Tell me about pigeon forge

[Floridaman999]

I've never been but this thread is making me want to check it out. Sounds like a stroll down the main drag in Gatlinburg is right up my alley.

 

[Wishing on a star]

OMG, Tree Tops completely burned down during the Historic wildfires a couple years ago.
Should all be brand new.
Great location....

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (which are must minutes apart... with a LOT to do between them) are NOT that vacation atmosphere with 'adult drinks around the pool'.
It is not fForida or the Caribbean.
In fact, until recently, the county was a totally dry county.

There is the Margaritaville now!
DollyWoods DreamMOre actually has a bar.

Also, time shares are not fun party resorts.
They are condo time-shares and are family oriented.

You CAN have a blast there.
Dollywood, Splash Country, other tourist vacation stuff, and of course, the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

ENJOY!!!!!

 

[CogsworthTN]

Definitely do some day hikes in the National Park, that’s where the true beauty and relaxation will be. We also love eating at the Old Mill area in pigeon forge. The pottery house is amazing and so is the old mill restaurant. Both are worth trying. We eat at both every time we visit the area and that is four to five times per year.

 

[shoney]

OMG, Tree Tops completely burned down during the Historic wildfires a couple years ago.
Should all be brand new.
Great location....

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (which are must minutes apart... with a LOT to do between them) are NOT that vacation atmosphere with 'adult drinks around the pool'.
It is not fForida or the Caribbean.
In fact, until recently, the county was a totally dry county.

There is the Margaritaville now!
DollyWoods DreamMOre actually has a bar.

Also, time shares are not fun party resorts.
They are condo time-shares and are family oriented.

You CAN have a blast there.
Dollywood, Splash Country, other tourist vacation stuff, and of course, the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

ENJOY!!!!!

We do a lot of Mexican all
Inclusive and Orlando vacations. But around here family oriented doesn’t mean sans alcohol. Wineries are filled
With families... adults enjoying wine while the children play. The timeshare my parents own in the Berkshire mountains. (Mass) families load coolers and head to the pool.
Massanutten was culture shock for me. I really think security was going to be called because I had wine in a cup!

I will keep my adult beverages in our condo. Lol. Now that I know the culture will be different!

The resort looks amazing.

Will uber or taxi into town for an evening of moonshine tasting.

Keep the restaurants coming. We love food too! Not breakfast but lunch and dinner!!!!

So excited to go somewhere new and different to us!!!

Dollywood here we come !

We def want to do the nature trials. But the bears. Oh my!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am also a bit of a foodie...
In all honesty, this area is not known for the dining and food.
You can try some of the restaurants that offer 'Southern' food. But, really, don't plan to be impressed.
Try the baked goods and breads at the bake shop that is at the Apple Barn.
I have been wanting to try the Pizza that was mentioned, but haven't gotten there when we visited. Sounds like it might be pretty good.
Maybe try Corky's Barbeque.

 

[klacey1]

I've never been but this thread is making me want to check it out. Sounds like a stroll down the main drag in Gatlinburg is right up my alley.

It’s a lot of fun!!

We do a lot of Mexican all
Inclusive and Orlando vacations. But around here family oriented doesn’t mean sans alcohol. Wineries are filled
With families... adults enjoying wine while the children play. The timeshare my parents own in the Berkshire mountains. (Mass) families load coolers and head to the pool.
Massanutten was culture shock for me. I really think security was going to be called because I had wine in a cup!

I will keep my adult beverages in our condo. Lol. Now that I know the culture will be different!

The resort looks amazing.

Will uber or taxi into town for an evening of moonshine tasting.

Keep the restaurants coming. We love food too! Not breakfast but lunch and dinner!!!!

So excited to go somewhere new and different to us!!!

Dollywood here we come !

We def want to do the nature trials. But the bears. Oh my!

I do concur that the food isn’t amazing, but if you stick with simple fare, it’s really hearty and good.

However, drinks are definitely not taboo. Half the main drag in Gatlinburg is about free samples of booze, and PF has a ton of bars.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Pigeon Forge used to be a stop on the way to Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now it has a TON of tourist areas. I liked the Titanic Museum, but otherwise I feel Gatlinburg is a better stop. Depending on the time of year that you visit, there's a trolley that goes around the town. There's better parking in Pigeon Forge than up in Gatlinburg.

If you continue up to Cades Cove, go early in the morning. The traffic can be bumper to bumper at certain parts of the day.

 

[amberpi]

However, drinks are definitely not taboo. Half the main drag in Gatlinburg is about free samples of booze, and PF has a ton of bars.

Totally agree. My best friend has a cabin I stay in directly across from Hill Billy golf across that little creek, and we can thankfully walk to the strip so don't have to worry even about Ubering, because we always enjoy quite a couple of drinks. The OP shouldn't worry about adult beverages, they are everywhere; or at least that's my experience. I don't believe Dollywood serves alcohol however. The food there is pretty awful (except for the sweet treats!) so I've often left for lunch and come back in the later afternoon. Just some thoughts.

 

[cabanafrau]

I can't think of a single place we've ever stayed in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge that had a pool with anything more lively at the pool than a bunch of kids jumping and splashing around. It's not really a dining destination IMO either. We find it challenging to find vegetables on a menu that are not fried or buttered or sauced into submission.

For my money the best experience to be found in the area is the National Park.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, now that these are not dry counties, there are plenty of restaurant/bars!!!
But, at the resorts, they are not 'party places'. For sure.

Enjoy your adult beverages!!!
We have taken our big plastic Pineapple Willy's refillable cups and made our own 'pineapple willy' drinks in them to enjoy a the pool!!!
We have taken a bottle of wine to enjoy the afternoon and picnic at Chimney Tops. Beautiful big rushing Mountain Creek there. Get there EARLY, especially on weekends.

And, yes, in the evenings and on the weekends... The places that want you to taste and buy southern Moonshine are def. out there.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Try Chop House for prime rib...
And the Cherokee Grille for steaks and crab cakes.

 

[WaltDisneyGirl84]

I just went to Pigeon Forge for the first time ever about a month ago. It is a tourist trap for sure, as is Gatlinburg.. which is a bit sad because the Smoky Mountains are so beautiful. The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge is delicious as is a small hole in the wall deli called the Pigeon Forge Deli. Most restaurants in the area are subpar and are chains, but you can find a couple good places here and there.

When we went, we actually stayed in an Airbnb cabin in the mountains in Tallassee, which is about an hour from Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and it was beautiful. It's definitely worth visiting and there will be plenty for your kids to do there.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

It's where they forge pigeons. Today, all pigeons are fake. The last real pigeon died in 1927. All the new ones we have now are forged.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

my parents are gifting me a timeshare exchange for the summer. Looking for drivable from Long Island. PG is really not in my book but we will stay an extra night or 2 there and back.

Anyway tell me about the area. We love a festive vacation atmosphere with great food and adult beverages!

My teens want rides and fun and adventure.

Stayed at a timeshare in massanutten Virginia and well let’s just say it was not for us. Bottled water only around the pool with Barry mannilow playing isn’t for us! We aren’t huge party people by any means and will be with our teens but still want something lively

We prefer to stay in Gatlinburg. It's smaller than is Pigeon forge and less in your face tourist trap. Don't get me wrong. It's a tourist trap. But not like Pigeon Forge.

Well let me just say clubbing isn't an activity up there. Neither is sitting around the pool and drinking. I think there is a much more lively bar scene in Gatlinburg than pigeon forge. Pigeon Forge has all those dinner shows. Whereas Gatlinburg does not. That said it is what it is, a bar scene. But they do have moonshine tasting and wine tasting all the way up and down the street in addition to the bars. Be advised though. Tennessee wine is usually very sweet. They also have a trolly to get you around up there.

Dollywood is quite a nice amusement park. Splash country is a nice water park. That's rides fun, and adventure for you. They also in both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg have mini golf, Pigeon forge has go karts, and the like and bungie jumping. Loads of em. There are zip lines and mountain coasters. They're the bungie jumping of this decade.

If you're looking for great food, Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg isn't it. But you can find some very good food up there. I do like the food at Dollywood as far as theme park food goes. Splash country on the other hand leaves much to be desired.

They have a lot more of the national and super regional chains moving in up there. I try to avoid them. The furthest I go is local chains.

They don't really have great bbq up there. Calhoun's or Bennett's is about the best they have and that is just a little bit better than Famous Daves or Corky's (they have that too) or some other chain. Some people are a bit hesitant for dive BBQ. But often you can find great BBQ at such places. Boss Hogg's is pretty good. Preachers too. But not the best examples I can find of that.

Avoid the all you can eat country catfish places. Try the Trout house in Gatlinburg instead. Trout is a better fish. And they do it far better than the $10 all you can eat catfish places.
Think about what a catfish eats as an adult. It's a bottom feeder that eats mud and algae and maybe some small critters down there. So what does it taste like? Mud, and Algae.

All in all I think Southern or "Kountry" cookin is a bit too forced. Most of it isn't that good and much of it is way over priced.

Several breakfast places I hear are quite good. But we always eat the free breakfast at the hotel. They are never much but the price is right. $0.

For sandwiches, There is a place called the hofbrauhaus. It gets some bad reviews because it isn't German and people expect German. But it has good sandwiches at reasonable prices. You have to go to the back of the cheese shop and go upstairs. It doesn't have many tables though so don't go during a rush. Parson's deli features old style steamed sandwiches that used to be common in east Tennessee but aren't any longer. And it's right next to Hillbilly Golf. So after your mini golf, walk on over. Nothing special. But cheap.

I think the best thing they do up there is steak. I suggest Cherokee Grill and Steakhouse up in Gatlinburg. You want a steak here. And I don't want to hear your $20 sirloin wasn't much better than Logan's. Spend The extra $7 to $10 and move up to a better steak. I loved the Boursin Filet. The Tennessee Blue cheese grits are nice on the side. I knew they'd clash a bit with the Boursin. But I got em anyway. Just to try em. They were quite good. And usually I do not like grits. We also got the smoked trout starter. Quite good. Alamo is good also as is Peddler. We found them about the same quality at a slightly higher price. The view is better at Peddler, however.

Italian. There was one on the Gatlinburg strip. It was plain ole stuff. I think it was actually named best Italian on the strip. Ok. But the prices were decent. Don't go for anything not standard here. Taste of Italy on the east side of town off the strip was a lot better. We were keyed up on Big Daddy's pizza. But we found that though it was decently good, it didn't live up to the hype. This is not an Italian food hot spot by any means.

Mexican food. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHA!!! Nuff said.

Vegetarian. You have to look but there are places that are good up there. Most places up there though, you're not going to like. You won't find vegetables up there done the way you like em.

The national park is nice. Laurel Falls is a fun hike on a paved trail. Abram's falls is nice as well. Clingman's dome is just a short paved hike. But it's steep for most of its distance. And you are at 6,000 feet. So don't over do it if you're not in good shape. Our favorite falls was on the North Carolina side, not quite in the park Mingo Falls. EZPZ very short hike. Someone mentioned bears. Mostly you should not have much trouble. You can hike time and time again without ever seeing one. Even with a cub if the bear has an out, she'll take it. If her only out is to go through you, she'll do what she has to. Don't feed them. This makes them lose their instinct to run from humans and to see humans as a food source. They eventually start aggressively harassing humans and have to be put down.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We love it. The Aquarium is awesome. hilly billy golf places fun. Best Outlets. hiking the mountains are incredible. We done wine & Whiskey tastings downtown.

Yes, the wine and moonshine tastings are a must! Do not forget to bring your ID to the tastings, though. They will card everyone. I saw them card a man who had to have been over 75.

Also, "The Village" (in Gatlinburg) has some neat little shops. I love the Spice shop and we usually grab a coffee and doughnut at the Donut Friar.

The Sky lift is fun and the roaring fork motor nature trail is a good way to see bears and other wild life. I've heard the Titanic thing in Pigeon Forge is neat, but I've never been. We love camping and hiking in the park. Cades Cove is a beautiful area.

 

[Music City Mama]

I shamefully admit we've never been and we live just outside of Nashville. I've been to Knoxville and Gatlinburg when I was a kid (for the World's Fair), but we've lived here for over 17 years, and we've never traveled to east TN. Thinking about it over our fall break, though.

 

[cabanafrau]

I shamefully admit we've never been and we live just outside of Nashville. I've been to Knoxville and Gatlinburg when I was a kid (for the World's Fair), but we've lived here for over 17 years, and we've never traveled to east TN. Thinking about it over our fall break, though.

I bet it would be gorgeous in the fall.

 

[Hikergirl]

Pigeon Forge was one of my favorite vacations.
We did some of the touristy stuff but spent most of our time hiking and seeing the sights in the park.
The cabin we rented was in Pigeon Forge with a beautiful view but we liked Gatlinburg better for strolling at night.
Pigeon Forge is just like a divided highway with restaurants, stores, tourist traps, etc.
I can't speak specifically for the food, we ate a few places, and I don't know if I'd go there if it wasn't for Smoky Mountain Nat'l Park, but we did love it and I can't wait to go back.

 

[mousefan73]

Stop at the Great Smokey Natl. park information/tourist office . Great ladies that will answer any question.. I believe it was right outside of PF and on the right before you hit Gatlinburg.

 

[amberpi]

I shamefully admit we've never been and we live just outside of Nashville. I've been to Knoxville and Gatlinburg when I was a kid (for the World's Fair), but we've lived here for over 17 years, and we've never traveled to east TN. Thinking about it over our fall break, though.

It is gorgeous in the fall as another poster suggested. It's my favorite time to go.