Gateway to Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, Tennessee

Feb 12, 2009

During the 75-year existence of Great Smoky Mountain National Park the towns just outside the Tennessee side of the park have become wildly popular in their own right.

For visitors to “The Smokies” Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) represents the chance to bike through Cades Cove, fish for brook trout in a remote mountain stream, or chance a morning hike encounter with one of the park’s many Black Bear. But for an equal number of vacationers the communities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville, Tennessee offer the hope of shopping, fine dining, amusement parks, a world-class aquarium, the soft adventure thrills of Zorbing, zip-lining, bungie jumping, go-kart racing, indoor skydiving and an evening of award-winning stage shows.

Shopping Dining and Astounding Attractions in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Perched on the doorstep of GSMNP, Gatlinburg has become a hive of activity for anyone taking a break from the park’s natural splendor, and for people with the urge to shop and sightsee on their time off.

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is a “must see” world-class aquarium in the heart of Gatlinburg. Its exotic residents are no less captivating than the bears in the park, and far easier to spot. Other notable Gatlinburg attractions include: the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Guinness World Records Museum.

Dining around Gatlinburg you’ll find a bevy of Pancake shops for breakfast, and the usual burgers and corndogs you’d expect in a tourist town. But for dinner, Lineberger’s Seafood is a feast of aquatic pleasures rarely found this far inland.

Stage Shows and Soft Adventure in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Though it’s a bit further from the GSMNP entrance, Pigeon Forge looks and feels like the center of activity outside the park. Arrayed along a strip of businesses referred to as “The Parkway”, Pigeon Forge is the place to go for soft adventure fun such as Indoor Skydiving, Zorbing (a big clear rubber ball that you sit in as it bounces down a hill), bungie jumping, and Dollywood with it’s world renowned roller coasters, games, shows, and craft shops.

Pigeon Forge is also a great place to go to catch an evening stage show. Popular Pigeon Forge shows include:

With so much going on in and around Pigeon Forge, it’s no surprise that it is filled with quite a few top-notch restaurants as well. Pigeon Forge visitors consistently rank Applewood Barn, the Old Mill Pottery House Café & Grill, and the Flying Horse Grill (famous for its handmade Italian carousel) among their favorites.

Sevierville is Much More Than Just Dolly Parton’s Hometown

A few miles outside of GSMNP, the town of Sevierville is most famous for being the place where Dolly Parton grew up. And while Dolly comes “home” each April for the park’s annual opening (and on other occasions), Sevierville has its share of other notable attractions.

Visitors to Sevierville should plan to try the Wahoo Zip Line adventure, Nascar SpeedPark, visit the National Knife Museum and experience the Rainforest Adventure (reptile zoo). And anyone in town for more than just a brief stay should catch a performance of Cirque de Chine, a circus-style presentation of Chinese cultural arts and acrobatics.

Other Notable Smokies Attractions

Regardless of whether they come for the park, the shopping, the shows, or a little adventure, visitors to the gateway cities around Great Smoky Mountain National Park can’t help but go home with a host of memories tailored to their individual taste for adventure, and excitement.

The copyright of the article Gateway to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee Travel is owned by Glenn Kaufmann. Permission to republish Gateway to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.