Monthly Archives: February 2012

Happy Pig Day!

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Thursday of this week is much more than the first day of a new month. March 1 also happens to be National Pig Day! To celebrate, we suggest venturing out of your hotels or Smoky Mountain cabin rentals and checking out some of the best barbecue that Gatlinburg has to offer. In other words, let yourself really pig out. These brands have long track records for serving up succulent smoker fare, and they accept most credit cards except Swiner’s Club. Just remember that if you eat too much barbecue, you can always work it off with a hike through Great Smoky Mountains National Pork.

• Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que – Located on River Road, this longtime downtown restaurant serves a wide variety of smoked pork, chicken, brisket and sausage. You can also get steaks, hot wings and platters that mix and match your favorite items into one big feast. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Corky’s Ribs and BBQ – This Memphis-based chain has been wowing East Tennessee with its award-winning ribs and other barbecue goodies for several years now. Their hickory-smoked items are meaty, succulent and fall-of-the-bone tender. Plus their blend of special sauces helps complement the smoky goodness with zest flavors. Located in downtown Gatlinburg on the Parkway.

Cabin Of The Week – Black Gum Creek

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This week, we’ll be telling you a little more about one of our Pigeon Forge cabins, Black Gum Creek. This cabin’s name comes from the black gum trees that surround it, providing a serene wooded setting in a location that’s convenient to Dollywood theme park.

Traditional log and mortar construction provide a rustic exterior, but inside, the amenities are anything but primitive. The three bedrooms with king-size Aspen log beds and two full bathrooms comfortably accommodate four guests, while amenities such as a pool table, outdoor hot tub, whirlpool tub in the master suite, charcoal grill and two wood-burning fireplaces make fun relaxation unavoidable, especially during cooler weather. There are also three satellite TVs and a DVD player for entertainment purposes.

This cabin has two decks, the lower one with the hot tub and the upper one with chairs for enjoying the wooded Pigeon Forge surroundings. Speaking of surroundings, you can hear the babbling of a nearby river, and if you walk or drive down to the waterfront, you can fish, swim or picnic, depending on the weather. Also, be sure to ask about the swimming pool that’s available for guests of Black Gum Creek.

Scavenger Hunt!

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Everybody’s probably been on a scavenger hunt, but have you ever been on one in the Great Smoky Mountains? The 4th Annual Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt takes place March 3, beginning at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.
The hunt covers most of the park, using roads and official trails to access particular areas, and teams are required to answer questions to earn points. Some questions require research to answer. Questions are worth different point values, depending on the level of difficulty. The team with the most points wins prizes. You can have as many people on your team as you like, provided everyone can fit into a single vehicle. As it is illegal to remove items from the park, one digital camera with a flash memory card will be required per team.

The event will take place over a 24-hour period, with teams receiving their hunt questions via e-mail by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2. Answers are due back at Tremont no later than 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. A light dinner will be served while tallying takes place. Advance registration required. This event is limited to 200 participants so register early! Cost per team: $50

Tremont is a non-profit environmental education center that provides in-depth education programs that celebrate ecological and cultural diversity, foster stewardship, and nurture appreciation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For additional information, visit Tremont’s website at http://www.gsmit.org.

While you’re preparing to explore the heartland of the Smokies, you’ll also need to find overnight lodgings near Tremont. Contact us at here at Heartland Cabin Rentals and choose from our wide selection of rental cabins.

Themed Dining in Gatlinburg

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Hungry? When visiting Gatlinburg, you’ll find dozens and dozens of dining options, from fast food to fine dining and local restaurants to national chains. How do you decide where to go? Here are a few suggestions for eateries that have good food and also a solid, established theme that will engage senses besides the one of taste.

• Bubbba Gump Shrimp Co.
If you liked the movie Forrest Gump, you’ll love this restaurant on the downtown Parkway, where the movie comes to life through fun memorabilia, and your taste buds will come alive to the flavors of a wide variety of shrimp dishes, of course, as well as other seafood delights.

• The Park Grill
The mighty hand-hewn timbers that make up this Parkway eatery have a mountain lodge feel, which is appropriate since Great Smoky Mountains National Park is only a stone’s throw away. Dine on steaks, chicken and regional recipes like Smoky Mountain trout.

• Hard Rock Café
Experience the entire history of rock and roll—the sights, the sounds, the smells—inside this restaurant, where the food rocks as much as the décor.

• Best Italian Café
A local favorite since 1976, this Mediterranean café serves Italian cuisine that’s delicioso, from their famous garlic rolls to the pizza and other gooey, cheesy entrees.

In most cases, you’ll enjoy dining in, but if you want to just try the food, get an order to go and enjoy it in the comfort of one of our Gatlinburg, TN, cabin rentals.

The Scary Side of Gatlinburg

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Halloween may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean you can’t trade in the chills of winter for the chills of a scary good time in the Smoky Mountains. Several area attractions make it their business to make sure you’re frightened out of your wits but leave you screaming for more.

The Mysterious Mansion on River Road is one of the town’s older attractions, but it’s still one of the ones people come back to again and again. This turn-of-the-century-style Victorian house has secret passageways, a damp dungeon and lots of things that go bump in the night (and the day). Some folks say the ghosts are real, but you can find out for yourself when you pay a visit—if you dare.

At Ripley’s Haunted Adventure on the Parkway, they use state-of-the-art technology and special effects to make customers’ skin crawl, but live actors in makeup also add to the thrills as you shriek your way from room to room.

There are also a couple of haunted tours of the city, including Gatlinburg Ghost & Haunt Tour and Ghostwalk of Gatlinburg, both of which lead groups of guests on walking tours of town, pointing out a lot of local history and weaving in tales of the strange and the macabre.

When visiting Gatlinburg, we can provide you with first-class, non-haunted accommodations in one of our secluded Smoky Mountain cabins. If we made them any more secluded, no one would be able to hear your screams! Muwahahahaha!!!!