I just wanna say that I cannot believe that this park is TOTALLY FREE TO VISIT. Lots of little quiet walkway trails and pulloffs for fishing. Elkmont and Cades Cove are worth the hype. Sugarlands Visitor Center was surprisingly small... and crowded.
Way bigger than I was expecting! Definitely can be frustrating with all the other cars, but if anyone is being annoying just pull over at a pull off and let them get ahead of you. Roll down the windows and listen to the frogs. And keep eyes peeled for wildlife!
Easy find, lots of signs and a parking lot right next to it. It’s in great condition, and they’re working on fixing some of them up. Bathrooms were still closed for the season in mid March FYI!
Love that you can walk lots of places from here (we walked to Epic Brewing and to some restaurants from here.) Comfy beds, really nice view of the mountains and the city from the room. Typical flowery, pastel-y old-school decor that I didn't mind because it kinda made sense with the Grand Hotel vibe. Afternoon tea looked really cute, there was a harpist and stuff.
Decently popular hike, passed by a lot of people. It's a well-worn path but there's no signage, but the others hiking here were helpful in letting us know we were on the right path. Saw lots of cute dogs on the trail. I will say that it was really snowy on the trail and coming back down was incredibly slippery for someone just wearing sneakers. We didn't make it all the way to the living room itself, which was a bummer since it looked super rad with the rocks and the view, but even going halfway up the trail offered some awesome scenery.
I didn't eat here, although the menu looked amazing. We just had a few drinks at the bar. More of a cocktail joint than a beer bar. The bartender was really cool, but I have to knock off points because they mistakenly gave one of us the wrong menu that let us see just how much they jacked up the prices while Sundance was going on. I still can't believe I paid $9 for a can of Uinta pils. I could probably get a 6-pack of that beer at the store for $9, maybe less, and the off-Sundance menu showed us that they normally charge $6 for that same beer. All the cocktails on the jacked up menu were in the $20-$30 range which is absolutely insane.
Not too long of a wait, insanely friendly service, amazing donut holes. Order your Bloody Mary extra spicy!
It was greasy and fried and delicious. Amazing fried Brussels sprouts. I wish the chedda tots had been less salty. Really solid burgers. I regret not getting a milkshake.
I have no reason to not give this place my wholehearted recommendation. We just watched the video in the visitor center and then walked the short paved path around the mound. Love that there was an observation tower for a birds’ eye view but it’s a bit rickety so BE CAREFUL. You could probably make an afternoon of other trails here.
Go down Main Street and you can’t miss it. It’s near the Mothman Museum. A seriously great photo op!