Things Not To Do in Wears Valley

Between Townsend and Pigeon Forge, these are the things you shouldn’t do in this under-appreciated part of the Smokies

Growing up in Blount County, not far from Townsend, I had three routes from which I could choose when heading to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. Which route I chose often depended on my destination. We could cut through Seymour and head up Chapman Highway to Sevierville. This was the route I’d go to get to Dollywood via Veterans Boulevard or places like that. At the time, there wasn’t much to do in Sevierville, so this was not really a preferred route.

Another option would be to go into the Townsend entrance of the National Park to take the godforsaken Little River Road to the upper end of Gatlinburg. I hate that route. It’s the only time I’ve ever gotten car sick in the driver’s seat.

And so – basically since I got my driver’s license at 17 (it’s a long story involving a knee injury, a stick shift and a driver’s test failed for going too slow) – I’ve been making my way to the mountains through Wears Valley. Even all these years later it remains one of my favorite spots in the Smokies. It’s grown a lot since my heyday. But it remains an interesting mix of little parts of Townsend, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. 

Things not to do in Wears Valley

Forget about the history

Right on the edge of the National Park, Wears Valley played an important role in the formation of what would become the mountain communities and the National Park. Nearby landmarks include the Little Greenbrier School. One of the more accessible historic sites in the Smokies, you can drive almost right up to the Little Greenbrier School in the summer or fall. But the road is closed in winter and spring. Or you can hike there via the Metcalf Bottoms trail year-round.

The one-room schoolhouse was built in 1882 and remained in use until 1936. It also served as a church and community gathering spot. The logs for the cabin were provided by Ephraim Ogle, the great-great grandson of Martha Ogle. Martha was the founder of the community that would become White Oak Flats and eventually Gatlinburg. 

John Walker helped build the schoolhouse. He was the father of the famous Walker Sisters who remained in the National Park with a life grant on the land. The five Walker Sisters became nationally famous following an article in the Saturday Evening Post. The sisters became a tourist attraction in their own right. They sold homemade goods and poems and other such trinkets from the family cabin – parts of which had been built in the late 1830s or early 1840s. 

Though the last of the sisters died in 1962, the cabin remains today. It is a relatively short hike from the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse along the Little Brier Gap Trail. And it also offers a nice mountain hike, pretty scenery and a view into the world in which the mountain people lived before the arrival of the National Park. 

Skip Metcalf Bottoms

Metcalf Bottoms is the frequently forgotten member of the Big 3 picnic areas in this part of the National Park. It isn’t as well known – imo – as the Chimney Picnic area above Gatlinburg or the Cades Cove Picnic Area. But with 122 sites and reservable pavilion, its location right on the Little River makes for an ideal central location between Gatlinburg and Townsend. It’s a popular destination for family get-togethers, reunions, and celebrations.

Our family used to come down from Indiana for big cookouts and tubing when the water was high enough. You can access it from Little River Road, but I always choose the Wears Valley entrance. In addition to the above-mentioned activities, it’s a good spot for launching some hiking excursions. Or do a little fishing or just hanging out in and around the water – a fishing license is required. No trip to Wears Valley is complete until you stop by Metcalf Bottoms. 

Underestimate the dining

Wears Valley has been a place where culinary artists who may not have the funding to launch a venture in Pigeon Forge proper have found a home. Currently, there are some fun and interesting places to eat in the Valley. One of them is Pawpaw’s Kitchen – a Cajun place run by a former gulf coast tugboat deckhand/cook.

Another expatriate – this one from Philly – is behind the meaty success of Bigfoot Philly Cheesesteaks. You’ve also got down home options at Grandmothers Kitchen, Hillbilly’s Restaurant and Elvira’s Café. There’s also a fairly strong food truck community. 

Rule out staying nearby

Traditional hotel options in Wears Valley are thin at best. But there’s a strong community of rental properties, cabins and other options that give you a real mountain getaway experience. And its within a relatively short drive of Pigeon Forge.

One of our favorites in the area is Little Valley Mountain Resort. It has a Sevierville address but is accessible through Pigeon Forge on Wears Valley Road to Little Valley Road. Is this resort in Wears Valley? No. It’s in nearby Little Valley – hence the name. But it’s spiritually and physically close. It also features dozens of luxury cabin rentals ready to accommodate a variety of vacation needs.

The resort – spread across 300 acres of beautiful mountain terrain – features a variety of privately owned custom-built cabins and cottages. If you want to literally be in Wears Valley, there are dozens of vacation rentals in the valley and in the surrounding mountains. 

Forget about the Foothills Parkway

For most of my life traveling through Wears Valley, there was an on-ramp to a roadway that was blocked off. I called it the on-ramp to nowhere. Part of the long-suffering Foothills Parkway project, the on-ramp to nowhere remained a mystery to me for literal decades.

Foothills Parkway was approved during FDR’s administration – approved but not funded. The roadway was created with eight planned sections to be 72-miles of roadway between the Dragon and I-40 near Hartford. Construction began in the 60s to add three of the eight sections – 8A, 8G, and 8H – that were started and finished. Construction on sections on 8E and 8F began in the 70s and stalled.

The section that connects Wears Valley to US 129 in Maryville was finally finished in 2018 – roughly 20 years after my first trip to the Valley. The complete roadway remains unfinished. The portion connecting Wears Valley to the Gatlinburg Spur – the roadway between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – still needs to be done. I think it would be cool if they’d try to finish for the 100th anniversary of the park’s dedication in 1940, but it seems unlikely at this point. 

Still, you can drive part of the Parkway through beautiful countryside and see parts of the mountains that some of us could only dream of for much of the last 80 years.

In fact, we could argue that our grandparents – or our great-grandparents – planned in the 40s for us to drive this roadway. So, we owe it to their memories to get up there and go. I will say that young me, who drove past that on-ramp to nowhere for years and years, would encourage you to get up there and explore it. 

What is your favorite go-to in Wears Valley? Let us know in the comments!