Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge
 

Our family (7 of us, including 2 grandchildren 5 & 9)will be travelling to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge on July 4. I have gone on line many times and am very confused about the cabins offered. We would like to stay in a nice one with a nice view, but how do you decide which one. There are so many to pick from. Also at that time of the year which location is the best place to stay. We don't want to be in our car all the time in traffic. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Hands down, for cabins in that area go to Oak Haven Resort..oakhavenresort.com

I just looked on tripadvisor.com today and Oak Haven is rated 5 out of 5. I think they are listed in Sevierville.

These cabins are beautiful! I have stayed on seen about 12-15 of them and they are all great.

Be prepared for gridlock, if you want to visit any of the restaurants and sites in the area.
True, we were there at the height of leaf-peeping season, but I suspect it is a busy spot any time of year. It took us several hours to get from the Knoxville airport to Gatlinburg, usually no more than a half hour trip. That was on a Saturday. However, it is an interesting area. We really enjoy the GSMNP and spent much of our time there. I think your family would enjoy a day at Dollywood--a bit tacky, but, nevertheless, great fun. The shows, which are usually included with admission, are very high quality. The food there leaves a lot to be desired, but it does the job. Gatlinburg is fun to walk around, but parking is at a premium.
Drive the Roaring Fork Motor Trail for some flora, fauna, and period houses. The Aquarium is supposed to be worth a visit, although we did not get there. Ride the buses whenever you can. They provide an inexpensive, alternative form of transportation. We also loved the Cades Cove area in the park. I would recommend getting a very early start to avoid the bumper-to-bumper experience. Greenbriar, another section of the park, has beautiful river scenery and is less crowded. I can't help you with cabins, as we stayed in a timeshare, but other posters seem to be advising you on accomodations.

Pigeon Forge is a tacky nightmare with tons and tons of traffic....Gatlinburg is much better...its fun to walk around in the town area .It can be a problem getting into Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge but once you get up the mountain there is a bit less congestion.Its gonna be HOT that time of year and crowded.....being from the area, you couldnt pay me to venture up there during that time of year...you might want to considering visiting in the fall...its really neat then.Also, Dollywood would normally be fun for the kids..but in that heat, they will be miserable.Like I said, the fall is much much better.Good Luck!

I am sure capri767 is correct about the heat in July being in the south. We were there in October and found it quite comfortable. Since the children are of school age, I am sure that is why etattar selected that date. What about the Columbus Day weekend for travel, etattar?

Well, if you want in absolutely horrific traffic...go to the area in October! That's prime leaf season and football time in Tennessee.
The last time I went up in October, I swore..never again.
Dollywood has lots of water rides, the upper elevations in the mountains are beautiful.
Get a good map..there are some back ways, but again, traffic congestion is a problem.
What do you want to do? Maybe that will dictate the area you stay in.

Thanks for your info. From checking things out Oak Haven seems great, but a little far. We we thinking of staying closer to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. I called Oak Haven and asked for a recommendation and they recommended Hidden Mountain. They didn't look as nice as Oak Haven. What about them and Eagle Crest. Does anyone know if either are nice and closer to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. This is hard work. Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

We were in Pigeon Forge/Gatlingburg for Labor Day, last September.

We stayed with:

http://www.auntiebelhams.com/

Our particular cabin did not have a great view, but the cabin itself was beautiful, with a hot tub on the side porch.

You can peruse there list based on your criteria.

There are tons of cabins in the area where we stayed and some were HUGE and appeared to have great views (just not ours).

http://www.auntiebelhams.com/

It was VERY congested on our drive, by the way, to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and we were about in the middle between the two towns (maybe a little closer to Gatlinburg).

I grew up in upstate SC and we traveled to this area nearly every year of my childhood, both in the summer and the fall. Lo, those many years ago, it was not as congested as it is now. We spent most of our time in Maggie Valley or Cherokee, however. My guess is perhaps the casinos (slots) in Cherokee have added to the congestion, year round.

If I were go again, I will shy away from these "touristy" areas and look for something more in the "Sapphire Valley" or Highlands area or maybe even Asheville, but I don't have kids to entertain any longer.

Good luck

etattar...I recommended Oak Haven to you, and I will be there July 4th weekend! Tried to talk my friends out of going then, but NO...so, we will meet them there and love it I'm sure.

Anyway, back to your question. I have also stayed at Hidden Mountain (the one behind the Apple Barn). Have only stayed in the 2 BR villas, not the cabins. They are very nice. The location for Hidden Mountain is great..right near Pigeon Forge, but the resort is actually hidden! You don't even know it is there!

My friend and her husband stay at the other Hidden Mountain property and love it! However, she has indicated they have had great cabins and not so great cabins.

If you are planning to do Dollywood/Splash Country you can take a back way from Oak Haven to those places and probably make it in the same amount of time as you can from Hidden Mountain to them by the time you sit in traffic on The Parkway.

Don't know about Eagle Crest, but they have been around for quite some time. You might also check with the Chamber or Visitors Center for other places. Everytime we go up they are building tons and tons of new places.

We are going up the weekend of February 5th and staying at Laurel Crest Resort on Wears Valley Road.

I will let you know if I see any new cabins of interest. The kids are the perfect age for Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge! They will love it.

Have fun.

We stayed in a cabin at Eagle crest last summer and loved it. They are located about 3 miles off the main parkway in Pigeon Forge. Go to Timber Tops.com to check them out. The nice thing is that you can look at each cabin individually online. We looked at Hidden Springs while there and didn't like it at all. It was very congested.
We had considered Oak Haven, but it really is too far from Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for me.
There are many times of the year that are busy beyond belief in the Smokies, and the 4th of July is one of them. Just be prepared for the crowds and try not to get there late in the evening.

iceeu2 - Thanks for your answers. We made a reservation at Sugar Maple Cabins (cabin name - Above It All). It looks nice, but who knows. When you're there this weekend check it out. Do you have any idea of the best shows to go to with the kids. We thought we'd do that 2 of the nights. Hope you have good weather this weekend and have a great time. Let me know anything you find out.

There are some new cabins that overlook Dollywood. Does anyone know the name of that development? Seems like they'd have really great views and a pretty good location as well.

I have to disagree with the statement that Dollywood is tacky. Most of Pigeon Forge may be tacky, but Dollywood is a *great* park, and one of the best theme parks in America. I'm a coaster enthusiast and I've been to TONS of parks around the country and even in other countries. The only park I can think of that comes close to Dollywood in beauty is Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Dollywood is also one of the few parks in the United States where you'll find something for everyone in your family. The park is expanding its "County Fair" section this year, adding more kiddie/family rides and hopefully making the area a little less claustrophobic. And with the addition of the new wooden coaster Thunderhead last year, teenagers may actually want to visit the park.

My grandchildren (ages 5&6) absolutely loved Black Bear Jamboree. It is a dinner show..and pricey, but the food is actually pretty good..plus, I think kids get in free or at a really reduced rate.

They also loved The Comedy Barn..put on by the same people as Black Bear Jamboree. Hilarious..good clean family humour..that the adults and kids will all enjoy.

Dixie Stampede is up there and always crowded, but my least favorite of the shows. It's a dinner show also.

My oldest granddaughter just loves Country Tonite..we've been taking her since infancy..and she really gets into the singing and dancing. DH and I enjoy that show also.

All of the shows at Dollywood are great. And, I agree with xrae that Dollywood is one of the best amusement parks. Clean..great entertainment..decent food..

Where is Sugar Maple Cabins or what is their website address?>

ttt for etattar

oh wow, etattar, I just took a look at that cabin on the internet. Beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. You should have no problems at all with this one.
It's tough deciding on a place to stay up there, isn't it?

thanks iceeu2. The 2 shows you mentioned, Black Bear Jamb. and Comedy Barn were the 2 that I thought looked good for us and for our grandchildren. We thought the cabin looked good too, but who knows. Have a geat weekend and let me know how it was when you get back. We are looking forward to Dollywood.

etattar, we are just going up this weekend for me to kick back and relax or perhaps shop a bit. DH is going to a fly tying class over in Townsend..

Another show we enjoyed was Louise Mandress...but, the kids are the perfect ages for Comedy Barn and Black Bear Jamboree....

xrae - I have to disagree that Dollywood is one the best amusement parks - I too have visited many and it was, by far, the worst I've found. We were there with young children so granted we didn't evaluate the coasters, but they had VERY LITTLE to offer kids - glad to hear they are expanding this portion of the park as it really needs it. They should have felt guilty even charging kids admission. I will say that the park is beautifully landscaped - lots of creeks, trees and flowers. However the food was really bad! I thought being in hills of TN it might be okay even though it is an amusement park, but boy was I wrong! The entertainment seemed all to be about country music which I can understand, but still, not much to offer a young family.

I can see how Dollywood might appeal to some - if you like country music or evidently roller coasters. However a whole, the general appeal to the overall public is definitely subpar to any amusement park I've visited.

snowrooster, I live in the Orlando area and visit the theme parks often and I have to agree that Dollywood is among the best I have been to. It is very clean and well maintained. I don't know if you were at the same park because there was a lot for my 5 year old and she loved it and asks to go back. The Randy Parton show was excellent. The food choices were many and quite good for a theme park. Also the new Thunderhead roller coaster is the best wooden roller coaster I have been on. The steel roller coaster was not that great though. We really enjoy Dollywood and will definitely go back. We to stayed at Oak Haven resort as well and the cabin we had was fantastic. We have decided that it is our new home away from home. They are a little farther away from everything but we did not consider that a problem. We hated Gatlinburg, but with the bypass to the GSMNP it was not a problem.

My children were 2 & 3 at the time so they needed stuff for very little children, which other parks have (Paramounts Kings Island) but Dollywood did not. I thought the park was short on rides in general. I agree that the it was very clean and well maintained, but we tried several different things to eat and were disapointed with them all. The BBQ wasn't even edible (we got a combo plate to share and it was all bad). The lemonade, which was quite pricey, was clearly powdered (whereas as many parks have the freshly squeezed lemonade carts, at least that I've visited). If we do return (like I said, it is a lovely park and I'd be willing to give it another shot) I wouldn't plan to have any meals there and we'd go in the summer so we could take advantage of the water rides.