Restaurants

The closest thing to fine dining you can find in the park is a hot dog or burger at the camp store deli in Cades Cove or a Coke from a vending machine at a visitor center. If you’re up for a 14- or 15-mile round-trip hike, there is a dining room at LeConte Lodge, which offers a sack lunch (overnight guests get breakfast and dinner included in the rate and can spring extra for the lunch). But the best idea for dining in the park is to create your own gourmet meal with an alfresco picnic at one of the park's 11 attractive picnic areas.

Outside the park you'll find many more dining options, from fast food to fine dining, the latter especially in Asheville, which is known for its farm-to-table, locavore food culture. On the Tennessee side, both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, which might just rank among the most touristy towns in the country, have myriad fast-food and family dining choices. Knoxville also has many good dining options.