This Week's Latest News in Gatlinburg and The Smoky Mountains: April 20-26
I figured I will fill you in on a varying set of news to come out of Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains as the month of April comes to a close. There’s going to be a full slate of events coming up, but I’ll share details of those in another posting. All of it will amount to tons of excitement and anticipation as they unfold in the constant stream of happenings in this East Tennessee tourist area. Here is the latest news you can use!
Spur Lane Closures
Drivers along the Spur, which consist of the divided roads that connect Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, will encounter lane closures as maintenance crews do their routine cleaning, trimming, and mowing. The National Park Service, in their April 23 announcement, said one lane will be closed in sections along the north and southbound Spur during the following dates and times:
April 26 from 7:30-noon
April 28-May 1 from 7-4
May 5-8 from 7-4
As always, be sure to reduce your speed and use caution when traveling the Spur during this time. There may be delays.
Local Restaurants Make Yelp’s Top Family-Friendly List
The popular online review site has included 6 restaurants in the area that made Yelp’s Top 100 family-friendly restaurants in the USA—one of which is in Gatlinburg, and another will soon be in this tourist town.
Blue Moose Burgers & Wings will soon be opening a Gatlinburg location, but the one in Pigeon Forge is on the list at #96. It’s a local and tourist favorite famous for their mammoth, juicy burgers and wing sauces, which range from mild to major league heat.
Crockett’s Breakfast Camp has been a recent Gatlinburg breakfast favorite, serving up large skillets of food for over a decade. They made Yelp’s list, coming in at #63.
It has all the bells and whistles of a tourist-driven restaurant with its rustic feel and Appalachian-inspired dishes. Along with their giant skillets, their other signature items include their cinnamon rolls and Aretha Frankenstein “pancakes.” These are all items that are meant to be shared, so beware. Styrofoam boxes from Crockett’s fly out the doors like pancakes from the kitchen in Gatlinburg.
In case you were wondering, the other restaurants that made the list in Sevier County are:
Five Oaks Farm Kitchen at #39 (generally pretty good with the exception of the day-old, hard cinnamon roll they served us on our last visit)
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud at #81 (more than just a restaurant I guess?)
Local Goat at #4 (we can attest to this ranking!)
Flash Flooding
Tuesday’s heavy rains caused some anxiety with areas getting some flash flooding. Fortunately, they didn’t lead to much more than road closures. And thankfully those roads have reopened with the receding of the waters.
The Gatlinburg Police Department had closed Dudley Creek Road, Ogle Road, Bruce Road, and Shields View Road to some extent on Tuesday. As of the following day, each one was fully open, resuming normal traffic flow in these areas.
That’s all I have for you this week! (Well, at least from this news posting.) Be sure to stay tuned as I have some news about more restaurant and shop openings starting next week. Those will be followed up in the form of a review. I can’t wait to share with you all of the good stuff I get into in the days and weeks that follow. Thank you for reading, subscribing, and doing what you do to make this a fun and informative place for you to plan your next visit!