Over 2 ½ million visitors pour thru Gatlinburg, TN (population 3,382) every year on their way to the Great Smoky Mountains Park in eastern TN. With over 512,000 acres of beautiful wilderness and mountains, that park has been a jewel since it was established in 1934.
Today Gatlinburg and neighboring Pigeon Forge (population 5,084) are major tourist destinations and trying to navigate around the towns are very time consuming. The valleys aren’t wide, roads are few and traffic is as bad as I’ve seen. I’m not sure how towns like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge can fix this structural problem.
Dolly Parton, who was born and raised in the area, built her Dollywood Park in Pigeon Forge 20 years ago. This amusement park, numerous theaters, shops, restaurants and other attractions make Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge a major tourist destination location.
One of the best ideas I saw there was the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community. I’ll write about it tomorrow.
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