Gatlinburg / Sevierville SUCKS

[corndogggy]

FYI - Sevierville just started repaving their main strip, takes forever to get through. Combine the delays here with delays in Knoxville and Nashville, and what usually takes 7 hours to get to where we're going in the Smokies took 12. :eek: I would highly recommend not going anywhere near Gatlinburg. If you take the 140 bypass around Knoxville off of I-40, you can totally bypass Knoxville, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and all that crap, and you go straight into Cades Cove through Townsend, it's a much more enjoyable way to go, the roads aren't crowded at all, as compared with bumper to bumper not-moving-much-at-all crowdedness going the other way.

[Pooge]

You are correct Corndogggy. I never go through Prison Forge and Gatlinburg.

Just go past the 640 exit into Knoxville and take the Alcoa Highway that has a sign that says Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It will take you through Maryville and into Townsend. From there you can take a left in the park towards Sugarland Visitor Center or Right to Cades Cove.

We always camp at Elkmont. Great place.

J

[trust me]

Townsend has always been the secret everybody knows about. I honeymooned there about a hundred years ago. If you like the commercialization of Pigeon Forge it's just 20 miles away or so. You used to be able to rent inner tubes and float the creek in Townsend. Nice change of pace if you're used to the carnival that Pigeon Forge has become.

I haven't been there in a bunch of years. No urge to go anytime soon.

[corndogggy]

I never stop at those places, and I always take the Gatlinburg Bypass, and that has always been good enough in the past. We like staying at Cherokee and Bryson City, so going through Townsend has always been way out of the way, because even on normal days it takes like 2 hours from Cades Cove to Bryson City so it used to be quicker to just blast right through all the tourist crap. Apparently those days are finished.

[Pooge]

Go around the western side of the park to the Twentymile area and start your backpacking trips from there. Gregory Bald is great as well as the lakeshore trail. I have hiked / camped on nearly 500 of the 800+ miles of trails in the park over the last 10 years. If you want to go sometime let me know.

J

[corndogggy]

I'm camping/hiking/biking in Pisgah and going to BrewGrass in late September if you want to go. :cool:

www.brewgrassfestival.com (http://www.brewgrassfestival.com)

[Art]

One of my best friends owns some cabins down there in Sevierville. That place sucks, paving or not. It took me 4 hours to get out back to 40 at 8am on a Sunday morning. I have no intentions of going back anytime soon.