Pigion Forge TN

I agree that the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area is one giant tourist trap. But that doesn't mean that is a negative. Some people like tourist trap type stuff myself included to a certain extent. I do like Gatlinburg better as it is walk able whereas Pigeon Forge you need to drive unless you take the trolley of course.

Dan

ken56 wrote:
One mans 'pretty cheesy' is another mans entertainment. Really people, if a place like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are not your so called cup of tea then fine, don't come but to tell others basically not to bother because you don't care for it is unnecessary.

I never said any such thing. I was asking if they specifically wanted to stay in Pigeon Forge itself, or the vicinity. The main drag of Pigeon Forge is quite a different experience than getting 2 miles away from it. Some people want to be on the strip, others want to be in that general area. Before one can offer advice, they need to clarify what is being sought.

I never said don't bother. I never said I didn't care for it. Your projections are not necessary. I've been to the area, I love it. It made me interested in retiring to eastern Tennessee. I prefer Gatlinburg's tourist traps to Pigeon Forge's tourist traps. Prior to actually going there I didn't know the difference between the two cities. It sounds as if the OP isn't familiar with the area (hence the question), and I simply sought clarification for his answers. I'm sorry if my questions offended you, but I was just trying to figure out what the OP was looking for...

Campfire Time wrote:

ken56 wrote:
One mans 'pretty cheesy' is another mans entertainment. Really people, if a place like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are not your so called cup of tea then fine, don't come but to tell others basically not to bother because you don't care for it is unnecessary. If you prefer to boondock and avoid people thats fine with everyone who would like to see the shows and partake of the great restaurants and the National Park. To each his own.

It's opinion, yes. All the more reason to share it. Give a better "picture" of what the place is. This is how we learn from one another. If you asked a question about a destination and everyone raved about it then you went and found you hated it because people only raved about certain aspects, how would you feel about that? Cheated?


And who said anything about avoiding people? You're pointing to extremes. Avoiding the heavy traffic and crowds? Yes. Staying at a nice quiet place with all the amenities away from the crowds but still not far from the "action"? Also yes. There is a middle ground.

People reading can take or leave what's posted. Always keep in mind that others are not going to rave about what you like and don't be upset that they don't. So don't tell others what they should or should not share. Sharing information is what forums are all about.

Mea culpa. All opinions are welcome.

ken56 wrote:
One mans 'pretty cheesy' is another mans entertainment. Really people, if a place like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are not your so called cup of tea then fine, don't come but to tell others basically not to bother because you don't care for it is unnecessary. If you prefer to boondock and avoid people thats fine with everyone who would like to see the shows and partake of the great restaurants and the National Park. To each his own.

It's opinion, yes. All the more reason to share it. Give a better "picture" of what the place is. This is how we learn from one another. If you asked a question about a destination and everyone raved about it then you went and found you hated it because people only raved about certain aspects, how would you feel about that? Cheated?

And who said anything about avoiding people? You're pointing to extremes. Avoiding the heavy traffic and crowds? Yes. Staying at a nice quiet place with all the amenities away from the crowds but still not far from the "action"? Also yes. There is a middle ground.

People reading can take or leave what's posted. Always keep in mind that others are not going to rave about what you like and don't be upset that they don't. So don't tell others what they should or should not share. Sharing information is what forums are all about.

We've been to Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving almost every year for the past 20 years. A few of those years we stayed in cabins or hotels, but most have been in the motor home or travel trailer.

The past couple of years we've stayed at River Plantation and we haven't had any complaints. River Plantation is on the Parkway in Sevierville, but it set back off the road a ways. It's in town enough to provide easy access to restaurants and shopping but not so much that you have to drive the RV through hours of Parkway traffic to get in and out.

We've also stayed at Riverside RV Park which is closer to I-40 before you get into Sevierville Parkway traffic. That's nice because you don't have to fight the heavy traffic with the RV but you do have a bit of a drive to get to the attractions.

During this trip, we don't spend a lot of time "camping", so I can't say much about either campground's amenities. We do usually take a fire pit and spend some time around our camp fire, but don't typically do much else around the campground.

It might be "cheesy tourist" attractions, but we obviously enjoy it or we wouldn't have made it a family tradition. For those that don't enjoy touristy, there are better/cheaper/more rustic/peaceful places for rustic camping. I know this will seem completely foreign to some here, but not everyone who owns an RV wants to go into the mosquito infested woods and "boon dock" every trip. Sometimes cheesy touristy isn't bad.

There are some really good restaurants in the area. Yes, we drag a kitchen with us in the RV and it makes an excellent place to store the leftovers on this particular annual trip. We went to the Apple Barn for Thanksgiving for many years, but recently we've been going to Mama's Farmhouse. We still visit the Apple Barn to shop and usually eat there some time during the weekend though. The Old Mill restaurant has also always been very good and large portions.

I also know that many here would also rather die a thousand different ways than go shopping, especially at an outlet mall during a "camping" trip. However, some people actually enjoy shopping. I can't say its my favorite thing, but we usually do, against my better judgement, go to the outlet stores sometime during black Friday. At least there are tool outlets...

One mans 'pretty cheesy' is another mans entertainment. Really people, if a place like Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are not your so called cup of tea then fine, don't come but to tell others basically not to bother because you don't care for it is unnecessary. If you prefer to boondock and avoid people thats fine with everyone who would like to see the shows and partake of the great restaurants and the National Park. To each his own.

I'll put in another vote for Pine Mountain. Stayed there last Memorial Day and we were very impressed . Hope to get back there in the future.

spoon059 wrote:
Pigeon Forge is a pretty cheesy tourist trap area. Are you specifically wanting to stay there, or just that general area?

My question as well. We stayed at Smoky Bear Campground 20 minutes east of Gatlinburg. Away from the crowds but not so far as to have long drives to anything. Really nice place, excellent hosts!

We just stayed in River Edge but in a cabin, nice place and even nicer people, any site would fit you but the ones near the stream are close to the road so noisy. The trolley also stops there as well.

We stayed at Foothills RV Park, which we thought was very nice.