A Smoky Mountain local reveals his top picks for the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Gatlinburg In a world filled with chain restaurants and expensive dining options, sometimes you find the best restaurants where you least expect them. We call them hole-in-the-wall restaurants for lack of a better term. However, we use it with affection. Often, the best places to find
Beginning in the middle of November, the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee begins the Winterfest celebration, when the Smokies are covered in millions of lights. Visitors and guests from all over come to visit and enjoy the festivities. But if you’re on a budget, you may have put a bit more planning into your vacation. Sevier County is no place
Local lists the best things to do in Gatlinburg this winter Most people don’t know that Gatlinburg has five seasons. There’s spring, summer, fall and two winters, one pre-Christmas and one post-Christmas. If you come for Gatlinburg’s first winter, it is joyful but tinged with a hint of seasonal melancholy. People are hustling and bustling – and possibly rustling –
Local lists favorite Winterfest activities in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg The Smoky Mountain Winterfest celebration is Sevier County’s annual cities-wide festival that takes place during the holidays. Also, here’s a fun fact: Did you know that the tradition began in 1989 to boost the slower winter tourism months in Sevier County? As a local, I’ve seen first-hand what a success it
Planning your way to Smoky Mountain perfection In the Smoky Mountains, perfection, if you’ll forgive a bit of poetic license, is like the Little Pigeon River. It’s fed by a series of prongs and tributaries and streams from all sorts of sources. Finding perfection is to follow the path of your passions until the reach the main waters flowing throw
A local father of 3 offers his advice on the best family restaurants in Gatlinburg For a town built for family vacations, Gatlinburg has relatively few of what I’d consider actual family restaurants. There are a handful of high-end places where kids are certainly welcome, but don’t give off the vibe of a family restaurant. These days, there are more
Ranking carnival food on the strip in Gatlinburg My affinity for carnival food goes back to my days as a youngster in the tiny Indiana town of Mitchell. In September, the downtown area was shut down for the Persimmon Festival. A harvest gathering which features carnival games, rides, and food. I had a handful of dollars in my pocket and
Blue Moose vs. Calhoun’s: Who ya got? There are many factors in choosing how to spend your culinary budget in Gatlinburg, not the least of which is geography. Are you, your hotel or your car on one end of the strip? Then it doesn’t make much sense to go past dozens of restaurants to get to the other end. In
These Gatlinburg eateries will satisfy your vacation sweet tooth One of the points of vacation is live a little and splurge a little. Do some things that you might not normally do in your daily life. Judging by the propensity of dessert-only restaurants and candy shops in Gatlinburg, one of those indulgences is incredibly sweet, delectable dessert offerings. How important
A mom shares her favorite things to do in Gatlinburg with her family In my experience, I find that those visiting Gatlinburg for the first time are often surprised by the number of attractions competing for their tourist dollar. What seems like a sleepy mountain town can sometimes feel like an array of neon lights and eye-catching, quirky displays. But