Spring in the Smoky Mountains

We will be long gone by the time your memorial day weekend comes, we are leaving the area the weekend before that, our Canadian Victoria Day weekend. If we concentrate on the western end and make pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area our home base, would it be worth spending any time up in the Dandridge area? Just curious, our first time in the area. We could reverse our direction as suggested, start in the west on the weekend of May 10/11, if we started up in Dandridge or perhaps Townsend we could then be in Pegeon Forge/Gatlinburg for the 5 days during the week and head east towards home. Looking to be home by the end of Tuesday the 20th. If we left on the Friday we would have 5 days to get home, could do the BR PKWY at whatever pace we wanted until we got sick of it or needed to get home. I will check out Twin Creeks in Gatlinburg as well.
Thanks, Lynda