Great Smoky Mountains trip: Tennessee or North Carolina?
 

We are planning a trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park the end of September, and are having trouble deciding which side of the park to choose as our base. ("We" includes 2 couples in our early 60's) . We plan to spend about 5 days hiking and just enjoying the beauty of the area, and want to rent a cabin with nice views and quiet/privacy to come back to at the end of the day.

Should we opt for North Carolina or Tennessee? Are there towns we should look at if we do VRBO? We have heard that Gatlinburg is the best area to access the prettiest sights/hikes, but are open to anywhere.

Thanks for any help or advice you can give us!

I would look at the NC side. There are some lovely places to stay near Cherokee (not Cherokee, but it isn't as large and congested as Gatlinburg).
You can easily access the Park through Cherokee to get to your hiking trail heads.
You'll be at the beginning of the fall color, but not the height. If you like the idea of an old style "inn", take a look at the Frymont Inn in Bryson City. There are also a lot of other VRBO on that side.
If you didn't set foot in Gatlinburg, it would be no loss to your trip.

Thanks! Our main concern is that we want to be close to the park entrance and trails. We have NO interest in the congestion of Gatlinburg but are just trying to figure out which towns are close to good trails, waterfalls etc. and we would love to have a more secluded cabin for relaxing evenings.

IMO the Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg cluster is traffic hell. Stay on the south side and avoid that mess. Therefore, stay in NC.

Outside of Cherokee, anywhere from Brevard, Cashiers, Highlands, Franklin, etc. would give you what you want. Drive through the park one day, preferably on a weekday (for less traffic). The trails outside the park are lovely too.

Take a look at this map for the proximity of Bryson City to the Deep Creek access to the Park. I call it "the back door". And Cherokee gives you access to the main 441 highway through the Park. I think Brevard is too far--have to cross the Pisgah (and that is certainly pretty also).

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisi...d/grsmmap1.pdf

We stayed at a lovely B*B right at the entrance but I think it has changed hands and names. If I can find it I'll post. We also stayed a lovely place near Culhowee, which is also not far. We like to fish in that area. There are good restaurants in those little towns also.

http://www.fryemontinn.com/

this is a fun and lovely place. Old school. Not the BB I mentioned in my last post.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...park/14124469/

A great clip on the Great Smoky Mountains.

So the consensus is we should stay on the NC side! The Frymont Inn looks lovely but with 4 of us, we are hoping to have a cabin in order to cook some meals while there. But I'm keeping it in mind for a future trip for two. It is so helpful to know which towns to look at as well. And the articles are great!

Thank you all so much for all the input!! I will let you know as plans progress!

There are some cabins I have seen on Living Social or Groupon near Bryson City.
Search VRBO for a cabin near there. It is really a LOT less hectic than the other side.

Sorry, meant to add it may be Smoky Mountain cabin rentals in that list. Some really looked nice--we were thinking about fly fishing.

We've stayed in Bryson City, Gatlinburg and Townsend on our trips to the Smokies. I would say choose your lodging location based on the trails you plan to hike. The drive from Bryson City is probably close to an hour to the Sugarlands Visitors Center since driving speed along Newfound Gap Road can be fairly slow if the park is crowded or if you get behind a slow driver. If you plan on going to Cades Cove, that's another 30-40 minutes. This site breaks down the trails by location in the park:

http://www.hikinginglacier.com/glaci...ark-trails.htm

We've had great luck in Townsend (the quiet side of the Smokies) with Dogwood Cabins and Townsend View Rentals. There's also an IGA in Townsend to pick up all your supplies. Townsend is also only 7 miles to Cades Cove.

I thought of Townsend as well - none of the traffic of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Either that or the NC side would work. If you're flying, Townsend is very convenient to the Knoxville airport.

So we are still debating on where to rent a cabin, NC (Bryson City) or the Gatlinburg area or possibly Townsend. I prefer the NC side, but my husband is concerned we will be too far from the trails and scenic area of the park itself. The other couple is fine with either.

Some questions:

If we do end up in a cabin in Gatlinburg, is it possible to avoid going into Gatlinburg itself (in order to get to the park) with all the traffic that entails? There are some really nice cabins there I must say, but none of us are interested in the touristy stuff or sitting in traffic.

If we stay in Bryson City (in a cabin, I assume they are located on the outskirts) do you think we will be close enough to nice, reasonably easy trails? ( I especially love waterfalls and hope they are still flowing by then!) one of our group has some physical limitations and will need to stick to easier hikes for the most part (no climbing up rocks etc).

Definitely Tennessee! You cannot go wrong with Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge if you're renting a cabin. The mountains here are magical.

You mentioned hikes and sites. Just downtown, there are great trails and shopping on a few streets apart. You will really love it here. You will be super close to plenty of easy to hard trails. There are waterfalls, but the nice ones have a good hike to them.

The leaves are currently starting to change, so the views will be even better. Just ask your cabin rental place if the cabin is friendly for those in their 60's. I suggest either https://pioneerrents.com/ or https://piddlin.com/

Oh, c'mon. This is 3 years old and while still cogent,you are just advertising.

We are headed to the Smokies in late August and also interested in Bryson City
Do you think it is too remote from most of the park's attractions?

post a new thread!!
And Bryson City and environs is not too far, but it depends on what you want
Post NEW

Bryson City is a cool little town with a great brewery! However, if hiking and park scenery are your main goals in the park, then you're a bit too far out plus you'll have to drive over the mountain pass to get into the park from NC to the Tennessee side and spending a lot of time in the car. One night in Bryson City would be plenty. If you're looking for a quiet town to stay in as opposed to the very congested Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, try Townsend, TN. It's close to Cades Cove Valley and lots of good hiking. Choose what you want to do in the park then decide where to stay. For hiking this site splits up the hikes between the different locations in the park to help you decide where to stay: Great Smoky Mountains Trails - Hiking trail info for the Smokies