orienteering Archives - Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge Events

Back Roads and Shortcuts in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge

Posted May 23, 2024 by Tony Perez

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge get a lot of traffic, especially during the summer peak season. Roads through Great Smoky Mountains National Park can be crowded. Likewise, traffic along the Parkway in Pigeon Forge can be bumper-to-bumper on buys weekends.

That’s why it can be useful to know some of the alternative roads to take if the main routes are jammed.

We’re locals, so we know our way around and have developed some tricks to avoid clogged rounds during the busy season.

Here are some of our favorite shortcuts.

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Exploring Townsend in the Smoky Mountains

Posted January 20, 2023 by Tony Perez

Townsend is a small town located in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. It’s often overlooked as visitors turn south at the Wye to head toward Cades Cove, but it has its own attractions worth exploring, from the scenic roads leading into the nearby entrance to the national park, to its own cycling and walking greenways, along with its sense of history.

This is the Peaceful Side of the Smokies, often a welcome break from the crowded areas of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

Photo by Brian Stansberry

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The Less Traveled Places of the Smoky Mountains

Posted April 27, 2022 by Tony Perez

The Gatlinburg area of the Smoky Mountains gets a lot of visitors, and this can mean that things get crowded – so if you want to get out into some of the more quiet places, here’s our guide to the less traveled destinations and routes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the surrounding area.

The Less Traveled Places of the Smoky Mountains

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Getting Around Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posted January 26, 2022 by Tony Perez

Most of your forays into Great Smoky Mountains National Park will happen by car, driving certain roads purely for their stunning scenic beauty, and also to get to various places to park and immediately immerse into nature, whether taking a trail or hitting a picnic site or other attraction. This guide will help you navigate those roads.

Getting Around Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Cabin Resorts in the Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley Area

Posted October 25, 2021 by Tony Perez

We have cabins in several resorts convenient to the Pigeon Forge area of the Smoky Mountains, some close in and some farther out. Here are the Pigeon Forge and Wears valley cabin resorts for you to choose.

In the Smoky Mountains there are so many things to do and to see, spread across a sizable mountain area, that where you choose your cabin to stay in as a base for your adventures can be important. Do you want to be close to the towns with their countless attractions, or farther away from the bustle and closer to nature? Here are some cabin resort descriptions to help you choose your best location.

Cabin Resorts in the Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley Area

View from a cabin in Sherwood Forest resort.

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Special Areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posted July 10, 2021 by Tony Perez

Here is a brief guide to several distinct areas in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, useful for the new visitor to get oriented to some of the special places and scenic natural features. Visitors to the Smoky Mountains return year after year, and discover their favorite places, gradually learning many of the countless things to do and to see in the Gatlinburg area. Here are some of the more notable.

The magic of Elkmont

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Getting Around the Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge Area

Posted March 25, 2021 by Tony Perez

The Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are bustling. This gateway area to the most visited national park in the country can often be crowded, so it helps to know the best roads to use to get around, and to be able to pick out the specific areas that you and the crew want to target as you venture out from the cabin.

To help you figure out the best places and things to put into your plans, we’ve written up many guides to the things to do and the places to go – in fact, we have so many that we now need a guide to the guides, so read on for our first super-guide to getting around during your visit.

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Fall Scenic Drives and Overlooks

Posted October 10, 2020 by Tony Perez

Here are some of the best ways to get out among the fall colors of the Smoky Mountains, with scenic drives and places to observe the colors working their way down the mountain to the lower elevations, here in October, 2020.

Image – and view – courtesy of Gatlinburg Sky Lift

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The Best Airport for Flying to Gatlinburg

Posted August 28, 2020 by Tony Perez

The closest airport to Gatlinburg, TN, is McGhee Tyson, located 12 miles south of Knoxville, just over a 40-mile drive from Gatlinburg, with a few different ways to get there, depending on if you want to hit Pigeon Forge first, and any scenic options you may chose to take on the way in. McGhee Tyson is a friendly little airport, and usually a nice introduction to the friendly people of Tennessee and the Appalachian warmth and culture of the Smoky Mountains.

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Cabin Resorts in the Smoky Mountains

Posted August 25, 2020 by Tony Perez

Any vacation in the Smoky Mountains is made better by staying in a vacation cabin rental. Many cabins are located within resorts, which differ greatly in their location, setting and the amenities they offer. Knowing more about where the resorts are and what they’re like opens up the options considerably for choosing where to stay.