Smokey Mountains 1 Week Itinerary

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  • Sailor

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    May 5, 2008
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    Fort Wayne
    My 14 yr old wants to hit this park for a one week vacation in June.

    Three of us are hard charging lets try anything people and my oldest not so much.

    I am picturing a cabin rental with a hot tub, extensive day hikes, maybe one overnight hike, zip lines, caves, BBQ and Bourbon.

    Who has spent a lot of time down there that can give me a decent itinerary to start with.

    Thanks.
     

    MCgrease08

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    Mar 14, 2013
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    Earth
    I went for my honeymoon.

    A helicopter ride over the Smokies was pretty memorable. We paid about $450 for an hour back in 2008.

    We also did a very private half day horseback riding trip. Just the two of us plus a guide. I don't remember the name of the outfitter, but it was awesome too.
     

    bgcatty

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    Sep 9, 2011
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    Carmel
    Smokey Mountain Knife Works was always my first stop on the way down.
    +1 for Smokey Mountain Knife Works. When I was there in September they were also expanding their gun shop. Lots and lots of firearms goodies to look and possibly buy.
     

    Donnelly

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    May 22, 2008
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    Cass County
    Bennett's Pit Barbecue down in Pigeon Forge. Trust me. You will need a good hike to walk off those calories afterward. Smoky Mountain Knife Works is a must. Plan on spending at least an hour there.
     

    EvilElmo

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    Feb 11, 2009
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    Dearborn Co.
    There's also a Bennett's in downtown Gatlinburg. Do yourself a favor and try the brisket and the fried corn on the cob. I also recommend the Smokey Mountain Brewery - excellent burgers.

    My family goes down there for a week or so almost every summer to do exactly what you've described. If you want to rent a cabin I highly recommend Mountain Laurel Chalets. They aren't the cheapest rental place you can go but they've got by far the best service. The houses are clean and well cared for, and they'll bend over backwards to make things right if you run into any problems.

    For info on hikes around the park here's a good site: Great Smoky Mountains Trails - Hiking trail info for the Smokies

    I highly recommend the Jump Off. One of the best views you'll find east of the Mississippi. The best part is, if you're up for a long hike (10-11 miles total), it's just a short detour off the Appalachian Trail on your way to Charlie's Bunion, so it's like getting 2 hikes in one. Another good choice is Chimney Tops, but that's where that moron started the huge fire last year so that trail was closed for repairs. Not sure if it's reopened yet or not.
     

    littletommy

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    Aug 29, 2009
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    A holler in Kentucky
    We always set out around sunrise for our hikes, hit it hard till mid afternoon, then head back to gatlinburg to eat and drink. Connected to the Bennetts bbq in gatlinburg is Big Daddys pizza, which is excellent! Surprisingly, one of the best trails we’ve found is the Laurel falls trail, yep, the one just west of gatlinburg that all the tourists flock to. When you get to the falls, shove your way through the tourists and keep heading up the mountain. A couple hundred yards beyond the falls, you’ll pretty much have the trail to yourself, and about a mile and a half up, you will be in one of the most amazing stands of GIANT trees this side of the California redwoods! The trail itself continues on and connects with another for many miles, looking at the last few times we’ve done that particular hike, it looks like 16.25 miles was our longest (we walked out 8.12 miles and headed back).
     

    indiucky

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    We stay in Townsend...the quiet side of the Smokies...great fly fishing, great bike trails, 10 minutes to Cades Cove and great tubing on the Little River...If you play your cards right you can get a Grand Slam on the fly rod in the Little River...Smallmouth in town, Brown's a little way up in the park, rainbows a little further up and then Brook trout above the falls....
     

    rw02kr43

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    Oct 22, 2008
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    Paragon
    fly fishing the smokies is the guides we used this past summer. We caught some very nice fish with them. Also drive Tail of the Dragon.

    Jason
     

    Sailor

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    May 5, 2008
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    Fort Wayne
    Thanks for all the advice I am taking notes!

    White water rafting I forgot about that. That is on the list. I have only done the upper Gauley, will need something a little more tame than that for this trip.
     

    Topshot

    Marksman
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    Oct 16, 2015
    285
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    Terre Haute
    White water rafting I forgot about that. That is on the list. I have only done the upper Gauley, will need something a little more tame than that for this trip.
    I don't think there's anything too wild on the Pigeon River. Our Scout Troop did a trip starting at the dam after a morning horseback ride (Smoky Mountain Stables) and also 2-night backpack trip. As I recall, there was a discount using the stables and raft company together.
     

    Restroyer

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    May 13, 2015
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    SE Indiana
    I don't think there's anything too wild on the Pigeon River. Our Scout Troop did a trip starting at the dam after a morning horseback ride (Smoky Mountain Stables) and also 2-night backpack trip. As I recall, there was a discount using the stables and raft company together.
    Depends on the time of year, when my family and I did the water rafting trip it had been a very rainy spring and the guide was very concerned that my twin boys (they were 11 at the time) would be able to stay in the raft because it was actually upgraded to some Class C rapids. The guide was terrific and we had a blast. He did say that the river usually only gets that rapid once a year and we happened to hit it at the right time. It still would have been great even if it was less rapid.
     

    kirtar

    Plinker
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    Dec 15, 2017
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    West Lafayette
    I'm not completely sure how it is in June, but the last time I was there around March, the Upper Pidgeon River section had a few class III/III+ rapids including one ~100 feet from where we put in. Lower Pidgeon was pretty tame and doable unguided. I will of course add another recommendation for Smokey Mountain Knife Works because knives are cool.
     
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