Visiting Gatlinburg was definitely an unexpected experience for me. I didn’t even know the town existed until the day before I arrived! When I first heard about it, I assumed it would be little more than a small mountain town where you stopped for gas before continuing into the Smokies.
The second I entered Gatlinburg, I realized how wrong I was. The streets were packed with tourists, restaurants, shops, attractions, and entertainment. My friend and I parked along the main road and joined the crowds to see what the town had to offer.
There were restaurants everywhere, along with unusual shops, tourist attractions, and live country music. While we were wandering around, a major thunderstorm suddenly rolled through and forced us to take shelter inside some of the stores.
We eventually had dinner at a restaurant on the second floor of an outdoor shopping area. By the time we finished, the rain had stopped and the streets quickly filled back up. Even the live music started again, including the band photographed below.
Gatlinburg’s Quirky Side
The biggest problem with my visit was that Gatlinburg hadn’t been part of our original plans. Our focus was Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so we didn’t have nearly enough time to explore the town properly.
Gatlinburg has a strange but entertaining combination of mountain-town atmosphere and amusement park. There are interactive games, arcades, museums, novelty attractions, restaurants, bars, and plenty of other things designed to grab your attention as you walk down the street.
Its location is also hard to beat. You can spend the day hiking through the forests and mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and then return to Gatlinburg for restaurants, live music, and nightlife in the evening.
Moonshine in Gatlinburg
One of the most interesting parts of Gatlinburg for me was its moonshine culture. Moonshine has a long history in Appalachia and the southeastern United States, where the word traditionally referred to spirits produced illegally and outside government taxation or regulation.
The modern distilleries in Gatlinburg are completely legal, but they lean heavily into that Appalachian moonshine tradition. Instead of only selling clear unflavored liquor, the shops had an enormous range of flavored varieties such as blackberry, apple, and other fruits.
The tasting rooms were also part of the experience. Many offered small samples of several different flavors, making it easy to try a wide variety without buying an entire jar of something you might not like.
I arrived in Gatlinburg expecting little more than a quick stop before heading back into the mountains, but the town turned out to be a destination of its own. Next time I’d give myself more time to explore both Gatlinburg and the surrounding Smokies instead of stumbling into the place almost by accident.
