Patriot Park is a perfect starting point for exploring Pigeon Forge--especially on a sunny day…read more Free parking alone makes this spot a win, and it's conveniently located next to the Pigeon Forge Trolley stop, which is affordable, easy to use, and connect you directly to Dollywood and most of the city's major attractions. The park itself is clean, well maintained, and has centrally located restrooms (always appreciated). From here, you're steps away from Old Mill Avenue and the historic Old Mill district, one of the most charming areas in Pigeon Forge. Highlights include the Old Mill Pottery House Cafe and Pigeon River Pottery, where you can watch local artisans at work, plus plenty of unique gifts and souvenirs. Old Mill Square feels like the heart of the original Pigeon Forge, with its preserved charm and walkable cluster of shops and eateries. Favorites include Iron Mountain Metal Craft, Old Forge Distillery (they have the best prices in town for moonshine, whiskeys and all) Old Mill Restaurant, Creamery, Candy Kitchen, General Store, Farmhouse Kitchen, and more--there's truly something for everyone. This area beautifully maintains its historic ambiance while offering great food, shopping, and family-friendly fun. Ideal for all ages, Patriot Park and the Old Mill district are absolutely worth dedicating a full day to--and a must-stop on any Pigeon Forge visit.

This park is cute and has a nice walk area and grass area. Loved the Smoky the Bear statue and a…read morefew of the Pigeon Forge statues here too. Located real close to the transit center, this is a great place to park for free and use the tram to go into town. Overall, the park is on the small side, but the location makes this a nice stop. It's super close to the Old Mill, so a pleasant area for a walk through and around town and the Old Mill area where parking is sometimes scarce.

Loved this hike! 5 mile round trip to falls through moderate up and down climbs. Some roots and…read morerocks, a few log bridges and maybe a place or two with a slight scramble. If a hiker is in good shape, this is no problem. If not in great shape then can be challenging. That said, we passed by families with small children and more than a few grandparents. If planning the hike, trailhead is at the far eastern end of Cades Cove motor loop, which is a single lane, one way paved road. Can take a while to get in and out of during busy time as tourists drive slowly through the park and often pull on and off the road to see the sights.

Hike was great. It is not for everybody it is alot of up hill terrain and it is 2.5 miles there and…read more2.5 miles back. Hike took about 3.5 hrs for the both of us. Some make sure you start early enough so it doesn't get dark on you. Well worth the hike but bring water and a snack because it will take a bit.

The Chimney Tops trail is located 6.9 miles south of the Sugarlands Visitor Center in Great Smokey…read moreMountains National Park. It is listed as a moderately difficult trail and it is one of the most popular trails in the park. I saw cars stretch from the parking lot to a mile down the mountain during peak hiking times. On November 23, 2016, two juvenile males started a fire by throwing lit matches along the trail. A hiker on the trail caught them on camera. The park service decided not to put out the fire, instead containing it, and on November 28th, aided by a drought and wind, the fire exploded resulting in the death of fourteen people and injuries to one hundred and seventy six people. Eighteen thousand acres were burned including eleven thousand acres in the National Park. Two thousand four hundred and sixty structures were destroyed. The fire ended up costing more than 500 million dollars. Before the fire was put out it threatened to engulf Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The trail was closed for a year and the pinnacle of the mountain is still closed. The park service constructed a new observation platform a quarter mile from the summit. The trail is 3.3 miles round trip which does not seem like very long but it was all up the mountain. At the parking lot I met a man told me he considered the trail a 9 out of 10. Another woman coming down told me it was the hardest thing she had ever done. I started the trail thinking I would give up if I needed to but with sheer determination and a fair bit of pain I made it to the top. The first part of the trail follows the waters of Road Prong Creek. You cross over several bridges where people swim in the cascading waters. Once you cross the last bridge is where the real challenge begins as you ascend straight up the mountain. As bad as it was, it would have been even worse if the Trails Forever crew had not installed the 367 rock steps weighing 300 pounds each! They redesigned unsafe parts of the trail and improved the drainage. Without their work the trail would have been extremely eroded and dangerous. The trail to the top is a combination of dirt trail and steps. What is cool about the hike is that everyone on the trail encourages each other to keep going. I don't care how fit people looked going up the mountain, everyone was huffing and puffing. Unfortunately for me the sky opened up about 1/3 mile from the top. Lightning struck the ground not far from me and cold rain poured down. I was about to give up and go back down when a woman went past me on the way to the top and I said screw it, I came too far to give up now. I continued up in the pouring rain to arrive to a hazy view of the chimney formation and Mount LeConte and Mount Kephart. The view was nothing like it would have been on a clear day. The Cherokee name for Chimney Tops is Duniskwalgunyi, or "forked antler", because of its resemblance to the deer antlers. There is a Cherokee legend about a medicine man who found monstrous reptiles at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately the mountain Gods were against me that day. I was so wet that I couldn't even dry off the camera lens on my iPhone. I thought my phone would be ruined. Three days later and I can still feel it in my legs. The hike took me two hours and 22 minutes over 3.57 miles. I did an elevation gain of 1.035 feet. Even though the view wan't all that I hoped it would be I am proud of myself for making it up there. On the way down the mountain I ran into a group of three guys going back for a second time because they lost their car keys. When it started raining they got separated from their keys and were combing the mountain for them. I hope they found them because I still feel awful for them.

Will make it brief: this is a lovely hike, slippery when wet (which is often, it rains a lot) -…read moretake your time so you don't slip (I did, and it HURT). There are a LOT of stairs, and when it's humid you will need to stop for breaks along the way. The final view is closed from fires but they have a reconstructed viewpoint near the end that is gorgeous - the views of the mountainside are stunning. Overall - would do again, but it's a relatively difficult hike because of the uphill climb so come prepared!

If you start in the parking lot at Deep Creek, you can see three waterfalls easily in one day…read more First is Juney Whank which is the most challenging to get to due to steepness. it's probably five out of 10 in difficulty, but it's the hardest part of the three waterfall hike. The rest is pretty easy. After Juney, you go to Tom Branch Falls, then Indian Creek Falls, and then can circle back towards the parking lot.

We saved this hike for our last day of vacation and it was amazing! The park is very nice and has…read moreample parking space. The trail is clearly marked with wooden signs throughout. The hike to the falls is all up hill so be prepared for a pretty steep incline. There is a small waterfall very close to the entrance of the trail. I enjoyed the blooming flowers and trees on the way to the falls. Juney Whank waterfall was a site to see and well worth the hike. If you get the chance take this hike, you won't regret it!

This is the third waterfall on the loop at Deep Creek. It's just off to the right of where you go…read morein with your tubes during the summer. Very easy to get to, once you're already up at the top. You can see all three waterfalls and do the loop in about an hour.

Indian Creek Falls is very easy to reach from any of the multiple parking areas, making it perfect…read morefor everyone in the family. It's the 3rd tallest of 3 waterfalls you can easily reach from the same trailhead. It is also just a couple hundred feet upstream from the put-in for the tubes. If you continue past Tom Branch Falls about a quarter of a mile, you will see a bridge crossing Indian Creek. Here the Deep Creek trail intersects with Indian Creek Trail, which leads uphill to Indian Creek Falls. You will encounter a set of stairs just a few hundred feet along the trail that will take you down to view the falls. On the return hike you can break off on another connecting trail that leads to a third waterfall named Juney Whank Falls. You can then continue along the trail and it will loop you back to the parking area. We decided against Juney Whank Falls due to time since we were on a mission to visit a few other places, but we did take time to rent tubes from Smoky Mountain Campground. FAIR WARNING FOR ANY FAMILY RENTING TUBES - Deep Creek can be very fast moving, especially after heavy rains and our crew found it very difficult (the word traumatic was used) to get out of the river. Our 27 year old daughter and her husband as well as our 17 year old son did everything they could to safely get our 8, 7 & 6 year old grandsons to shore safely... even lost two of the tubes in the process. [ THINGS TO KNOW ] WATERFALL HEIGHT Indian Creek - 25' (attractiveness: 6 out of 10) Tom's Branch - 60' (attractiveness: 7 out of 10) ROUNDTRIP HIKE - 1.6 miles to both falls, add a quarter mile for all three falls PARKING - plentiful, but limited near the trailhead RESTROOMS - YES PICNIC AREA - YES TRAIL TO FALLS - flat, wide and all gravel BIKES ALLOWED - YES WARNING: Black bears are sometimes active in this area. Pets are not allowed on this trail. CAMPGROUND 92 individual campsites Each has grills, tables and campfire rings. Hookups & showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available. [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] Indian Creek Falls was a great stop along our route from Metro Atlanta to Pigeon Forge, TN. We were so impressed with the Deep Creek campground area that we may return for an overnight stay. There are a number of hiking trails and nearby Bryson City has plenty of restaurants to make a food loving hiker happy! 2022 / 92

This trail is one of the best of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…read more I've been visiting every year since I was a child, and I tend to go back to this one again and again. The hike is an intermediate level trail, and it's extremely rocky so make sure to be prepared for steep downgrades and upgrades on jagged rocks. The first half of the trail is almost all downhill, and the second half all uphill, so save your energy stores for the way back. The middle of the trail has magical Sherwood Forest vibes, with lots of mossy rocks and trees. I recommend bringing a healthy snack and lots of water that you can enjoy when you get to the Bald viewpoint. The view won't be visible on a misty, overcast day, but it's still worth the adventure!

Andrews Bald Trail was one of the many, many hikes that we did during our week-long adventure in…read morethe fall in GSMNP. Sadly, we visited in an "off" year as the leaves usually change when we were there, but due to warmer weather, they were 1-2 weeks behind. Still, the park was beautiful. My partner suffered from a knee injury while hiking up to Mount LeConte so we opted for taking it easier our last day or two in the park. This trail is conveniently located right off of the Clingmans Dome and Visitor Center. We did the Dome trail (which is actually challenging given the incline) and then did this one to escape the crowds. It's a nice out-and-back trail where you travel mostly downhill out to Andrews Bald and then mostly back up on the way back to the parking lot (if that's where you're headed). The scenery is beautiful on the trail, although the Bald is the best spot to break, have lunch, take a nap, and just listen to the wind rustle through the weeds that surround you. It was great to take in the views and have lunch as well, although if you're crunched for time, I would recommend other trails throughout the park to get even better views of the mountains.

The city where Dolly is cherished for sure. They have a statue here of Ms. Dolly Parton playing her…read moreguitar. Such a nice little city tucked in with the Smoky Mountains in view. Lots of tourist traffic passes by. A must town to just stop, take in the views and walk into a local shop...and enjoy the day.

Nice, clean, park for good family fun. Found at the last minute to enjoy during vacation.read more

Great hidden trails to Baskins Fall at the far end of the auto tour trail in the park…read more Good trail, nice elevation, and easy enough for moderate hikers. Research directions to falls and cemetery because the trail markings can be confusing or missing completely. You can use natural landmarks to get you there.

We walked the entire trail from the head which started by the parking areas (Loop Dr.). It was an…read moreawesome hike there and the waterfall was beautiful at the end. It was long but well worth it. Beware, the hike back is mostly uphill and pretty steep to start. It may be challenging!