We flipped for Tennessee - visiting Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood
What’s there to do in Gatlinburg, Kentucky near Dollywood? The answer to that question is long and extensive and can vary depending on the kinds of things you like to do. In fact this tourist destination offers so many choices and options, I can’t imagine anyone not finding what they liked to do here.
The area is extremely tourist- and visitor-oriented with a crazy amount of attractions, shops, entertainment and so much more. You could quite literally spend weeks here and not repeat the things you do. But here’s what we did.
Further, you can easily jump on one of the local buses and get to Gatlinburg or even Dollywood, which is exactly how we got there. There’s a $1 one-event bus ticket to Gatlinburg or a $3 all-day everywhere bus ticket. It’s really, really convenient and completely circumvents the parking challenges that can be a part of a large, bustling tourist destination.
A barrel train for kids at the KOA Pigeon Forge
KOA Pigeon Forge
We stayed at the KOA Pigeon Forge which is its own reason to visit the area. The place absolutely filled up on the weekend but was less crowded on week days. The sites were decently sized, flat and offered full hook-ups.
In addition to laundry and showers this KOA offers a heated lazy river and a hot tub. Of course we went into the hot tub! There’s also a communal fire pit and they seem to have a tremendous number of activities for younger campers based on the number of text messages I was getting with the latest goings on for the junior campers.
One of the things I wanted to try, but they tell me I’m an adult, was a series of wheeled drums pulled around by a garden tractor. This looked so fun and the kids, and the driver, all looked like they were having a great time with the way the train of barrels was being driven.
Stupid being a grown up.
You can also easily walk to the Pigeon Forge transportation center where you can jump aboard those very affordable trolly buses so our truck just stayed put while we went and explored. This is very convenient. One of the buses we took was to Gatlinburg.
Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a mountain town that has exploded with tourism. You know an area has become a hot spot when Jimmy Buffett builds a Margaritaville hotel in the area. We only sort of visited this, more on that in a bit.
Gatlinburg is very well served by a bus/trolly system which is absolutely free. In fact, we never had to worry about parking and parking is something we were told was not a strong point of the area.
Since this is a mountain town we were told the laziest way to visit is to take the free trolly to the top of the hill and meander your way down through the shops and restaurants. So, that’s what we did.
We were told that we had to go to Kilwin’s Ice Cream shop so we did do that. The shop makes their own treats including ice cream and we each had a scoop. The people behind the counter were very, very friendly and the ice cream was good.
Since we were in Tennessee we had to visit a place that makes moonshine and so we did, stopping at Ole Smoky Moonshine and Whiskey. This bustling destination is huge with bottles of moonshine along all the walls and several tasting bars with highly energetic people behind them telling stories about the things you’re tasting.
I really enjoyed the energy in this place and, apparently, the moonshine as well coming out of the store with well over $100 worth of moonshine - so much so that they threw in a six pack of “Moonshinearita” and a cooler. Wow.
I also liked that the large shop had a stage outside that had local musicians performing and they were performing music that might be associated with the Great Smoky Mountains. It was very well done and also quite enjoyable and I sat through a number of songs, wishing I had had my washboard to go along with the fiddle, banjo and bass up on the stage.
One of the shops I really liked was Pepper Palace which sells hot sauces. There’s a museum in the shop of all sorts of hot sauces but this is a static display, don’t expect to be in there sampling. However you can sample the hot sauces and I found a garlic hot sauce that I had to have.
Of course we often plan our trips around what’s for lunch or dinner and, in this case, lunch was at Calhoun’s. This place purports to offer traditional Tennessee barbecue and that’s just what we had. We also enjoyed fried green tomatoes and this was the first time we had done that.
If you’re not familiar with this Southern specialty it’s exactly what the name implies - green tomatoes that have been battered and deep fried. The somewhat sour nature of the tomatoes, what with their being green, and the taste of the batter reminds me a bit of deep-fried pickles. They served theirs with a mustard and, yeah, I’d eat it again.
As a fan of Jimmy Buffett I made it a point to get to the Landshark bar before five o’clock, figuring they’d make a huge deal of the time of day. I’ve been to Margaritaville cafes in the past and five o’clock is epic. For example, in Vegas they have a volcano that a mermaid actually comes out of.
But at Landshark they do nothing. No. Thing. They don’t even play It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere on their TVs. What a let down. The bartender reminded me several times that “This is not Margaritaville.” But it’s owned by Buffett.
I didn’t hear the song but I could hear the trombones. Wah, wah.
Things we didn’t do
Gatlinburg Sky Bridge
The Gatlinburg Sky Bridge is perched high atop the mountains. To get there you take a ski lift up and end-up on a bridge that hangs 140 feet over a canyon. With a glass bottom. I think the description of this thing might tell the story of why we didn’t do it.
Ripley’s Aquarium
Time was not on our side with this attraction - it seemed interesting to tour the aquarium and see the various aquatic creatures that have found a home up in Gatlinburg. But we just didn’t have the time.
Ober Gatlinburg.
Ober Gatlinburg is a mountaintop village and amusement park that you access via an aerial tramway. We just didn’t have the time but atop the mountain are all sorts of activities and attractions including a tree-to-tree walkway that hangs over the hills below.
Hollywood Star Cars
It might surprise you to learn that I didn’t go inside the Hollywood Star Cars museum which has things like a Batmobile and the Dracula car created for the Munsters TV show by George Barris.
But this was $14.99 and I could see a bunch of the cars from the street, so I saved the money for other silly things and took the picture you see in the collection here.
Dollywood - day two
You can also take those buses to Dollywood which we did. Dollywood is a theme park that is partly owned by Dolly Parton. I’ve wanted to come here for a long time and, well, we did.
Of course the overwhelming atmosphere in Dollywood is a celebration of quiet southern style of the Great Smoky Mountains. Her music fills the air as you walk in and one of the first things you’ll pass is a bakery. That’s an important detail.
I really liked how many stages there were at Dollywood and there were all sorts of local entertainers filling the stages throughout the day. This was pretty great. You could walk around and talent was everywhere.
There are a number of segments to Dollywood as with most amusement parks. One of those was sort of an old time carnival with the kinds of games and rides you’d expect in this type of atmosphere including lots of rides for the wee ones.
Another section was more of the big kid type rides - fast roller coasters, that sort of thing.
Dollywood is also home to a 30,000-square-foot aviary that houses the country's largest presentation of non-releasable bald eagles. You can catch some of nature's most impressive birds of prey in this beautiful mountain setting as members of the American Eagle Foundation interact with these spectacular animals.
Birds of Prey at Dollywood are under the care of the American Eagle Foundation which is authorized to possess birds for education, exhibition, rehabilitation and breeding under permits from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Of course I was intrigued by the steam train which is coal-fired. You don’t get many coal-fired locomotives any more with most of them having been converted to oil burning. One of the reasons for this was captured in an announcement made by the fireman on the train that warned that you may get coal cinders in your eye, so wear your sunglasses.
There were a few things about Dollywood that I would have changed, though.
Being in the mountains, Dollywood is located on the side of one of those mountains. As such, you really should bring your walking shoes which is fine. But that steam train essentially goes from the lower section to the upper section. Why isn’t there a train station in the upper section?
In fact, there is no “transportation system” in Dollywood. I’m used to Disneyland where there are numerous options for getting around in addition to foot power.
Also, with all the great musicians and performers scattered throughout the park you can hear their performances but step a few feet away from the stage and you hear the “house” music and the performers. Again, at Disneyland, the performers are highlighted within zones so that’s what you hear.
Lastly, the bathrooms in Dollywood are pretty tired.
I was told that some people have annual passes to Dollywood just so they can get the cinnamon bread. I get that. The bread is almost more butter and cinnamon than bread. And that’s a good thing. The bread is incredible and, fortunately, you don’t have to wait in the long line at the grist mill near the center of the park.
You can also get the cinnamon loaf at the bakery right near the entrance to the park. That’s also where you can get a $229 apple pie. No, seriously. It’s a 25 pound apple pie. If you’re not able to swing that, you can always buy just a slice for $19.99. Wow.
My Conclusions
This whole area is absolutely worth visiting and the biggest mistake we made is not visiting it for long enough. You could easily spend two weeks here and never repeat the same activity, or even the same type of activity.
Since you can get around the area for $3 aboard the local buses you could stay at the KOA for the entire time, wander over to the transportation center and catch a ride to wherever you wanted to go.
The bus drivers were really friendly and helpful and the area is a sprawling tribute to tourism, and that’s not a bad thing. Then you come home at night and sit in the hot tub at the KOA.
The incredible appetizers we got at Wild Bear Tavern German restaurant
Another highlight was the Wild Bear Tavern, which is a German restaurant. As with any time you first visit a restaurant, you ponder the menu but our neighboring table got an appetizer sampler of a variety of sausages and along with a pretzel and potato pancakes.
The size of this “sampler” was such that you could feed a small army and the sausages, red and traditional cabbage, pickles and bread were all really, really good. Of course they had locally-brewed beer choices too. And let’s not forget the pretzel and the traditional German potato pancakes. Oh, my.
We also had the privilege of meeting podcast listener Tom who we joined at Smoky Mountain Brewery. This was also a good choice and it’s always a privilege and honor to meet people who have listened to our podcast. Tom also brought us RC Cola and Moon Pies which are Southern traditions.
Overall we’d really like to go back and stay in the area for a longer time. With so much to see and do and the KOA being so central to getting around, we’d give it two thumbs up.
