Driving from Gatlinburg to Chattanooga
 

Mapquest shows that it's almost three hours if we go back to Knoxville and then take I75 to Chattanooga, about an hour longer if we take smaller roads. Does this seem accurate to those of you who have made this drive? And which route would you recommend?

It depends...
When you leave Gatlinburg and head toward I-40 through Pigeon Forge and then Sevierville you could be in for a lot of traffic. During the week, if you leave in the morning - before all the tourist traffic picks up, you risk sitting in Knoxville rush hour traffic. On Saturday, not so bad - but you need to know if the Vols are playing in town. If you wait until late morning to leave, you are in with all the 11am hotel/condo check-outs. It takes 1.5 hours to get to Chattanooga from West Knoxville, .5 hrs to get to Exit 407 on I-40, then around an hour to get to Gatlinburg. Yep - I think 3 hrs is about right.

We'll most likely be driving on a Thursday evening. What about taking 321 towards Lenoir City and getting on I75 to Chattanooga there?

On a Thursday evening I would go back to I40 through Sevierville (or the back way, Veterans Parkway) then Knoxville down. I came through there tonight and Knoxville was easy at 5:30 on a Friday. I40 will be much faster than the backroads and traffic lights.

Thanks to everyone--I guess it's the expressway for us.

On Thursday evening, definitely I-40