Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is a wonderful location for getting away for the…read moreweekend, or linger. They have individual campsites and group campsites with a pavilion and restrooms with showers, and a group campfire area. It is a beautiful area and perfect for people traveling with horses that line to camp and ride. Follow me on Yelp for more things to see and do in East Tennessee.

If you like the Red River George?this it's Big Big brother…read more We spent 3 days hiking & enjoyed ever bit of it. Place is well known for white water rafting. Only drawback was, We here early April & lots of stores were open for season yet.

Very clean well organized visitors center. Staffed by very friendly and knowledgeable people. A…read moreroom full of brochures organized by each area of East Tennessee. I live in this part of Tennessee and was able to find some information on places I had not been to or heard of.

Rest area just inside of Kentucky - nicely done landscaping and clean restrooms are the main draw…read morehere. It was nice to get out of the car and walk around a bit.

Very friendly and informative. Especially food and nightlife suggestions. A movie or kiosks about…read morehistory of city would have enhanced

As a nomad, my family has lived in and visited countless cities and we always check out the…read morevisitors centers to get the lay of the land. The Knoxville Visitors Center is head and shoulders above any other I've been to regarding the service and the offerings. What other center has a working radio station, complete with live music performances (Blue Plate Special)? There are countless maps, bus, trolley, and event schedules, biz flyers, and a fairly comprehensive gift shop. I love that the gift shop is full of local vendor merchandise. This spot is a true celebration of our city. Make sure to check out the outdoor wall mural near the rear parking lot.

Sugarland Visitor Center on the Tennessee side on Great Smoky Mountain National Park was crowded…read morewith visitors during my visit. The parking lot was full at 9:30 in the morning! The Center offers a nice exhibit of animals and plants that can be seen in the park. Rangers are available to help answer questions and help design Park itineraries for visitors. The Center is a perfect place to pick up maps and other Park info. We bought parking passes and I picked up several cool walking sticks in the gift shop to give as gifts. Prices on some items were reasonable. The staff were super friendly despite the crowds. There are rest rooms available...the last real restrooms before entering the Park. Outside, are little "gardens" featuring native Park vegetation. Addition parking is being added. Every visitor to the Park should plan a stop at the Center. Plan 30 minutes to an hour.

A nice stop along the way into the National Park. Parking is a bit tough because it seems to…read morealways be busy. The museum inside is worth a look. The gift shop is really nice and has a large variety of things for purchase.

We stopped at the Spur Welcome Center during our Smoky Mountain vacation and were impressed by how…read moremodern and updated the facility feels. The staff were friendly and helpful, and there were plenty of maps, brochures, coupons for local attractions, and souvenirs to browse while we planned our adventures. The location is one of its biggest advantages. Compared to the smaller downtown visitor center, I much prefer this one because it's easier to get in and out of, has ample parking, and feels less hectic than navigating the busy Parkway area. It's a convenient stop whether you're heading into Gatlinburg or the national park. One thing to note is the new park parking policy: if you park for more than 15 minutes inside the Smokies, you'll need to purchase a parking tag. I was initially a little frustrated by that, but I understand the need to help support park operations and visitor services. Later, I learned the parking tag revenue goes to the federal government (currently being used on DC projects) rather than staying at this specific visitor center or within the local community, which was disappointing to me personally. Overall, this is a clean, welcoming, and well-organized visitor center that makes a great first stop before exploring the Smokies.

The Gatlinburg Welcome Center is a good stop for local information and Great Smoky Mountains…read moreNational Park updates. We made several visits to the center to pick up maps, parking passes, shirts, post cards and gifts. The staff is super friendly, helpful and will answer questions. Prices are reasonable. They carry hiking and Park guides. I highly recommend picking up maps because internet connectivity is rarely available in the Park. Free maps are available and specialty guides are only $1. Restrooms are available at the Center. There is limited parking and a larger lot up the hill. We always found parking no matter what time of day that we visited. The Center is also a stop and provides parking to ride the free trolly that goes to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg.

Good place to stop before heading into the park for maps, information and restrooms. It does get…read morecrowded with heavy traffic on the weekend

It was clean their and all of the workers were very nice and helpful. We got a couple books and…read moresuch like that from when the new worker loudly announced the closing time. It wasn't a bother for me but the other workers apologized anyway. It's a good place to go before or after a hike.

We had to cancel Mammoth Cave twice, but so glad we were able to come. We enjoyed the two our tour…read moreand a break from the heat in a 54 degree cave. There is over 640 steps and areas to squeeze through/dunk/sideways around. We had several wow moments. The pictures don't do it justice. I would definitely return and do the longer tour.

We did the Frozen Niagara tour. It is the part of the cave where the most formations are, and other…read moretours go to this part too. This one is only a half-mile long. If you are physically able, I suggest doing a different tour such as the Historic Tour which are longer. Also for the Frozen Niagara tour, we had to be bussed to/from the entrance, vs other tours the entrance is right by the visitor center. The tour guides were informed. A few issues: when they turned off all the lights so we could see how dark it was, they kept them off far too long. Also, on the way back the shuttle dropped us off at a different place from where we were picked up. I understand we had to walk over a special mat so we didn't carry bacteria out of the cave. But they didn't say where we were or how to get back to the visitor center. I had to ask, which I thought was weird.

Great visitor center! Super cool three dimensional 'map' that shows the whole park and topological…read morefeatures. Also the trails are on this map, so you can figure out how much uphill will be required. Friendly knowledgeable Park rangers. Always get good advice from the rangers. Lots of parking. Restrooms. Small museum. Big Field out back. Lucky enough to see herd of elk (pictured). Easy flat River trail starts here and about 3 miles out and back if you do the whole thing. Trail crosses under blue ridge parkway. Pics of the trail, people bridge, information sign, herd of elk enclosed. Here is a great afternoon! Start with lunch at wise guyz pizza (see separate review). After lunch cross the river on the people bridge. Turn right and short distance starts the River trail. Walk to the visitor center, chat with the rangers, check out the museum. Then walk back to wise guyz and your parked car. Good lunch and decent hike, doesn't get much better than that. Enjoy!

Visited on a Sunday afternoon so it was pretty busy. Parking lot was pretty full but we only had to…read morecircle once to find a spot. Restrooms are located right off the parking lot. The Rangers inside the visitor center are very helpful. They also have quite a few passport stamps available inside at the ranger desk. There's a small museum inside. There's also a nice outdoor patio with chairs you can sit in to take in the view. While we were there a small herd of elk passed through, and it was fun to watch from afar. The Farmhouse Museum located behind the visitor center was really fun to walk through. There are many chickens walking around the area, as well as a hog pen. There's also a trail beyond the hog pen that allows you to walk down by the creek. This was a fun stop! Would highly recommend!

This place is great to hike. Friendly staff at the visitor center. Plenty of parking space. We had…read morea great time here.

I recently stopped here to visit the Cumberland Gap and the Scenic Overlook while on my journey to…read moreJohnson City tennessee. We first stopped at the visitor center and we were thankful that there wasn't a lot of people inside. Staff here is very quiet and they weren't too interested in giving us a excited speech walking us to the area like most places probably would. Wasn't a big deal but this place has a nice gift shop and plenty of cool history and facts to check out. We then checked out the scenic Overlook which I have a separate review for. Then followed by going to the bridge that you drive through. Overall, I thought this place was a great little detour to check out and to rest my legs. Plenty of great things to see