Visit Wears Valley, Tennessee for a great experience in the Smoky Mountain area. Views are beautiful with the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance, businesses are locally owned and the history and culture of the Smokies are alive and well. Wears Valley provides all types of fun from mountain coasters to antique shopping and more. Check it out!
Wears Valley Antique Gallery – If there was one word to describe the Antique Gallery in Wears Valley, it would be “wow”. This is a huge store with many sections interlocking and many, MANY cool things to look for and at. Art, collectibles, toys, candies, and more treasures all wait for you to peruse.
Cades Cove – Cades Cove is a valley offering a multitude of natural attractions for visitors coming through Townsend. Wildlife such as white-tailed deer, bears, coyotes, groundhogs, turkeys, raccoons, skunks, and just about every other type of animal you can find in the mountains. You can hike, bike, go horseback riding, go fishing, go on a nature shoot (photos of course), and even go camping in the backcountry. See more on Cades Cove at www.cadescove.net.
Phantoms Fill the Southern Skies – The best in ghosts, hauntings, paranormal activity, and Native American folklore in the South as compiled by Pigeon Forge author Jeff Lawhead. Includes many classic entries like The Bell Witch, the Hermitage (South Carolina), and the Devil’s Tramping Grounds along with obscure stories like The White Screamer. Each entry was updated and researched for veracity and for additional info into the backstories therein. Includes the author’s own paranormal experience in an apartment in Sevierville, TN! www.jslawhead.com
Wear Farm City Park – On Wears Valley road towards Pigeon Forge is the Wear Farm city park where visitors and locals alike can spend an afternoon for simple fun and exercise. This is a large, open facility with two children’s playgrounds, a football field, five baseball fields, a pavilion, walking trails, a basketball court, two concession stands, and much more. http://www.cityofpigeonforge.com/wears-farm-city-park.aspx
Townsend Wye – One of the most popular recreational riverbeds in East Tennessee, the Townsend Wye is a tradition for thousands of locals and visitors every year. The Wye is just a single river cutting through the National Park running alongside the main road of Townsend, but it’s just wide enough without needing to be too wide, and shallow enough for people to enjoy swimming, fishing, tubing, what have you! There are also plenty of good spots to enjoy a simple picnic or family get-together as well. Parking is free, but you need to expect parking spaces will fill up quickly during the summer and most vacation periods outside of winter. Shuttles may also be available for transport. Also, as the river has no lifeguard or safety regulation in place, exercise good judgment at all times.
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center – Probably the finest museum capturing all the nature, beauty, and spirit of Southern Appalachia you will ever see, the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the Tennessee man from Native American to European Pioneer and on. The Heritage Center provides scout programs, field trip opportunities, facility rentals, and special events like the Fiber Arts Festival, Music of the Mountains, Spring Concert Series, and more. http://www.gsmheritagecenter.org