Pigeon Forge is best known for Dollywood and Gatlinburg for being the gateway town to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but visitors to this area shouldn’t discount Sevierville. Sevierville is a beautiful East Tennessee town that is located just north of Pigeon Forge and boasts a myriad of its own attractions. If you’ve been looking at vacation in this area, but haven’t yet decided where then let us introduce you to some outstanding reasons why you should choose this mountain town.
Is Sevierville Worth Visiting? 6 Reasons to Choose Sevierville While Visiting the Smoky Mountains
1. NASCAR SpeedPark
Sevierville’s NASCAR SpeedPark is a fantastic family-friendly attraction that has been voted as the number one go-karting spot in the Appalachia region for several years now. This official NASCAR attraction features several tracks including one boasting eight tight curves called The Intimidator after racing legend Dale Earnhardt.
But while go-karts are the big draw at the NASCAR SpeedPark, that’s certainly not the only activity your family can enjoy here. This family-friendly attraction also features a variety of amusement park-styled rides, mini golf, a rock climbing gym, a 5,000-square-foot arcade, a six-lane mini bowling lane, and an immersive VR arena. This park offers both one-day passes in which guests can come and go as they please on their chosen day or an extended 7-day pass which is a great buy for families staying in the Sevierville area as you can enjoy multiple visits to this amusement park without added costs.
2. Five Oaks Riding Stables
Sevierville is a bustling mountain town, but it’s still a mountain town. You can stand anywhere along the main throughway and walk east or west just ten blocks to find yourself facing forested hills and the beautiful countryside of East Tennessee. Five Oaks Riding Stables is an excellent example of this. You’ll find Five Oaks Riding Stables down a small road just west of the Tanger Outlets Sevierville shopping center and where you will find miles of mountain trails you and your family can explore via horseback. Five Oaks Riding Stables even has its own zip line course guests can opt to do separately or in tandem with their horseback riding experience.
3. Enjoy That Small Mountain Town Feel
Of course, while Sevierville does have plenty of its own attractions, it also simply is a lovely small mountain town to stay in and visit. As of the 2020 census, just 17,185 people call this town home. Walk along the downtown blocks of Sevierville and you will find yourself surrounded by older brick buildings housed by quaint boutique shops and beloved family-owned restaurants. Make sure to meander down Court Avenue and view the town’s historic Sevier County Courthouse which was originally built in 1895 in the Beaux Arts style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
4. Private Mountain Cabins (at Typically Better Rates)
When it comes to lodging and choosing accommodations within the greater Pigeon Forge area, including Sevierville, you have a lot of choices. There are certainly a number of upscale mountain resorts, five-star hotels, and smaller private motels available in Sevierville as well as Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. However, one of the best and more unique types of lodgings readily available throughout this area is private mountain cabins.
There are a host of mountain cabin rentals you can choose from, both via private vacation outfits and by resort-styled groups with multiple units available for rent. Whichever way you go though, one of the benefits of choosing a mountain cabin (or other styles of lodging) in Sevierville over its neighbor communities is a lower price. Across the board, you can enjoy gorgeous mountain views and the privacy of your own cabin at outstanding rates within and throughout Sevierville.
5. Public Art, Art Crawls, and Art Galleries
In recent years, Downtown Sevierville has also become a popular artistic space. Wander the streets and you will find several fantastic murals, including a large monarch butterfly located at 111 E. Main Street and another of Red’s Cafe on Bruce Street, facing the very popular Appalachian Restaurant. This Red’s Cafe mural serves as both a homage to the historic restaurant and, with a young, blonde Dolly Parton featured prominently, that fantastic local musical artist who was born and raised in Sevierville.
In addition to this public art, the town itself has become quite a haven for artists of all types. Regular art crawls and art festivals like July’s Greenbrier Mountain Festival — which includes a kids’ camp — highlight local artists and work to get community members and visitors more engaged with local arts and crafts. On non-festival days and weekends, you can visit premier galleries like The Robert A. Tino Gallery located just north of Sevierville’s downtown area.
6. World-class Fishing
Sevierville is located just south of where the east and west prongs of the Little Pigeon Forge River converge into one river that flows north and empties into the French Broad River, a river that flows east to empty into Douglas Lake. All of these waterways provide excellent fishing opportunities, but Sevierville has something special.
Staying at a cabin, hotel, or another type of lodging in Sevierville means you get to enjoy being within minutes from some of the country’s absolute best smallmouth bass fishing. Both before the river forking and just after, the conditions at Little Pigeon River make for excellent fly fishing and traditional fishing. There are also several unofficial kayak points for those interested in exploring the exceptional waterways of Sevierville another way.
Learn More About the Greater Pigeon Forge Area
We hope this article helped to illuminate what makes Sevierville so special and why it out to be on your travel list, but there’s plenty more this area of the country has to offer. Make sure to check out our other pages to learn more about the greater Pigeon Forge area and the many exciting adventures the Great Smoky Mountains have to offer.
