). There are a ton of go Karts, putt putt, Ripley attraction, sky lift etc. but be prepared to fork out a lot of $$. Even if you are not naturey type people don't underestimate just being in the beauty of the smoky mountains.

I will say it was pretty crowded though. Driving past the trailheads the parking lots were always packed full along with 1/4 mile in either direction parked along the road. Road thru Pigeon forge and Gatlinburg themselves very busy but not terrible.

I would do Biltmore before Knoxville. Google it. It is an amazing place. I am a season passholder. Definitely do one of the behind the scenes tours.

 

[100AcreWood]

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Interesting. The cabins I have stayed in in NC area the company has a visible statement that they recommend a all wheel drive vehicle (4-wheel drive) to get to most cabins. I might categorize this as not knowing about alligators in Florida. If you are staying in a cabin in the mountains, I would expect to go up steep hills to get to the cabin. That is the layout of the mountain land. Fortunately, for our cabin stays in the winter, the community HOA pays to have the snow plowed or else we our heavy SUV not have made it up the drive to the cul de sac with the three cabins to include ours. Minivans are are light vehicles in comparison to SUV's. My dad is from NC so we visited the mountain areas several times growing up.

Here is a copy and paste from one of the rental companies near the ski resort in the NC mountains we have visited: Depending on the home, 4WD, chains or sometimes both may be required when visiting the mountains in winter. Access to this home may not be suitable for vehicles with rear wheel drive, limited ground clearance, or motorcycles even during summer months. We are happy to help you find the home with the access you are most comfortable with, any time of year!

I had no idea the cabin would be so high up and the turns would be so sharp. There was no warning like you mentioned on the website or from the rental company. If we make this trip again I will definitely be more prepared to ask questions about the location. I would tell anyone PF is definitely worth visiting. We have decided to go somewhere new every year so it will probably be a while before we get back to TN. Our old favorites (Disney) will take up some of the budget and then we'll try to go somewhere new. We really need to expand our horizons and this was a good first step!

 

[TwoMisfits]

After our recent vacation to Pigeon Forge for a couple of days (Smoky Mountain Knife Works, MagiQuest, Hillbilly Golf, Dixie Stampede, Great Smoky Mountains) we traveled to Chattanooga which is about 2 21/2 hours away. The grandkids loved the High Point Climbing, the Tennessee Aquarium and Riverfront, and Lookout Mountain at Rock City. We stayed at Hampton Inns at both locations. The one in Pigeon Forge is walking distance to MagiQuest and Denny's, had a wonderful pool area outside with a kid's play area. The one in Chattanooga had a fun slide into the pool that I went down too!

How'd you like the Pigeon Forge attractions?

 

[Cdndisfan4]

How many days did you go for? And how old are your kids?

HI Lisa,

Sorry I just saw this. We went for 4 nights/5 days. The kids were 12 and 14.

 

[LizzyS]

I am from the general area and used to go to PF a lot, so something I don't think I saw mentioned in this thread, do not EVER go to PF during a "Rod Run" car show unless you're going for the show. It's the general, bad tourist traffic x 100. There is one coming up September 15-17. It just makes getting around miserable and if you're not into the cars, you will be having a bad time.

For reference:

http://www.rodrun-pigeonforge.com/

 

[K Gragg]

I can't count how many times I have been to this area. We have only stayed in Pigeon Forge a handful of times. I prefer Gatlinburg because it is walkable. Pigeon Forge is no. The only "walkable" area of Pigeon Forge that I find to be worth walking is the Island and Margaritaville area. Pigeon Forge has some cool stuff (Dollywood, The Island, The Apple Barn, random arcade/gocart entertainment complexes etc...) Tripadvisor has this entire area down when it comes to lodging and food. Thsi area is tricky as their are some dated hotels that are not well kept. I would definitely take someones advice when it comes to lodging.

Here are my thoughts on the area. Stay in Gatlinburg. Dollywood is fun, but obviously no comparison to Disney. My kids are 4 and 6 and enjoy Ober Gatlinbug more than Dollywood. Ober is a bit Janky, but does have some unique attractions. There are 3 mountain coasters in the area. One in Pigeon Forge, one in Gatlinburg, and on at Ober Gatlinburg. I would only do one and only ride once. In my opinion, the Alpine Slide at Ober is way more fun. I like to stay at the Riverside Motorlodge. It is old, but as clean a room as you will find. It is also located on River Road right by the sky lift making it convenient to anything. It is family owned and operated. The Riverside Motor Lodge is nostalgic Gatlinburg. They don't even accept credit cards for a deposit, a check must be mailed in... If you are looking for a chain, stay at the Hilton in Gatlinburg. The Hilton is in a similar location and always nice. Gatlinburg is all about breakfast and you can't beat Crocketts Breakfast Camp for breakfast. As far as dinner, there really is nothing I would consider fine dining. That being said, I could eat every night at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Despite being a brewery, there is a family atmosphere to it, the food is reasonably priced, and the Velles Helles can be enjoyed by anyone. Chalets can be nice too. We stay in chalets occasionally. The only down side, and this is a down side for me, I like to walk. I do not like to drive while on vacation. For a truly walkable vacation, stay in Gatlinburg, not Pigeon Forge.

 

[lisaross]

I also would love not to drive. I looked up riverside motor lodge - it is ranked number 39. The hotel we are looking to stay at - the clarion is ranked number 2. Seems like we could walk to a few things. Since I've never been not sure where exactly it's located, but comes up in the same area as yours. Do you happen to know the area of the clarion?

I can't count how many times I have been to this area. We have only stayed in Pigeon Forge a handful of times. I prefer Gatlinburg because it is walkable. Pigeon Forge is no. The only "walkable" area of Pigeon Forge that I find to be worth walking is the Island and Margaritaville area. Pigeon Forge has some cool stuff (Dollywood, The Island, The Apple Barn, random arcade/gocart entertainment complexes etc...) Tripadvisor has this entire area down when it comes to lodging and food. Thsi area is tricky as their are some dated hotels that are not well kept. I would definitely take someones advice when it comes to lodging.

Here are my thoughts on the area. Stay in Gatlinburg. Dollywood is fun, but obviously no comparison to Disney. My kids are 4 and 6 and enjoy Ober Gatlinbug more than Dollywood. Ober is a bit Janky, but does have some unique attractions. There are 3 mountain coasters in the area. One in Pigeon Forge, one in Gatlinburg, and on at Ober Gatlinburg. I would only do one and only ride once. In my opinion, the Alpine Slide at Ober is way more fun. I like to stay at the Riverside Motorlodge. It is old, but as clean a room as you will find. It is also located on River Road right by the sky lift making it convenient to anything. It is family owned and operated. The Riverside Motor Lodge is nostalgic Gatlinburg. They don't even accept credit cards for a deposit, a check must be mailed in... If you are looking for a chain, stay at the Hilton in Gatlinburg. The Hilton is in a similar location and always nice. Gatlinburg is all about breakfast and you can't beat Crocketts Breakfast Camp for breakfast. As far as dinner, there really is nothing I would consider fine dining. That being said, I could eat every night at the Smoky Mountain Brewery. Despite being a brewery, there is a family atmosphere to it, the food is reasonably priced, and the Velles Helles can be enjoyed by anyone. Chalets can be nice too. We stay in chalets occasionally. The only down side, and this is a down side for me, I like to walk. I do not like to drive while on vacation. For a truly walkable vacation, stay in Gatlinburg, not Pigeon Forge.

 

[maxaroni]

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn - Gatlinburg. Loved the location. It is right off the strip (main drag) but so easy to walk onto the strip. We walked each morning for breakfast and loved Crocketts Breakfast Camp. We tried many of the local places for breakfast as well. We were at the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains and quite easy to go into the park. We never used the car when in Gatlinburg proper but went into the mountains quite often, and did venture to Pigeon Forge. As many have mentioned, Pigeon Forge is not walkable. We loved that we could walk for breakfast and then go for the day, if we chose. After dinner, we would walk the strip. Perfect location.

 

[K Gragg]

I also would love not to drive. I looked up riverside motor lodge - it is ranked number 39. The hotel we are looking to stay at - the clarion is ranked number 2. Seems like we could walk to a few things. Since I've never been not sure where exactly it's located, but comes up in the same area as yours. Do you happen to know the area of the clarion?

My apologies. I meant Riverhouse Motorlodge... It is ranked #9. I believe you are speaking of the Clarion located by the Island? If that is the case, yes you could walk to a number of things, but i wouldn't recommend it. Gatlinburg is much more condusive to walking. Pigeon Forge has a six lane road running through it with heavy traffic. As far as Pigeon Forge goes, you are in a good area and there are shops within walking distance. If you cross the six lane park way (actually more like 8 lanes at your location due to turning lanes and a busy intersection) the island offers many of the great shops and moonshine tastings that you can experience in Gatlinburg. Everyone is diffferent, you may very well like Pigeon Forge, but Gatlinburg is more my style.

Pigeon Forge

Gatlinburg

You can see from the pics that Gatlinburg is much more condensed. I rarely see anyone walking the sidewalks of Pigeon Forge. Gatlinburg sidewalks are huge and often full. Gatlinburg is walkable, Pigeon Forge is not. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but you will end up driving or taking a trolley. We have walked the length of Gatlinburg multiple times. There are even trails straight out of town into the national park.

 

[K Gragg]

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn - Gatlinburg. Loved the location. It is right off the strip (main drag) but so easy to walk onto the strip. We walked each morning for breakfast and loved Crocketts Breakfast Camp. We tried many of the local places for breakfast as well. We were at the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains and quite easy to go into the park. We never used the car when in Gatlinburg proper but went into the mountains quite often, and did venture to Pigeon Forge. As many have mentioned, Pigeon Forge is not walkable. We loved that we could walk for breakfast and then go for the day, if we chose. After dinner, we would walk the strip. Perfect location.

The Hilton is nice, reasonably priced, and you can't beat the location...

 

[Govols1997]

Yes on avoiding the rod runs. They cause so much congestion, it could ruin your vacation. If you stay in PF, you will be driving daily. Just not walk friendly. If you stay in gatlinburg, you can walk to a lot of things, drive to mountains and PF

 

[kymom99]

Hotel impossible us doing a show at brookside resort

 

[lisaross]

So how do you tour pigeon forge - keep parking your car every block?

This is what my plans are to do - 5 nights 4 full days

Dollywood 1 day
Hiking one day in mountains
Maybe zip lining one day
titanic museum

Evening dinner walk around pigeon forge 1 night and gatlinsburg 1 night - also go see Dixie stampede 1 night

With this itinerary does it matter where we stay? Just trying to figure out either way how to do pigeon forge - can we just park at bus and go around that way? I like the clarion because it offers a great bkfast and that would save us a bunch of money - but I don't want to regret the stay either... Not sure it would be worth it for a split stay

 

[Govols1997]

You can drive from place to place. I thought I had read that you weren't interested in driving, so wanted you to know PF isn't walk friendly.

 

[kymom99]

So how do you tour pigeon forge - keep parking your car every block?

This is what my plans are to do - 5 nights 4 full days

Dollywood 1 day
Hiking one day in mountains
Maybe zip lining one day
titanic museum

Evening dinner walk around pigeon forge 1 night and gatlinsburg 1 night - also go see Dixie stampede 1 night

With this itinerary does it matter where we stay? Just trying to figure out either way how to do pigeon forge - can we just park at bus and go around that way? I like the clarion because it offers a great bkfast and that would save us a bunch of money - but I don't want to regret the stay either... Not sure it would be worth it for a split stay

If you go in summer when things are open late, you will want to walk around in the evenings. Places stay open really late. That's why I like gatlinburg best. Stroll to the parkway to window shop and people watch. It just has a nice vibe.

 

[lisaross]

We are going in April - it's spring break in NYC.

I really don't want to walk, but I assume I can do PF one day or night and same for Gatlinsburg

 

[MinnieMSue]

We took trolleys around pigeon forge with no problems. Our hotel was near a trolley stop. We also took it to Gatlinberg. I think we only drive into the mountains and to Dixie Stampede. We also walked to a couple attractions in Pigeon forge. We didn't have any issues with the trolley system and it was easier than driving for us.

 

[jimbostacks]

We are Disney Geeks, and have been to Gatlinburg.Pigeon Forge twice. My kids and I love Gatlinburg and have been there over spring break. Next year Easter is late which will help with crowds... I agree with almost everyone , my favorite thing is the view of mountains from cabin (will try to post a picture from balcony). I have 4 boys, all teens and above. 1. Dollywood is awesome - IF it is packed and crowded there is $25 Fast pass that was very helpful for the boys to ride the roller coasters all day. I paid for 4 and it can be share with any 4 people at one time...you can use all day to get in font. Plenty of great restaurants...Love the Old Mill and the Pottery across the street, Log Cabin for breakfast in Gatlinburg, Blue Moose for sports bar food was great too. White water rafting was fun but not as scary as you would think...not crazy. State park is beautiful, but would recommend getting the teens out on the hiking part by the waterfalls. The loop to drive around can be long and slow.

My favorite thing though was a cup a coffee in the morning looking at the mountains, and a cold drink at night at the end of the day looking at the stars over the mountains..saw at least three shooting stars...just very relaxing. I like to hang out and sleep in gatlinburg, pigeon forge is fine just more touristy). The show are all good, enjoyed a few mentioned above.. We have rented from Jackson Mountain Homes and are very nice.

 

[jimbostacks]

one more thing the teens love Ober Mountain.....very touristy, but for $20 or bucks...you can spend a lot of time there.... a lot of the smaller attractions are around $10...but over quickly. I think Ober gets mixed reviews....but teens love the alpine slide