Stopped in on a drive-by. Free parking and free to get in. Good start! Lots of neat stuff inside…read moreand on-site! Love the truck. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at the affordability of the products and souvenirs! So many varieties of beans that we hadn't seen in stores and for what seemed like prices lower than stores! We picked up some Apple Pie Baked Beans! Can't wait to try them!

March 23rd, 2026. Came to have lunch. Then went to visitors…read morecenter museum. It's more for kids It was ok. I'd prefer to visit the factory itself . There's a giftshop with tons of trinkets and little Buschs items.

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.

I've been a member of this association for four years. It's a great association and really helps…read morethe National Park. I love their newsletters and publications. They are doing a lot to keep the Smoky Mountain heritage alive and well. Their visitor center stores are full of useful and historical items about the Park. Kids and grownups of all ages will find something to love at the visitor's center.

From the owner: Whatever you love about the Smokies, Friends of the Smokies supports it! We assist the National…read morePark Service in its mission to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness, and by providing volunteers for needed projects. Friends of the Smokies is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

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.

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.

Oconaluftee Visitor Center is a must-stop during your roadtrip through the beautiful Great Smoky…read moreMountains. There's plenty of parking, clean restrooms, an indoor museum with a gift shop, the Mountain Farm Museum, hiking trails, and a large pasture where you might have the opportunity to see elk. We had a quick stop over so we didn't get to explore too much of the area, especially because we had our dog with us and it was quite a hot day. The indoor museum was curated well and was informative on the life in the Appalachians. The gift shop was nice, well stocked, and had plenty of options. I always buy something from National Park centers as a donation. I bought a sticker, a patch, and a magnet. They also have stamps for your National Park Passports, too!

Coming from Cherokee, this is the first Visitor's Center you will find as you drive into the Great…read moreSmoky Mountains. You may see elk, there's a lot of signage mentioning them. You may see bears, so drive slowly and be prepared to stop (carefully!) for wildlife! The farm here was so peaceful and next to the stream, and there's a museum on site as well. There were baby birds screaming from a nest above the bathroom, too, which was bonus wildlife since I saw a bear slightly further in, but no elk this time!

Great Smokey Mountains National Park is bigger than we expected! So much to take in and we only had…read moreso much time. We did go to the visitor center and get a map. It was a good visitor center and had some cool merch and friendly rangers with good advice. We hiked a bit, saw many mushrooms, squirrels, birds and snakes. We did not see bears but we heard there are there. Highly recommend and can't hardly wait to check it out again with more time.

So incredibly beautiful. So many dang bears…read more Or so I've been told. Fortunately for me, a person who is very much afraid of bears and wants nothing to do with them, I did not see any bears during my visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But they're there! Lurking ... somewhere ... in the forest, I'm sure. I visited during the spring, when the bears were waking up from their long slumber, and I'm sure they were just waiting, with growling tummies, to eat someone. Because of the bears, I didn't travel too far away from the visitor center area of Newfound Gap. But there are trails and other things to see that are beautiful if you like hiking and whatnot. As for me, I was satisfied staying close to where there was more concrete and cars than nature. (I know! I'm kind of dumb sometimes.) Newfound Gap straddles both Tennessee and North Carolina, so you can be in two states at once -- literally, you can have one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina! There's also a cool rock structure that you can climb to the top of called the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, where you'll get great views of the mountains. They really do look smoky! They ain't lyin'. The Newfound Gap area of the Smoky Mountains also has a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, plus restrooms. I saw backpackers who definitely looked like they had been on the the Appalachian Trail for a while. I've since learned that although this is not the largest national park, it's the most visited, and I believe it! There were quite a lot of people at the Newfound Gap area. That said, I visited a few other places around the park where there were zero people, so you might have to change locations, depending on how many people you want to share your park experience with.

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!

Very friendly, very clean, and very helpful visitor center. I wandered in with no idea what to do…read moreduring my weekend visit to the area. I left with several ideas plus some great tips on some nearby hiking spots. Fantastic experience.

I stopped here back in September , on my visit to see my sister who lives in Maggie Valley . It is…read morea very nice visitor center with lots and lots of brochures of things to do in the area . It has some items to buy also like shirts and stickers . I bought 2 car window stickers . The people working the place were nice . I liked the decorations outside and inside also .