Pigeon Forge, Tennessee // 6-9 July
We had no idea how popular Great Smoky Mountain was as a summer holiday destination! Both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were teeming with tourists. Gatlinburg is the gateway town to the Smoky Mountains, and Pigeon Forge is the gateway town to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg has a few small streets through the town, jammed with traffic, tourist shuttles and pedestrians, still keeping its ‘small town’ vibe despite the tourism focus. Pigeon Forge seemed to have grown following Gatlinburg’s popularity and has a much bigger main drag with parking and bigger attractions, almost like a fun fair. Dollywood is nearby and it has Dolly’s Stampede and pirate-themed dinner shows (three times a day!). With so many people in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg I thought perhaps the Smoky Mountains weren’t as popular, but the roads through the park and to the main trails and lookouts were still busy. Apparently July is their busy season so we got to see it at its peak.
Horseriding in the Great Smoky Mountains
Claire and I planned a horseriding trail ride at Sugarlands Stables, who are located in the National Park. It was amazing! It was a fantastic first experience of the park. The horses took us along and through little creeks and climbed up approx. 2000 feet. We were on the lookout for black bears, there had been a mum and cubs spotted in the area. Unfortunately we didn’t spot them. The ride took about two hours and was so relaxing, the horses were gorgeous.
Roaring Fork Motor Trail
After our ride we picked up Robin and Christopher and headed out to explore. The Roaring Fork motor trail is just outside Gatlingburg and takes you through the gorgeous Smokies and past lots of little trails and old homesteads. It was magical being surrounded by the trees with sunlight coming through and lighting up the leaves. We stopped at a view point for our first glimpse of the Smoky Mountains, explored an old homestead and gorgeous creek nearby, and scrambled up the Falls of One Thousand Drips.
Clingman’s Dome
After the loop we headed to Clingman’s Dome, the highest view point in the Smokies. It’s a gorgeous drive and there were lots of spots to take in the view. There was a huge lookout on the North Carolina-Tennessee state line where you can view the mountains to the south. There’s also spots where you see the Appalacian Trail cross the paths. This was the first of many times we’d come across the trail travelling north following the mountains. Clingman’s Dome is a huge (very high!) circular lookout so you get 360 degree views of the Smokies. It was a steep half mile walk to the lookout but the air was surprisingly so much cooler up high in the mountains.
Gatlinburg
We joined the throngs of tourists and got the free trolley into Gatlinburg from the Visitor Centre. There’s one main streets with shops, restaurants and attractions such as gondolas, chairlifts and mini golf up the mountains to see the Smokies. Luckily we’d already seen our mountains so we enjoyed wandering through the shops. We started with a hearty (late) breakfast. Tennessee is very big on its moonshine so there were several spots to buy moonshine which also offer tastings. There’s also boutique whiskeys and wines but moonshine seems to be the rage at the moment. Robin and I did a tasting and lucky they are only half shots as some are very strong, ranging from 20% to 60%. The strong one felt like you could breathe fire. Most were flavoured, either creamy like coffee, banana pudding, pine colada, or fruity, like blueberries, raspberries, mandarins, so tasted very nice!
