The most visited National Park in the United States continues to attract millions of visitors year after year As someone who has endured traffic around Cades Cove for 34 years, the annual announcement of park visitors intrigues me. According to NPS.gov, there were more recreation visits to the park in 2023 (13,297,648) than in 2022 (12,937,635). Although 2023 wasn’t a
These are the best ATV and side-by-side rentals in the Smoky Mountains There are so many new ways to explore the mountainous roads with the wind in your hair, either on your own or with an expert tour guide. Some tours are family-friendly, and others are more of a build-your-own adventure. Below, we’ve found the best vendors for side-by-side rentals
What to know about snow tubing in the Smokies: Pricing, reservation requirements and more The Great Smoky Mountains area is a hugely popular winter destination. Though the winter weather may be unpredictable, you can still find places to enjoy snow tubing in Pigeon Forge and the surrounding areas on just about any given day: Rowdy Bear Snow Park (Pigeon Forge,
How to make hiking in the Smokies safer As a local, I’m frequently asked the question: Is it safe to hike in the Smoky Mountains? The answer is an unequivocal yes from a statistical standpoint. Millions of people visit the Smoky Mountains annually. The number of those who encounter trouble or dangerous situations is very few. Still, there is nothing
Local offers honest review of The Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge, what to expect Comedy, in general, has changed in the years since the show “Hee-Haw” had its heyday. But let’s be real: Millions of fans couldn’t be wrong. It was a hit in rural markets but also did well in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. There was surely
Looking for something unique you can’t do anywhere else while in the Smoky Mountains? Let me be your guide We come to the Smokies – or any vacation destination – for different reasons. Some of us want the familiar. We want to go back to the places our parents took us or revisit the spots where our family made its
A Smoky Mountain local talks about one of his favorite area overlooks We were cutting through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, returning home from Bryson City, North Carolina on Newfound Gap Road – aka U.S. Route 441. I was driving so my attention was on the road and I missed some of the natural beauty of the spruce-fir forests. I
TN local lists pros and cons of the iconic train ride Bryson City, a small town located in Western North Carolina, is home to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad train ride for 10 months out of the year. But each November and December, it is the host of something more magical. Based on the classic children’s book and movie, The
The Walker Sisters Place and the women who lived within, surviving off of the land, selling trinkets to tourists In the Great Smoky Mountains, history is often found in the hollers, in the lingering crannies found in the shadow of giant mountain ridges. It’s in these historic places that the great passage of time, which in our everyday lives is
The 11-mile Tail of the Dragon features 318 curves along the side of a mountain When we moved to Blount County, Tennessee and I discovered we had a road known as The Dragon, my interest was piqued. What I found was that The Tail of The Dragon – a section of U.S. 129 – more than lives up to its name.