ive been there a few times. right up the road is gatlinburg. there’s an aquarium, ripley’s believe it or not museum, the alpine slide, lots of shopping, rent a cabin, go hiking in the smokies, skiing in the winter. my favorite thing is ripley’s believe it or not. i think there’s an imax theatre. seems like there is a package deal for the aquarium, ripleys, and the imax.

oh yeah dont forget the ninja store. i think its called china something. they got swords, throwing stars, nunchakas, things you throw out your window to flatten peoples tires behind you, stun guns, knives, any kinda weapon a ninja turtle might have, stink bombs, pipes, bongs. all these places are on the same street and you can easily walk to all of them.

hillbilly golf. You get to ride this incline train up a mountainside to miniature golf in the forest.. Pick your putter! Its probably not there anymore.

The best thing I found in Pigeon Forge was a waitress who explained to me
that I had chiggers (I’d never heard of them before) and what to do about it (buy
a product exclusive to the South called Chigarid and paint it over the itchy spots).
I think some of you guys had more fun there than I did. I did love camping in the
mountains nearby (except for the chiggers).

I got chiggers too. I think that was before chigarid. What was in that stuff? Shellac and vinegar?

I still have my tiny bottle of it. They say nail polish works about the same, so I guess
shellac of some kind and.. some solvent, maybe alcohol? It’s very hard to get it off your skin and when you grab the edges of it and pull it up, your hair comes with it. But the worst part is the chiggers. So itchy, and so horrible to contemplate little creatures living and dying under your skin.

@susanc I will try not to contemplate.

I used to live about 45 mins from there, so we used to visit Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge often. Here’s what you’ll find in the heart of those two towns. Go-cart tracks, miniature golf, bungee jumping, Arcades, outlet malls, more shopping, airbrush t-shirts, China Bizarre, taffy, Pancakes, an aquarium, Ober Gatlinburg (which is probably closed in the summer, i’m not sure), Ogles Water Park, haunted houses, museums, Dixie Stampede, and more shops for souvenir t-shirts than you care to poke a stick at.

One thing I suggest is going to the Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge. It’s basically a civil war dinner show with guys and gals on horses. the food is great, a little messy, but its good. the show is really good, unless you hate horses and could care less about the civil war. the auditorium is split into two sides, the north and south. you cheer for your side and help with games to get your side to win. of course, you can get by without participating or cheering. I think the tickets run at about $30/person.

Pigeon Forge has more of the outdoor activities, ie putt-putt, go-carts, etc. This is also where the outlet malls are. traffic sucks through there…be ready to sit in a car for a while. summer is when all the kids go to youth conferences and retreats with church groups, so you’ll see a lot of groups of kids wearing the same shirt. But you’ll see more of them in Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is about 7 miles south of Pigeon Forge. The main strips of Gatlinburg and Pigeon forge are actually the same road, so either is easy to find.

Gatlinburg has a bunch of little souvenir shops and more cool stuff to see than Pigeon Forge, if you want to spend a little money. This is where the haunted houses, museums, arcades, and the aquarium are located. Oh and this is where you’ll find the famed “China Bizarre” shop. Gatlinburg is not huge, so it’s easy to walk through town and see everything if you are looking to kill time.

And of course there’s the Smoky Mountains. Honestly, you’re talking about waiting in some more traffic if you’re going during the summer. If you do go, there’s the 11 mile loop road in Cades Cove where you’ll see deer and if you’re really lucky, maybe even a bear! The loop road is cool if you are into history and nature. there are a bunch of stops along the way to look at old houses, an old church and some other old stuff. Plus it’s really pretty if you can get over the fact that it will take you forever to get around the loop. I used to camp with my parents in Cades Cove, but we usually went during the cooler months because there were less tourists. If you feel adventurous, you can rent a bike and ride the loop in much quicker time.

Here’s a site about Pigeon Forge if you are stuck there and can’t go to these other places. Let me know if you have any questions.