Unusual Popular Attractions in the Smoky Mountains It was the Great Smoky Mountains that turned Sevier County into a tourist mecca. But, the locals found out early on that tourists needed more than motels, restaurants and the great outdoors. As it turns out, there’s only so much nature one Midwestern family can absorb before they need a different level of
A Non-Spelunker’s Guide to the Caves of the Smoky Mountains and Beyond Growing up a member of Generation X, I had more access to freedom than was probably good for me. As a result, I developed a healthy sense of adventure. Living in medium to small cities, I explored neighborhoods and areas well outside the range of my parents’ yelling
Which Smoky Mountain Water Park is Best? We’ve written about several of these head-to-head battles in Sevier County before – including The Peddler vs Alamo, Anakeesta vs Ober Mountain, Pirates Voyage vs Dolly’s Stampede and Lumberjack Feud vs Hatfield and McCoy. But today, we want to compare two of Sevier County’s most popular summertime attractions: Dollywood’s Splash Country and Soaky
Remembering an attraction that used to be the centerpiece of the park, now permanently erased It’s appropriate that in a theme park dedicated to mountain life, the remnants of a mostly forgotten relic are fading back into the scenery. Or at least, they were fading. Now, it’s nearly all but erased. This is Dollywood. It is never long until lost
A Great Smoky Mountain National Park Fanboy Ranks His Favorite National Parks If you think about it, it’s a bit strange to grow up with the most visited national park in the country in your backyard. Last year, 12.2 million people visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I could be there in 45 minutes, 30 if I get good
Many Smoky Mountain Attractions Sell Themselves As Historic or Use Historic Theming, but the Old Mill Is the Real Deal In the Smoky Mountains, history sells. Countless attractions try to grab visitors’ attention by overplaying their connections to history. They may borrow the history of someone or something local or create a theme around a historic figure or place that
A Smoky Mountain Expert Weighs In on Which Mountain Park Is Most Deserving of Your Money The best views in the Smokies remain free. You can drive up to Kuwohi – formerly Clingmans Dome – and soak in the natural wonder that made our ancestors see the mountains as something worth preserving. A drive along Newfound Gap Road offers several
You Can Visit This Once Abandoned Notorious Prison in East Tennessee In Morgan County, near the tiny community of Petros – right in the shadow of the Cumberland Plateau- they’ve taken hell on Earth, shined it up and used it to market a peculiar concoction of horrid history, fabricated ghosts, mountain likker and classic Southern café dining. For more than
A local breaks down what may be the biggest season of change since tourists started flocking to the mountains One thing about life in the Smoky Mountains is that change is always just around the bend. One season, you’re doing big business selling pancakes, racing go-karts or touting your special and authentic brand of moonshine. The next season? Your life
Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show preparing to debut its South Pacific Celebration It seems unbelievable now since decades of dust have piled around the memories and obscured our vision. But for 12 years, a magical, mystical, improbably and fiscally irresponsible place lived in the Smokies. Porpoise Island, it was called. And it brought – quite literally – Polynesian culture and