Smokey mountain - tenn/nc how to do it?
 

We would like to visit both the smokey mountains of tenn and north carolina. Can anyone suggest a smart way to visit both or am I trying to do too much? We would travel from St. Louis. Maybe a couple of days in Gatlinburg area and then on to North carolina? Maybe don't bother with Gatlinburg? I just don't know. North Carolina looks much more enticing to me. THanks.

Go to Gatlinburg if you must. Then go through the Park to Bryson City and stay in a nice B&B.

You could easily do Gatlinburg in a couple days and them move to the NC side for other activities, or do Gatlinburg as a day-trip from wherever you're staying in NC. Maggie Valley is a quiet, laid-back town. Bryson City has rafting and the Great Smoky Mountain Railway. Cherokee has a huge Harrah's casino and some Cherokee Indian attractions. There are plenty of towns on the NC side to recommend. So let us know what kinds of activities you enjoy and we'll try to point you in the right direction.

We like to hike, shop, eat in nice restaurants, explore the waterfalls of the area. I am especially interested in Asheville and the Biltmore and Casheris/highlands area. We like interesting places to stay. FOund a great house in cashiers on a lake glenville but was already booked.... I am not sure how far apart cashiers and gatlinburg are...
thanks

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What do you want to see in the Gatlinburg area? GSMNP is a very large park and I don't really think it matters if you are in the mountains in Tennessee or North Carolina. If you are planning on going to Asheville and the Biltmore, I would stay closer to that area. I've never stayed at Lake Lure (I think that is where Dirty Dancing was filmed), but it seems to be a popular area. Other places to visit are Chimney Rock, Grandfather Mountain and stops along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We were thinking about going to the Cashiers area this summer to see the waterfalls, but reconsidered because of the drought. We have taken hikes to falls and found them dry or with very little flow.

We have stayed in Gatlinburg and took a day trip to Cherokee and the Park area around Bryson City and that was an easy thing to do, but it is a little longer to Cashiers.

Most of the towns that we have gone through are small without alot of shopping and restaurant choices.(your kids might find them boring) They probably would like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Maybe spend a couple of nights there (go into the mountains during the day), go onto the Asheville area and save Cashiers for another trip.

I just want to put my 2 cents worth in here. Avoid Cherokee unless you like cheesy touristy towns or a casino. The scenery ie:moutains is beautiful, but the town is cheesy.