Gatlinburg (1 Viewer)

[UK SAINTS]

I need names. Is it worth the drive! how about hiking, Waterfalls???

There are several good hiking trails (varying degrees of difficulty) and waterfall sites. I've never been to the sites that TPS mentions, but they look quite nice.

 

[Optimus Prime]

how old are your kids?

they have a dixie stampede there (it's like medieval times)

http://www.dixiestampede.com/pigeonforge.php

foods not great but it's fun, you eat everything with your hands, they serve a smal cornish hen. kids love it.

the shows okay, again geared more for families. kids like the ostrich riding.

i think there is a ripleys believe it or not museum. i love those

i also saw this magic show and i really enjoyed it.

http://www.discoverattractionsinthesmokies.com/worldofmagic/

hope it helps

 

[kewee]

Dixie Stampede is the only place worth going to in Gatlinburg. Pretty good food, decent show. Other than that, and going to some waterfalls, Gatlinburg is lame.

 

[keepoursaints]

I guess I'll scratch

"Eat a delicious meal in Gatlinburg" off my bucket list.

I had no idea the food was that notoriously bad there.

 

[diat150]

food sucks, hopefully you are staying at a cabin and can cook your own stuff. thats what i do. The fun stuff to do is just ride thru the park and stop at every turn off and explore.

 

[NCSaint]

food sucks, hopefully you are staying at a cabin and can cook your own stuff. thats what i do. The fun stuff to do is just ride thru the park and stop at every turn off and explore.

and a "real" cabin at that. None of those fake modular buildings with log siding. What a crock.

Yes Gatlinburg is lame...but the reason it is there is not. The Park is great. And I was pleasantly surprised and had a blast at Dollywood over in Pigeon Forge.

 

[OhioSaint]

When we went we spent a lot of time at Cade's Cove.Lots of places to explore there on foot and some in the car.Also spent one day at Cherokee just gambling.Only place I can remember eating at was The Nascar cafe.Food was O K but nothing great.

 

[Mamba]

Some of you guys are giving Gatlinburg a bad rap. We went to Gatlinburg a couple years ago and had a great time. Honestly, it is definitely a tourist town, but it's still got it's own charm to it. And the food isn't bad at all, unless you're expecting restaurants like Emeril's, Brennan's, etc. There are decent places to go.

Make sure you go white-water rafting while you're up there, and like someone else mentioned, Cade's Cove is pretty cool. I'm sure you'll have a good time.

 

[TPS]

>>The fun stuff to do is just ride thru the park and stop at every turn off and explore.

In the national park. But there is so much stuff in every direction between a :20 minute and 2 hour radius that is insane. Nantahala Gorge is awesome and usually where we go rafting. Next time up there though we're going to try to do the Ocoee as per keepoursaints vacation thread but if we can't get up to that part of Tennessee for whatever reason, we'll just hit the Nantahala again.

>>Some of you guys are giving Gatlinburg a bad rap. We went to Gatlinburg a couple years ago and had a great time. Honestly, it is definitely a tourist town, but it's still got it's own charm to it. And the food isn't bad at all, unless you're expecting restaurants like Emeril's, Brennan's, etc. There are decent places to go.

I've probably been there about 7 or 8 times (always stayed on the NC side either in Cherokee or Maggie Valley) and disagree with you. The touristy part of town is probably what I'd expect to encounter in Branson, MO. You may have found some decent food up there, but every restaurant I've ever been to more or less sucked. I realize that being from SELA I have different expectations (as would you being from St. Landry). But outside of maybe some decent breakfast or pit bbq, I just thought it was mostly garbage.

>>Make sure you go white-water rafting while you're up there.

That's a must. It's probably way to ridiculously cold but you have the option to wear wet suits in summer so I guess some people raft and kayak year round.

TPS

 

[UK SAINTS]

I've also been white-water rafting while there (and intertubing), But the water this time of year will be ice-cold. A rather streneous trail, but well worth it if you can make it, is Chimney Tops. The distance you can see and the view is awesome!

 

[Mamba]

I've probably been there about 7 or 8 times (always stayed on the NC side either in Cherokee or Maggie Valley) and disagree with you. The touristy part of town is probably what I'd expect to encounter in Branson, MO.

There's no doubt that there are certain "attractions" in Gatlinburg that are extremely lame (the Guinness World Record Museum is atrocious). But it's a good place to "get away" and there are fun things to do in that area, IMO.

You may have found some decent food up there, but every restaurant I've ever been to more or less sucked. I realize that being from SELA I have different expectations (as would you being from St. Landry). But outside of maybe some decent breakfast or pit bbq, I just thought it was mostly garbage.

When I say "decent" I'm talking about just typical chain restaurants (we had a good meal at "Bullfish Grill"--not to be confused with "Bonefish"). But if your standards are high and you're looking for top-notch local cuisine, it's just not that type of city. I just didn't want the OP to think the food was so bad he'd have to bring bread and sandwich meat for the whole trip.

By the way, I'm actually from St. Charles Parish.

 

[purvis_guy]

Just go to the National Park HQ and buy a hiking trail map, plan to day hike. I've hiked just about every trail in the Smokies. My favorite is the Alum Cave Bluff trail to the top of Mt. LeConte and back again, all in one day, 11 mile round trip but worth every exhausting moment. The LeConte Lodge is at the top of the mountain, it is a semi-primitive lodge that can only be reached by foot or horse, but don't expect to spend the night, you have to make reservations months in advance.

 

[JERD]

here are some pic from thr trip!!!!

 

[JERD]

some more pics. I use a Cannon S3is

 

[keepoursaints]

some really cool pics