DonnyC

I'm coming back from nashville,tn. And want to just drive thru the smokey mountains to get home to New york city. I will probably stop one night..Where would be the best place?
And what would be the best route, to see the smokey mountains on the way home?

Gretchen

You can go to the PIgeon Forge exit just east of Knoxville and enter the park there. You can drive through it, exiting in Cherokee, for example, and from there drive on up to Ashville. I can't give you the route numbers, but it would be a nice little loop to see the Park.

jent103

The Pigeon Forge/Sevierville/Gatlinburg exit is 407. That will take you through the main commercial areas before you actually enter the park, then you can take 441 through the park (assuming it's open - definitely check this, since you don't say when you're leaving, because it can be closed in bad weather).

One alternative to avoid Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg would be to take Alcoa Highway just west of downtown Knoxville, go through Maryville and Townsend, and enter the park that way. Just depends on what you'd rather do and whether you plan to stop before or after you go through the park. Either way will put you coming out at Cherokee.

DonnyC

Thanks for the input,which place is better to stay in,Gatlingburg or eogon Forge?

DonnyC

I meant to write Pigeon Forge..

gatlinburglover

Hi Gatlinburg is a smaller walking town and you can walk to the restaurants,shopping,attractions,etc. Pigeon Forge is bigger and not a walking town but most places do have there own parking.If you like coffee then I would check out Coffee and Company in The Village Shops in Gatlinburg they have the best coffee's in the world. I love there Southern Pecan.Have fun!

http://www.gatlinburg.com/default.asp

http://www.mypigeonforge.com/

http://www.discoverthesmokies.com/

gatlinburglover

From Nashville take exit 407 go though sevierville, Pigeon Forge and through Gatlinburg and enter the park and take 441 over the mountains and go into Maggie Valley and you can take that back to the interstate or you can take the Blue Ridge Pkwy.

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

jent103

Of the two, I'd prefer to stay in Gatlinburg. You can walk to just about everything. There are sidewalks in Pigeon Forge, but it's more spread out and the traffic can be terrible. (The traffic can be terrible in Gatlinburg too, but if you keep the car parked once you're there, you won't be stuck in it!)

Travels_with_Food

Hi. I just spent 1 week in this area as a complete tourist. I much rather preferred Pigeon Forge vs Gatlinburg. There are so many places to stay in the area it would make your head spin. I couldn't make up my mind so I tried the Music Road Hotel, the Hampton Inn and the Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge. If you want something different, I highly recommend the Inn at Christmas Place. Also look for places in Sevierville as it is only separated from Pigeon Forge by a slim river on the northern side. The Hampton Inn there looked empty compared to the one in Pigeon Forge and it was cheaper.
Gatlinburg has everything within walking distance but it really reminded me of the Seaside Heights boardwalk road on steroids. Tourist stores jammed one after another with nothing of real value. Bright lights, big city which wasn't what I had in mind when visiting TN.
I was very glad to not have stayed in Gatlinburg. Yes, PF is spread out but the sidewalks are terrific and I did a lot of walking when I was there. Every place I went to had free parking. The traffic will be awful the closer you are to school ending. They are doing some construction in Gatlinburg on the road up to PF so it does bottleneck but doesn't take long to drive through.
I could have spent more than 1 week in the area and not seen all the tourist attractions I wanted to. Check your guidebook before departing the area as it may have something that interests you.
Safe travels home!