Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Well the g/f has some "vacation" that she bought which I'm sure is a time share type of thing as it was really cheap. She wants to go to Pigeon Forge, TN as that was 1 of the 3 choices. This would be over Thanksgiving (Thursday-Sunday). I know nothing about the area other than there are mountains and hopefully streams filled with trout. :D So I ask of you if you are up to the challege and have the time and information to tell me about the area. Thank you!

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Their website says the have a Holllywood wax museum! :wo:wo:wo

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

This is the one I'm looking at Bob. :D

http://www.mypigeonforge.com/explore...mountains.aspx

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

WOW.. This was the best choice out of 3? I can't imagine what the other two were! LOL

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Pigeon Forge is a little tourist trap on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, Andrew. You can go to Dollywood while you're there. :=:

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I aint much on the tourist trap towns up there like Pigeon Forge, Cherokee and the like. But it is an awesome area. You are close to Cades Cove which is a must see. It's not a long trip to take 441 through the mountains to Cherokee. I was just up there a couple months ago and have been there several time and always enjoy it Andrew.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I'm not much for tourist traps either. We plan to be outdoors as long as the weather cooporates. She wants to do a night of camping and hiking in the mountains. Thanks for the info. so far.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

It's either this or Myrtle Beach or Orlando. We've both been to Orlando before seperately and neither of us has been to the Smokeys or Myrtle Beach.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

This has gotten me written all over it. I grew up 30 miles from MB and have been there more times than I care to count and I have spent several vacations in PF.

Both are tourist traps, but they are other things to do.

If you like the beach, plenty of places to eat and play golf, and some night life, MB is for you. Many, many miles of all of that. Lots of people, cars, but lots of scantly-clad chicks to look at :). Really no where to get away from the bustle except in the middle of a good golf course or on the extremes ends of the strand. Huntington Beach and MB State park are a little quieter, as are some of the northern areas. Lots of shopping and seafood.

If you like the mountains, cool scenery, and Dollywood, PF is for you. We've taken our kids to Dollywood and to Splash Country a few times and it's perfect for our family. The ride through the mountains on 441 is cool. The trip back to Cherokee gives quite a few places to camp, hike, and explore. My kids aren't old enough for that yet. PF has plenty of places to eat and they have a lot of touristy-type places in the 5 miles major drag. You can also shop. You can also go to Gatlinburg, which is another tourist trap with a small drag of places to spend your money.

Comparison-wise: MB goes on and on and on while PF is a small 5-6 mile stretch. For MB, you can start at Pawleys Island in the south and go to nearly Little River in the north and it'll give you around 40+ miles of stuff to see and do. PF is about 7-8 miles from the southern city limits to Sevierville. Google both and look around.

Being a young buck with a GF, I'd choose MB. Thanksgiving in PF will be past the autumn leave changing prime and it'll be cold and a lot more drab than the summer months. I can't imagine anything to do that time of the year up there other than hike or camp. Dollywood is still open, but riding a coaster in cold weather doesn't sound appealing. MB in Nov can still produce pleasant, warm days and the crowds will be thinned from the summer bustle. Good deals can be had.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

^^This.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

One good thing about Pigeon Forge . . . it's upwind of Canton NC.


Believe me, you don't wanna be downwind of Canton. :pu



:D

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Smoky Mountain Brewery

http://www.smoky-mtn-brewery.com/

Also a location in Gatlinburg. Get the sampler. 7-9 beers, 6.5 oz each. less than $10. Number depends on what seasonal beers are available. Your time frame, there will probably be 9 beers! Be aware, if you like their beer (which I do!), and want to carry some home with you..... Their beers ARE NOT pasteurized, and will require refrigeration 24-7, so I bring a cooler and keep the beers iced if I plan on carrying any home. Each of their locations has it's own micro-brewery on-site, and fully visible from the customer areas.

If you want a better shopping time, more "real" crafts, go thru 'Artist Valley" area off Hwy 321 going north out of Gatlinburg. shops are farther apart, require more driving, but they are mostly true artists and their output, verses mass manufactured trinkets you're more likely to find in PF and Gatlinburg. There's a good map on this site that gives you a good idea of what all is available on this 8 mile loop.

http://www.gatlinburgcrafts.com/

If you plan a trip to Cherokee, plan it with enough time to turn off and travel to Clingman's Dome. And go to the top for the observation deck (it's a strenuous hike, but well maintained and more due to incline, not length.

There is an excellent cigar and pipe tobacco shop inside the Gatlinburg "Mall" on the right just past the aquarium (which is also a good trip). If you go to the Mall, make the trip to the top level for the pepper shop. Don't burn off all your tastebuds! They have some really hot stuff there, and they have samples for tasting for many of the items they sell. Including a 1 to 10 scale of hot sauces/salsas for the brave!

If you go into Gatlinburg for a day or two, consider riding the Tram to Ober Gatlinburg. Decent ride, and there's snow skiing and an ice rink at the top (though I don't know the dates they make snow (if not already present).

Depending on where you are coming from, find a route into PF that DOES NOT involve coming in on Hwy 66 thru Servierville. While it doesn't look that long on the map, when it's bumper to bumper, it takes a long time. However, your girlfriend may be interested in the outlet center in Servierville.

Cade's Cove was mentioned previously. Definitely a "Must See" plus there is a campground at the very entrance into the Cove, with tent-sites, RV sites, a store, bicycle and horse rentals. A good chance to see the cove and to get the camping in you would like to do!

http://www.reserveamerica.com/campin...O&parkId=70969

We (wife, myself and out children's families) do a semi-regular Christmas vacation to Gatlinburg, so we are there almost every year. Gatlinburg does a huge decoration drive for Christmas, and the lights and displays that will be in place from Nov 7, 2012 thru February 28, 2013. This will be the 37th year for the event.

In my opinion, PF is more of a tourist trap than Gatlinburg or Cherokee. Not a lot to recommend Cherokee to you, except for the casino. And it was 100% machines last time I was there, which interests me NOT A BIT. The ride over there is excellent, but can be congested and frustrating.

PF is too spread out to walk it all. Gatlinburg's downtown area can easily be walked in a couple of hours with time for stops in many stores. In half a day, you can almost look thru all the stores and walk it. Look to park on the edge of town near the aquarium, and leave the car there. Plenty of places to eat. Again, consider the Black Bear restaurant (The brewery's location) on the park end of town, its in a side retail center half a block off the main road to the left.

Enjoy the trip. There's lots of things to do that don't fall under "tourist trap". PM me if you have specific questions.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

BTW,

There is a stream running between the road lanes (dividing the highway's south and north bound lanes) between PF and Gatlinburg that I always see fly fishermen on, and there are other trout streams in the area, so if that's what you are looking for, pack your gear, it's available.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Thanks for the excellent information Sville

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I just got back from there, Andrew, and I had a great time. If you are going, get rolling, its cooling off a bit and the
rates are way down. Look into this place... http://patriotgetaways.com/ They have an entire listing of cabins
that are half price right now, and you WANT them to be half price, believe me. In the Smokies, on the way to
Cades Cove there is a place called Tremont, on the west prong of the Little River. Excellent trout stream and
almost no one but trout fishermen go there. Find out HOW you can gain access to fish it, since it IS in a national park.
But I see people fishing there all the time. If you stay in the Wears Valley community of Pigeon Forge area, you will
be about a half hour from the stream. I doubt you will want to do much in pigeon forge itself, but the GSMNP is
AWESOME and there is a lot to do while you are there. Check out this website, too: http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/difficulty.htm
This is my favorite area of the country. it is one unbelievable place, just breathtaking beauty and biologic diversity.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Another +1 for Pigeon Forge. I've taken my family there 3 times and stayed in the 'official Dollywood' cabins. We really had a great time.

Yes, tourist trap. Easy enough not to fall into it, though.

Can't say enough good things about Dollywood and Splash Country, if that's your thing. Really clean, nice places.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is right down the road, and offers a metric S-Ton of stuff to do, if that's your thing. Both in car and on foot, easily days worth of stuff to explore if you're looking for more natural experiences.

Plenty of rafting places, ATV tours and zip line tours around the immediate area as well. Hell, there are 3 helicopter ride places coming in on the main road! ($10!!!)

Several decent places to eat on the main drag in PF as well.

Oh, and a little cigar shop called Stogies in the Smokies! Its a hole-in-the-wall little place, but the woman who works in there has been very nice to me every time I've stopped in. Gotta take a picture sitting in front of it smoking a stick... -(P

Of course, just like cigars, its all a matter of taste so take this with a grain of salt and remember what you paid for it! :)

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Pigeon Forge is a tourist trap shi thole that prides itself in 9.75% sales tax, high lodging tax and super expensive food. TGI Fridays admitted to me that they had a special menu for Pigeon Forge that was higher than national average. I hate the place and don't plan on going back anytime soon.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I'd have gone with Myrtle Beach. Like was already said, miles and miles of Atlantic beach and plenty to do for anybody. Plus, there's Nick's Cigar World

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Been to PF twice now, once with just the wife and I and once with the family. Would go back in a heartbeat.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I enjoyed it. Driving over to Gatlingburg and doing some hikes in between. Also Cades Cove. Bush's Baked Beans has their plant about 20min away. It has a restaurant that was pretty good( no beer). Bring sticks with you. And I did not go to Dollyworld. There is a winery in PF.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Oh yeah, Nick's in North MB. Beer on tap and lots of good smokes.

Both are good places to go - but the end of November time frame would push me to the coast.

Who doesn't love a fabulous seafood dinner in Murrell's Inlet?

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Dead Dog Saloon!!!!!!!! Great food, great entertainment!!! And don't let name fool you. Not a saloon as much as a restaurant with a bar, and live entertainment almost every day. If you ended up going to MB, you owe it to yourself to hit Murrell's Inlet!!

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Appears she booked her "coupon" and I hesitate to say that since she has to attend a 2 hour time share bs presentation in Pigeon Forge, TN. They put us up in the Holiday Inn Express. Being a teacher she can only go over Thanksgiving really. We do wineries so I'm sure we'll look that one up while there. We may book one of those cabins that Brad recommended for a night as well. Thanks for the information everyone!

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I like the NC side of the Smokies, specifically Bryson City and points nearby. Probably should keep my yap shut about how nice it is over there though, would hate to see Gatlinburg-ish crowds.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Lol!! This Gatlinburg guy already knows about NC side's benefits! However, I can be sitting in a room on the Gatlinburg side in 4 hours or less, and can "sneak" into the area thru Wear Valley backroads and miss 100% of Pigeon Forge and it's traffic. Maggie Valley, Bryson City and such adds 1 1/2 to 2 hours (or more), with travel thru several areas that can have major traffic stoppages and no way around. The NC side has great views, less crowds and we have visited many times. Mostly, it's a time and access to amenity issue that puts us around the Gatlinburg area. OTOH, our best friends are 95% NC side, 5% Gatlinburg visitors!

The other thing against the NC side for us is that we can get comparable views, traffic, events and amenities in the NW Georgia mountains, at only 3 hours away. And like you, we hesitate to advertise the NW Georgia area for fear it will encourage traffic!!!!!

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I'm sure you'll bring some cigars with you but there are two B&Ms in Gatlinburg that I know of. As you come into Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge you pass a few stores then the road comes to a Y intersection. On the right is Sweet Fanny Adams theater and a few doors up from that is a B&M. The other is called Gatlinburlier (link: http://gatlinburlier.com/ ) and it's on the 3rd or 4th floor of the little shopping mall just a little further up the street, directly across from No Way Jose's (good Mexican food) and Ripley's Aquarium. Gatlinburlier is where I picked up my first briar pipe, lo those many years ago. :)

Around Thanksgiving you say? Maybe my wife and I will need to take a day-trip down to Gburg around then, not that we'll want to intrude if you're off on a romantic getaway lol. We're just 2 hours up the road near Bristol, TN/VA. :)

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Johnathan

When was the last time you were in Gatlinburg? I think when we were there for our son's wedding 20 months ago that the free-standing shop had closed. May have just not looked well, had other things on our mind:D

Gatlinburlier always had a better selection, and has an actual walk-in humidor, where the other store had only showcases (which they DID keep at proper humidity. The Gatlinburlier still has an excellent selection of pipes and pipe tobaccos, and if you bring your pipe in with you, they will give you a free bowlful for it!! When we were there in 2009, they had a full box of Sharks that no one seemed interested in! They sold it to me for $225 in a heartbeat.

I'd be interested to know if the freestanding shop still exist. The lady running it last time I went in there (probably 2008) was super nice and helpful, though not near as knowledgeable as Jeremy or myself, but still helpful and NOT pushy.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I am still learning so there's not much i can contribute but maybe this will help some...

I was in Gatlinburg about 6 weeks ago as i was just getting interested in cigars, so i was on the lookout for any shops around.

I found the one on the top floor of the mall and it is still going strong and stil; offering the free samples for your pipe fill, about 20+ different tobaccos to choose form for that.

The little storefront on the right as you enter G'burg is actually in a strip building next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. There was a lady that ran it and large vertical display humidors on both walls. She seemed knowledgeable but then again to me anybody would seem knowledgeable. However, the point is they are still open for business and from the sounds of it nothing much has changed from the times when the previous posters were there.

Hope this helps

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

I too prefer the Gatlinburlier shop. Great people, knowledgeable and passionate (especially about pipes :) ) and a good selection of pipes, tobacco and cigars. The smaller shop by the Hard Rock Cafe was decent but not as large.

My wife and I were in Gatlinburg in early June. We caught a baseball game in Knoxville then spent the night, visiting Gatlinburg the next day before heading home.

Re: Tell me about Pigeon Forge, TN.
 

Thanks for the info. That explains why I didn't see it. It was in a free-standing building (small house-like log bldg) last time I was in it, maybe a block closer to Pigeon Forge than the Hard Rock. They have moved since I went into it several years ago. Last couple times, I've always gone to the Gatlinbulier.