We headed out of the Smokies today (only to find ourselves briefly back in it later in the day). Fortunately, we left the national park early enough that we didn’t endure the mile+ line of slow moving cars heading to Gatlinburg that we had witnessed the day before.

Gatlinburg – Gateway to the Smokies

The city of Gatlinburg sits on the western edge of the Smokies in Tennessee, and it is a wonderland of things to do, particularly for families traveling with children. It was a bit like the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in terms of variety of entertainment, but it was definitely a southern town with shopkeepers sporting southern accents and hospitality.

I was surprised to see so many chain restaurants and venues; I had expected more local artisans and small shops. Those were here, too, but lots places had recognized names. Ripley’s Believe It or Not had the Ripley name on lots of entertainment venues in town, including a large aquarium. Happy Fall y’all was definitely the town’s decorating theme.

Gatlinburg Trail – Back into the Smokies

After wandering through town and eating ice cream, we decided to put on hiking shoes for one last trail in the Smokies. The Gatlinburg Trail connects the town to the Sugarland Visitor Center and connects to a short Cataracts Falls trail. This is all a very flat trail, and it provides many places to get down into the creek.

As it turns out, we could have parked at the visitor center for free, which seemed to be what other people were doing, and taking the trail into town. The trail is less than four miles, round-trip. As it was, we parked in the first parking lot on the eastern edge of town and paid $20 for the privilege. We were in shade and had no trouble getting back out, so it was a good spot to park for the day.

The trail led to a small cemetery and was along a construction zone. We asked if it was okay, and they waved us on through with very friendly Tennessee accents.

Pigeon Forge – Home for the Night

Pigeon Forge was a short drive away and the Creekside RV Park was a very nice place to stay for the night. Again, there are lots of activities in the area, including Dollywood and other amusement parks, museums and dinner-shows. This looks to be a great place to bring kids!

Free Entertainment

Two couples, long-time friends who raised their kids together, were quietly playing some traditional toe-tapping, harmonizing Tennessee and church music in the camp spot next to us. It was nice to meet them and listen to the free concert while cooking our supper on the picnic table.