The Great Smoky Mountain National Park
April 3, 2023
Are you new to the Smoky Mountains or just unfamiliar with the area in general? Many of our guests looking to stay in our cabins often ask us what “Pigeon Forge” or “Townsend” is and is like and we find many people looking to come to the Smoky Mountains aren’t sure what the regional “structure” of our surrounding communities is. In this article, we’ll give you a short description of the most relevant communities around Wears Valley and a link to their official site for proper
information.
Pigeon Forge
You could probably call Pigeon Forge the “heart” of the Sevier County Smoky Mountains as it sits directly in-between the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with Gatlinburg and the much more (overall) even-terrain of Sevierville. Pigeon Forge is at the foothills and is home to Dollywood, many attractions, many large music theaters, and many other icons and wonders that give Pigeon Forge it’s place in Smoky Mountain history.
See www.mypigeonforge.com for more information on this community.
Gatlinburg
The tightly-clustered mountain city that is one part action-packed attractions and one part Appalachian history preservation community is our famous Gatlinburg at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The main parkway is where all the modern attractions and restaurants and fun takes place, while Highway 321 leads to the quieter, cultural side with the Arts & Crafts Community and many other specialist attractions.
See www.gatlinburg.com for more information on this community.
Sevierville
While not the attractions-heavy vacation destination that other cities in our area are (although that is changing somewhat), Sevierville is the reason we’re all here and is the hometown of Dolly Parton. Sevierville is a historic city and the county chair of Sevier County. Pigeon Forge and Sevierville blend into each other so well that it can be difficult to tell which city you’re in! Sevierville has a different feel than the other cities around us and it’s worth it to visit everything else that makes it unique.
See www.visitsevierville.com for more information on this community.
Maryville
A city that can be called “Knoxville-lite”, Maryville is the county seat of Blount County and a gorgeous, very mountainous drive from Townsend. Maryville is known for its colleges, more “quaint” attractions with its many historic theaters, antiques and bookstores, as well as offering proximity to Knoxville while being more affordable to live and more naturally atmospheric than Knoxville. The city parks alone are worth the visit.
See www.maryvillegov.com for more information on this community.
Townsend
The second main entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and known and marketed as the “Quiet Side Of The Smokies”, Townsend is popular with visitors and locals alike for three things: the Cades Cove preservation site, the Townsend Wye river for swimming, tubing and fishing, and, you guessed it, its entrance to the National Park. Townsend is sort of like if the Gatlinburg Arts & Crafts Community had an entire town to itself.
See www.exploretownsend.com for more information on this community.
And for Wears Valley itself, we recommend seeing https://wearsvalleyvisitorscenter.com/!
