I finally can say, I see what the hype is. This place is gorgeous!
The drive into the area was a little stressful. Tight turns and extremely curvy mountain roads. Needless to say, we were not happy with our Trucker GPS for leading us this way. It may have saved a few miles, but it was uncomfortable for too many of them!
We arrived at our campsite, which was tucked just off of the main Parkway in Pigeon Forge. The RV Park was great, but we discovered that Pigeon Forge is not really our jam. It is very “touristy” and filled with a lot of goofy shops and carnival type rides. The traffic is busy and it feels like a place to just blow a lot of money.
We did enjoy a restaurant down there (Local Goat) which had plenty of yummy food and gluten free options! We even celebrated my birthday, and Conner’s birthday, together here!
We also spent a day sledding down hills on giant innertubes. I mean, who doesn’t love this? Ok, maybe just Benjamin.
Oh – and we also spent an hour riding go-karts. We had never seen a 3-story high go-kart track. So of course, we had to check it out. They had plenty of other amusement parks and things to do, (like seeing a replica of the Titanic) but these were the only ones we indulged in.
Although Pigeon Forge is not our favorite, we LOVED Gatlinburg. It is much more “mountainous” and much less…. hokey? It has it’s moments, but mostly its just really pretty. The roads around Gatlinburg are so fun to drive – with HIGH mountain views and lots of people-watching! In fact, we were shocked at the number of people here, despite the pandemic! It felt like there was NO pandemic happening!
While in the Smokys, we also met up with a family we had met in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We just happened to be crossing paths once again, so of course we enjoyed wonderful company!
We had truly one mission in the Smokys: FIND A BEAR. We tried waking up EXTREMELY early (ok, maybe like 630am, but that’s early for us)…. to drive Cades Cove. This is where bears are KNOWN to be. I mean – people spot them daily here. Three hour drive later: nothing. So then we drove Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. I mean, the bear trackers showed 6 of them roaming the road area. We even hiked. NOTHING. We were nearing the end of our 2 week stay when…. BAM! Hiking the Smoky Mountains was fruitful! We saw our first bear!! This hunk was just sleeping in the woods, but we were able to catch two good looks of him, hiking in and out! Even now, 4 months later, the kids still mention that. Look closely at the picture below – the bear is the black spot in the center!
Speaking of hiking, we did lots of that! The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect. We even spent our Thanksgiving hiking the tallest peak in the Smoky’s: Clingman’s Dome.
And speaking of Thanksgiving, we actually prepared a feast in our tiny kitchen! Each kid picked an item to cook, and it turned out fantastic. Lots of yummy food. And the Smoky Mountains is a perfect place to be for Thanksgiving. The festivities are high, Christmas lights are everywhere, trees are lit, it is just magical! The weather was cool enough to be chilly, but warm enough to hike, camp, play outside and still be comfortable.
Campground review:
Pine Mountain RV Park by the Creek, Pigeon Forge, TN
Cost: $35-$55/night, season depending
Site #10: Back-in Site with Full hook ups! Small campground, which felt more like a neighborhood than true camping. Safe and quiet location. Very basic campground, with pool access at the hotel across the street. Large grass field behind our site, which we used to play baseball and frisbee often!
Website: Join Us At Pine Mountain RV Park | Pigeon Forge, TN
Great read. This is one of my bucket list.