A Gatlinburg 4th of July Vacation: On- and Off-Road!
Welcome to Gatlinburg.
...The weekend forecast?
Well, Lynnette and Jim are coming, so you can expect showers.
Chances are good that you'll see plenty of rain.
And, some thunderstorms too.
Other than that, it should be nice and pleasant.
Enjoy your stay!
This was certainly a last-minute trip like none other...
We would've liked to camp on this visit to the Smoky Mountains, but on July 2nd, every campground within 40 miles of Gatlinburg was booked solid over the Fourth of July holiday. (Fortunately, we got our camping "fix" a few weeks earlier.)
Sometimes we get bonus points for being "spontaneous". Other times we consider ourselves complete idiots for our lack of planning!
So we found a cheap (by "Gatlinburg on the 4th" standards: only $89) hotel near Light #8. It was the Sidney James at 610 Historic Nature Trail/Airport Road.
For those who don't know, you find your way around downtown Gatlinburg in relation to the street lights -- numbered 1 through 10. We're not really into all the "touristy" stuff there, so we were glad to be somewhat near the end -- easy in, easy out in terms of traffic.
In reality, we got a couple of great "bonuses" at our bargain hotel:
There was a great little Mexican Restaurant right down the street -- and everyone knows how we LOVE Mexican food!- The trolley made frequent passes up and down our street -- taking people from the hotel anywhere from traffic light #1 to Pigeon Forge
- Our hotel room came with a balcony which faced the street -- in PERFECT view ofthe Gatlinburg fireworks display which took place at midnight on July 4th. Talk about a party on the porch!
- There was a hidden gem at the end of our road... Where our hotel's parking lot ended, a little-known auto touring route began. It's called the Roaring Fork Auto Driving Tour, and it's a haven for black bears, deer, and turkey by the dozens
Highlights Of Our Weekend In (& Around) Gatlinburg
Here are the highlights, with complete details to be posted in the coming days -- including photographs and video!
For the most part, I did the photographing, while Jim did the video blogging. In all, we shot more than 600 photos and 100 MB of video during our 3-day/2-night/825-mile Jeepin' adventure in and around Gatlinburg.
The highlights...
- People-watching around the various shops and tourist attractions - downtown Gatlinburg (stay tuned for "Goofy Gatlinburg" video footage!)
- The Nation's FIRST 2005 Fourth of July Parade - downtown Gatlinburg
- The Nation's LAST Fourth of July Fireworks Show - downtown Gatlinburg
- Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail - just north of downtown Gatlinburg
- Cades Cove Loop - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Parson's Branch Road - DETOUR: road closed, but it was still a fun trip from Cades Cove to the detour spot
- Rich Mountain Road - a steep and winding 8-mile gravel road from Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains to Townsend, Tennessee
- Heintooga-Round Bottom Road - a 35-mile gravel road winding 'round Balsam Mountain
- Foothills Parkway - from Townsend, TN to Fontana Dam near Deal's Gap, NC
- Blue Ridge Parkway - we rode a small portion of this 469-mile route through North Carolina
- Tail of the Dragon - an 11-mile stretch of road (U.S. Highway 129) that has 318 hairpin turns
- Cherohala Highway - a winding road that ventures up and over 5,400-feet of mountains -- 15 miles in NC and 21 miles in TN
Listen to Bud Light's Real Men of Genius "Mr. Parade Float Driver":
Both the Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Highway are favorites of motorcycle drivers. They drive from all the surrounding states just to experience these narrow & twisty roads. But trust me, it's fun in a Jeep too!
And, like usual... we saw plenty of deer and bears that we spotted all along the backcountry roads of Gatlinburg:
Overall, it was a weekend filled with lots of spontaneous adventure. We definitely had a ton of FUN.
RELATED:
Great Smoky Mountain Auto Driving Tours
hello, im currentlys staying in gatlinbur and cant find any trails for off roading, any luck would be great:)
Hi Todd,
All of the info about the Jeep we rented is here.
Something like $70 a day. There are a handful of Jeep rental places right at the downtown Gatlinburg area, including the one we rented from: Lee's Jeep & Scooter Rentals.
Nothing much required to rent a jeep there -- just a drivers license and a credit card.
It was TONS of fun! Hope you and your wife get a chance to do it soon.
My wife and i have fell in love with gatlinburg and in five yrs have visited more than 8 times! Just want some info on where you rented the jeep, how much, for how long and maybe what is required to rent one, i would really appreciate it. thanks
i like your pics and info on Gatlinburg.
I have been there around 2 dozen timrd
Hey, great site!! Which trail are you guys on in the picture with the jeep crossing the creek?
I'm heading to Gatlinburg soon, and I wouldn't mind checking that one out. I have a 4x4 Grand Cherokee. Hopefully it can handle it.
No joke...
We've been to Gatlinburg about a half a dozen times in the past year or so, and it's RAINED every single time!
Since we're usually there primarily for the purpose of exploring backcountry roads and things that are "off the beaten path", we just head to another town that day -- where it doesn't happen to be raining.
But it's kind of a bummer when you're there to camp, and you get waterlogged!
...just ask my mom! :o)
I stumbled across your blog (I don't know how) and it's great to see another fellow Tennessean's blog! You guys sound like us and our luck with rain whenever we go places...that happens to us too. Gatlinburg is a beautiful place, we are planning on going there in September to Dollywood. Last minute trips are the best! They rule over planned getaways.