Just got back from the Smoky's and wrote a review for TripAdvisor. I've
never posted to this group but I was disappointed enought to want to share
my experience:
I'm going to start off by saying that my wife and I tend to go to different
places every year for vacation. We like variety, and have been everywhere
from typical to unusual.
The Great Smokys...looked forward to this. Took an extended weekend to
drive down and visit from July 5-9, 2007. I'll start off by saying that we
rented a cabin (can't remember who from) and it was very nice. The park
itself was also very nice, but (and I know I'm going to offend people here)
nothing at all as incredible as the other reviewers have stated. Compared
to most anywhere in the Rockies, Yellowstone, or let's say Sedona, AZ, it's
really fairly run-of-the-mill. The scenery is pretty, but it isn't the
transcendental experience I've had in the aforementioned places, or even
lets say the Napa Valley in California. The main attraction at the park,
Cades Cove, was an absolute mess. I fail to understand how people can be so
inconsiderate on a one way road where it is POSTED that if you want to stop
and look at something to use a turnoff or park. But no...countless cars
stopping in the middle of the road to look at their 100th deer. Speaking
of, the park is generally extremely overcrowded and was generally full of
people that clearly don't understand how to enjoy a nature location such as
the Smokies. Littering, hoopin' and hollerin', speeding, revving of Harleys
and 4 wheel drive trucks, failure to understand basic traffic laws and
courtesy...you name it...just awful.
But the real tragedy of the Smokys lies in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
(which became known as Pigeon Poop to me and my wife). Never, and I mean
never in my nearly 40 years of vacationing, have I ever been anywhere so
tacky, tasteless, and touristy as Pigeon Forge. It's truly amazing how
detached the town is from the natural beauty of the Smokys. Garish
structures designed to attract those with low attention spans full of laser
tag, go karts, "discount" outlet stores, chain restaurants, "as seen on tv"
stores, bad t-shirt shops, Elvis museums, bad rides, etc. Seriously, I've
never been so sickened or felt so bad on vacation in my life. I'm sure this
sort of thing is great for some people, and in moderation this is expected.
But Pigeon Forge takes it to an extreme that I've never experienced before,
even travelling all over the country to places as commercial as DisneyLand.
The town government of Pigeon Forge, past and present, should be jailed for
what they have let this "town" become.
Gatlinburg, while prettier and slightly less architecturally garish, wasn't
much better. It is truly amazing to me that in an area where people
vacation to "get away from it all" that nearly all the restaurants are chain
outfits. In fact, the non-chain restaurants are usually not very busy,
leading me to conclude that people that visit this area only want the
familiar. Again, very sad.
The traffic in both of these "towns" were unbelievable. Not only does it
take an hour to get through 10 miles of Pigeon Forge, but often the highway
connecting the two towns is bumber to bumper. We rarely were able to get
anywhere in less than one hour.
In general most of the employees of the area seemed to be very jaded, as if
they know that they are cogs in an uncontrollable tourism machine that is a
pale imitation of what it could be, should be, and once was. As a new
visitor to the park, I am amazed at how many good reviews are on this site
as well as the generally good comments we heard while we were there. I've
heard that this area is a common vacation spot where people return to it
every year, no matter what. I suppose if this were the only place I've ever
gone on vacation, I'd like it to.
Get out of this area people...go explore the many, much better locations
that America has to offer. The Smoky Mountain area is everything bad that
can happen when crass commercialism and greed are allowed to fester
uncontrolled in a once beautiful place.
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