We spent three weeks in Pigeon Forge, right outside of the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee side (the GSM are in Tennessee and North Carolina).
We were unprepared for how touristy Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were. Pigeon Forge is home of Dolly World which is an amusement park (think Six Flags or maybe even Disney World). There were probably six or seven different amusement parks in this tiny town. There were multiple go-kart tracks and put-put golf courses. There were at least four moonshine distilleries. There were nightly dinner shows. It was an amusement vacation spot and filled with tourists. Gatlinburg was smaller and terrible to drive through because the main strip was only two lanes and it was through the center of town which was full of shops catering to tourists (candy, toys, bars, clothing, etc). Both towns were packed to the gills with people on vacation.
Then there was the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We heard traffic and parking were difficult so the three days we went into the park we left our place around 8am so we could get into the park before 9am. The first trip we mostly just drove around. My brother was named after Cades Cove, a popular loop and camping spot on one end of the park. It’s a one way drive that they close to automobiles on Wednesdays so bikers and hikers can have it to themselves. We went on a Saturday. We encountered some traffic, but only because the cars had stopped to take pictures of the black bears. There were at least three bears, several deer and elk, and at one turkey.
After Cades Cove we drove up to Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome), the highest peak in the park. We were very lucky that on our drive through the parking lot we found a spot on the end that was perfect for Betty so we parked and hiked the very steep 1/2 mile up to the lookout tower. We were there around 1pm so we didn’t see any misty smoky mountains but there were some nice clouds.
To round out our day of driving, we then went down to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the North Carolina side of the park. The drive was nice, winding through a forest and next to a river some of the time. There were a few short tunnels. Scott said it felt very much like driving in Oregon.
Our next trip in we met up with my friend and colleague Amber who was out visiting family. We hiked through the Little River Trail, a nice cool walk along a river and back through the forest. We encountered one little waterfall. I was a bit shocked by the lack of wildlife. We heard some birds but really the only interesting wildlife we encountered was a dead hairy-tailed mole, some mushrooms, and millipedes.
Our third and last trip into the park we stopped at the Sugarlands Visitor Center (the main one at the TN entrance. Every other time we had driven past it was chock full of cars trying to park and looked like chaos we were not interested in getting into. This time we arrived just as it opened at 9am. We asked a ranger places to go to see wildlife. He recommended a few spots so we headed out to find birds and butterflies. We hiked on a Quiet Trail, unmarked trails you can park at a pullout on the road and wander down by the river.
It was pretty and we could hear some birds and saw a lot of insects, particularly these iridescent blue damselflies (Ebony Jewelwing).
After wandering this trail for a bit we headed back out to explore two other locations. To get to them we made a wrong turn and had to drive through Gatlinburg. Luckily it wasn’t quite as packed but unluckily there was a group of Canada Geese walking down the road blocking traffic. Eventually we made it to the Greenbrier Picnic Area which was quite empty for the middle of a day on Sunday. We saw some birds then headed back home.
I must say I was expecting to see more wildlife because I’ve read so much about the Discover Life in America (https://dlia.org/) project, but perhaps we didn’t go the right places or visit at the right time. We left a bit disappointed in this park after hearing so much about it, but I suppose that’s the way it goes sometimes. I think visiting here in the fall or spring would be amazing, to see the changing colors and/or the fireflies.
Next up, Nashville and whiskey distillery tours.