Pigeon Forge, TN is it worth it?

[stacktester]

I know there was a post on here about PF but even with search I don't see it. I know Dollywood is there, and we may want to even go there but I want to see the Smokies which looks like they're really close and there also seems to be campgrounds nearby as well. Looks like there's a lot of nice water and trails to explore as well.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

If you like the Panama City Beach scene or Myrtle Beach then PF will be fine. If you like peace and quiet, a short drive to the National Park, and no traffic I suggest that you stay in Townsend, Tn.

 

[stacktester]

If you like the Panama City Beach scene or Myrtle Beach then PF will be fine. If you like peace and quiet, a short drive to the National Park, and no traffic I suggest that you stay in Townsend, Tn.

I definately want to stay in the quiet part. I saw something about a loop campground on Google.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

I avoid PF at all costs. Some people love it for the outlets, arcades, go karts, restaurants, etc. All I ever see is a 3 lane highway packed with cars bumper to bumper, tacky stores, etc. We skip that stuff and get into the National Park as quickly as possible.

If you can deal with the mass of humanity I am sure that you could find a nice campground. But you are still left with a long drive to the Park, that can take hours if traffic is bad. If the Park is your main concern my advice would be to stay in Townsend. Now Townsend has a few tourist type things, but nothing compared to PF. The nice thing about it is a 5 minute drive puts you in the middle of the Park.

 

[I'mDownWithDisney]

One thing I forgot to say. If you decide to stay in Townsend, but want to visit PF. A short beautiful drive through Wears Valley (Hwy 321) will put you right in the mix of PF/Sevierville.

 

[4mickey2]

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/frontcountry-camping.htm


here is a link to the smokies campgrounds. we stayed in elkmont over the fourth almost 2 yrs ago. that was the year we drove from there to ohio and bought our "c".

it is a very nice campground but no electric. they do allow generators and those with campers had them and used them. we didn't have one and really didn't need one. but, that's just us.

if you go to elkmonts map you will see the campground layout. the river flows all around it and kids are floating in it on tubes. a lot people are fishing in the river too.

oh, and don't leave your dogs unattended in your camper. we got a note about that one.

we were in pf for a few days before that and stayed at the koa right down the road from dollywood. it was a nice campground. we took the trolley and rode around town. but, we really didn't do anything in pf.

i like to go into gatlinburg and walk around that town. not sure why i prefer that town. it is still touristy, maybe not as much, though.

the smokies are nice. if you take your bikes you can go to cades cove early in the morning and bike it. or wait until they open the road and drive through the loop. there are old homes, a mill, visitor center and you can normally see bear on the loop. it is really neat. but, again it is a national park.

 

[Shan-man]

There is a nice National Park CG at Cade's Cove. No electric, but it is a nice park. I love Cade's Cove, even if you don't stay there... it's like the valley that time forgot. There are many historic structures that give you a sense of what life was like in the mid-1800 in the Smokies. And it's just beautiful.

 

[bama_ed]

Donnie,

I agree with I'mDownWithDisney. Think of Pigeon Forge as the Kissimmee/Hwy192 or International Boulevard of the Smokies (in Orlando terms). I agree with staying in Townsend (many nice campgrounds there) if you are looking for peace and quiet. If you're looking to be "in the middle of the action" I would stay in or around Gatlinburg.

Bama ED

 

[BarleyJack]

We live in TN and travel to the Smokies frequently, its an absolutely beautiful National Park. Pigeon Forge? Not so much. Strip malls, putt putt, go carts, magic shows, shop after shop after shop. We prefer to stay in Gatlingburg or Townsend, both are quieter and closer to the Park. The only time we go through PF is to get to Dollywood (which really is a decent place, we have season tickets) or on our way home. Enjoy the smokies for what they are, and what they are not is Pigeon Forge.

 

[stacktester]

Cades Cove was recommended by a friend as well. I thought there was electric hookups available though. How far is CC from Dollywood in case we want to go over for a day.

 

[BarleyJack]

Cades Cove and PF really aren't that far from each other....if you're speaking in miles anyway. Travel time is a whole different story; the roads through Smokey Mtn Nat Park are generally one lane each way, very curvy and a max speed of 40-45 (I think). Time of day plays a factor too; if I were camping in CC I'd allow 45 mins at least.

Regarding a prev post: Elkmont Campground is beautiful, check it out.

 

[4mickey2]

cades cove is in the smokies. it is a little south west inside the park...

there are stables located there, too. i am not sure about horseback riding. but, i know you can do wagon type rides there.

 

[armomof3lvsdisney]

We stayed in Townsend at the end of June last year and had a blast. I had been to the Smokies many times as a child with my grandparents, but we always stayed in the NP at either Cades Cove or Elkmont. But I need my showers, so we stayed at the KOA in Townsend. Townsend is a quite little town that boarders the NP and it is beautiful. I can't remember exactly, but I think it took us about 30 minutes to get into Pigeon Forge, give or take a few minutes. Tubing is really big in Townsend, we did this one afternoon and my kids had a ball. Townsend is the closest place to Cades Cove without staying in the park. We had a wonderful vacation and we will return.

 

[armomof3lvsdisney]

Forgot to mention there are alot of hiking trails and trout filled creeks and rivers. Cades Cove has many trails on the 11 mile loop. Some go back to cabins and old homesteads. Make sure if you go to Cades Cove you stop at begining and get a self guided map for Cades Cove, it would be easy to miss something without it. Go to the Sugarlands Visitor Center inside the park and there are all kinds of trail maps that are very inexpensive. One suggestion I have is to go to the Chimney Tops Picnic Area and have a picnic and let the kids emplore some of the rocks in the river, my kids loved this and I remember doing the same thing as a child. (of course I got out there this time too) There are also alot of trails that lead to waterfalls, we went on the Laural Falls trail and rounded a corner and there was a bear. I'll stop rambling now, happy planning.

 

[Shan-man]

It's been a few years since we've done the CG at Cade's Cove, but at the time it was definitely non-electric. We arrived just at the beginning of quiet hours and had to use the Microwave so I ran the generator for the first 5-7 minutes of our stay... just to make a good impression on the neighbors

 

[bobnjenn0828]

I also agree about a visit to Chimney Tops Picnic area. We make sure we go there every trip. We try to get there early and stay until after lunch. It is so peaceful there. Also last October we went to Cades Cove early in the morning and saw 3 bears, tons of deer and turkeys. There is also a loop that runs through Gatlinburg where we saw several bears. One came right by our car! I love the Smokies, I think you would have a really good time. Dollywood is also a lot of fun. We had season passes for the past 2 years and don't this year because we are going to Disney. The water park there is also fun too. It is not as big as the 2 Disney water parks, but still fun.

 

[ehstrojette]

If you stay in the area please take my advice and stay at Misty River Rv campground. It is the top rated rv park in Tennessee, they have won numerous awards and they have the best bathrooms you will ever take a shower in.

www.mistyriverrv.com

they are a good sams campground also

I run a camping forum for East Tn so we camp in the area alot. If you have any questions just ask

 

[U.P. North]

We stayed here last June:

http://www.greatsmokyjellystone.com/

It is about 13 to 15 miles from Gatlinburg, TN. Nice campground, but small sites!!! Did I mention SMALL sites. My avatar pic is of our camper on the site at this campground. What you see is pretty much the whole site...The camper is about a foot in the line and the fire ring is about 3 or 4 feet within on the other side. I wanted a campground away from the hustle of PF and Gatlinburg and for the first few days, the drive to and from was ok...but after a few days, the drive got old!! We did goto DollyWood. I was not planning on it, but we are glad we did. We love amusment parks like Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio, and we decided to goto DollyWood and we had a really good time. I think we caught it at a good time as the park was not really crowded. We did not goto the DollyWood water park though.

Wow how that whole area has become commercialized!! This was our 1st time there in about 10 years and holy cow what a change!! PF kinda was like that when we were there the 1st time, but man did that place explode and Gatlinburg...WOW. We spent a little bit of time going to the shops, but we ended up touring the National Park and we spent a ton of time Geocaching. Doing the Geocaching was a really good way to tour the country side.

 

[Flanigan]

I live in Knoxville, so the Smokey Mountain Natnl Park is only a 45 minute drive or so. One hike that we enjoy is the Abrams Falls trail. It's a 5 mile round trip hike, here's a picture of the falls that you see at the end of the trail:

There's also a nice area to be able to hang out and eat a snack before the return trip if you like. Here's some more information on it: http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/abrams_falls.html

We also sometimes go to Gatlinburg and get a room, then walk down into Gburg and watch the people have some food and enjoy the day.

 

[campingdawgs]

I would skip PF, but we don't mind Gatlinburg. I don't know why, maybe because you're almost in the Park, but it doesn't seem as cheesy as PF. We have stayed at Elkmont, but only overnight as we also missed the showers. I also recommend the Chimney Tops picnic area. The kids absolutely love playing in the stream. Do be careful, though. DS10 slipped off a rock and fell in a spot way over his head. It was like a deep hole between some boulders and it was tough getting him out.