EXPLOITS BEARS! Bears are extremely intelligent and inquisitive, foraging and exploring home ranges of up to hundreds of miles in the wild. The pit the five bears are confined to is made entirely of concrete "rocks," a log or two, and one small pool where they have to both drink and bathe. The bears are fed dog food and are typically left out on display all day, with nowhere to hide. Bears have suffered at this tourist trap for decades, and PETA has been campaigning against this roadside zoo since 1999. If this place is so wonderful, they would not need the bears to attract visitors! read more

We have been to the area a few times and it took us this long to figure out that Three Bears is the best place in the area for souvenirs. Now we know! It is a must-stop for us from here on out. So much selection in one place, and our cashier was super nice too. read more

There's a lot of things to look at! I wish there was a lot less political items though, and that all companies were used for the personalized keychains rather than the same one on all products. My name is only available on the less popular company and not the one seen in most places. read more

Love seeing the Bears but I hate to see them in captivity. They looked miserable panting in the hotbox they were in. one was so nervous he paced back and forth. read more

Great store. Lots to choose from. Have seen the bears twice. Little disappointed they were sleeping so was a waste of money to feed them. But still cool to see them up close. read more

After a delicious lunch at huckfinns the clam strips were not settling good with my stomach, seeking refuge I see the 3 bears general store. Alas I say to myself as my bowels growled with anger I ran into the home setting of the store, took an escalator up and saw the bathrooms, it was hot in there but that's no problem as I was very relieved from the strong bowel movement I have just had, if it wasn't for the store I would've had a big terrible mess, thank you also AC in the bathroom wouldn't be a bad idea read more

This is a great stop for getting Knick Knacks and souvenirs. Warning: it's packed full of stuff! And people! There is a live bear attraction but that kind of thing always makes me sad to see them in such a small space so I passed on that. There is a fudge shop within the store which is super delicious! Convenient location! read more

This is a must see place!! They have Amish goods(pickles,jellies,apple butter,dips and salsas). There is also a viewing area of three bears. For the kids the have toys and clothes. For the collectors there are dolls and nostalgic items. They have something for everyone in this store. This is one of my families favorite shops to go into. read more

The ultimate Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg souvenir stop. No cue why this place such bad reviews. It ain't Saks or Macy's but it doesn't pretend to be. Plan on spending at least an hour here. A lot of great decorative items for the house or double wide. read more

The biggest and best of all the tacky tourist shops in the Pid-Gat area. THEY HAVE BEARS! The bears (coupons available most places, or online to go in free) are $3 to go see, but worth it if you have never seen a bear. The store is two stories, has an ice cream parlor, gold panning, year round Christmas, and of course all the neon Smoky Mountain Tshirts your preteen cousins could ever want. read more

Neat store with lots of things to look at, but standard merchandise you see at every other store on the strip for souvenirs. Sadly when we checked in and got a coupon to see the live bears, we were told we had to print the coupon to get in. Not sure how they expect you to print a coupon for checking in when are checking in while you are their, sands the printer hanging off your back. One feature this location has that makes it a strong contender however is that you can get candy, icecream, hot dogs, and all if this is inside the store. read more

Go for the bears... Then leave.. The man sitting at the bear door smelled terrible and the bears looked happy but part of me felt bad because of the people who worked there. The shop is disfunctional and We couldn't leave fast enough. Go for the bears then leave. read more

The fudge there is amaz-balls!! Very friendly bunch. Highly recommend this place. Ice cream and gelato is really good too.

GET your Old Tyme photos here. Best sets and best props as well as a great staff. By far the best gift shop in this region.

Lots of stuff to look at. Live bears to see, but bring some cash to see them. Almost too much crammed in the little store. Worth a visit while waiting on the trolley. read more

Really neat general store. The gift shop is really neat. The kids loved feeding the bears and panning for gems. If you use get a local coupon guide, you can get a free gift (they are located at most hotels). read more

The only place to find a really good sugar free fudge. They have souvenirs to fit everybody needs for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

I was looking forward to get some good homemade fudge. The worker stated the fudge I got was a best seller. The fudge was really dry and did not taste very good. read more

Our family absolutely loved this store! They definitely have something for EVERYBODY from NFL, college, NASCAR, clothes, jewelry, toys, seasonal as well as an awesome food section with incredibly samples to try just about anything they have! And don't forget to feed the bears! This store is filed with fun, character, friendly staff as well as outstanding customer service all around! After reading some of the other reviews the five stars were given to the store, merchandise and customer service. It is not fair to penalize the entire organization over a personal opinion on the nature of or condition of the bears in captivity. read more

We come to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg every year. This is a MUST every time!! It has 2 stories of Smokey Mountain gifts, clothes, jewelry, flags, toys, homemade fudge made in the store, etc. The top floor has tons of Christmas ornaments, collectibles, make-your own teddy bear, old-time photo studio, relaxing area, and much, much more. I definitely recommend it!! You will not leave empty handed! read more

We come here every time we visit Gatlinburg! Its amazing! They even have live bears they rescued and you can feed them. They have a fun arcade, old picture place, and a fudge and ice cream shop inside and a variety of things to buy.This place is awesome!!!!! read more

Visiting a place that is about nature, wildlife and all the above I never expected to walk in a place and see bears held in a place smaller than my bedroom I was disgusted and ashamed they should be too. I saw 4 grown adult bears in a glass box with a "swimming hole" no deeper than my ankle and they give you dog treats to give the bears? See the bears should be shut down. I will never go back. They don't even deserve a star. read more

This place is a tourist trap with junk souvenirs like everywhere else that is heavily vacationed. They have any type of over priced TN-Labeled toys to suite your collection for all ages. As for the bears, it is $4pp to go see bears nestled together in a cage with people flashing cameras all day like they'll never see a bear again. This is abundant when the bears are furthest away as possible not even facing people. They offer a live video of the bears before even paying to go see them. The video is ancient and not real time. I put my items down and left, with not a dollar spent at their establishment. Its senseless to keep bears in a store unless they're incapable of living on their own (like some zoos take in), but this is purely for $$$. Oh yeah, and the lady running the fudgery and chocolate counter touches the treats with her bare hands after cashing people out. Do yourself a favor and clip the coupon for a free stuffed black bear in the local coupon book. Mine required no purchase on coupon. read more

Went to the gem mine store, been a regular customer for many many years, gem collector. had items to purchase and waited at register for over 5 minutes while a worker was standing behind me putting out stock and never asked if she could help. I asked her to help us and she immediately became the rudest cashier I have ever encountered. she began attacking my character saying I was mad because I did not get my way, and many other ugly things. my husband asked for manager, none on site. the other employee joined in with this rude cashier. the gentleman outside at the mining area took us to the manager of Three Bears to tell him what happened. he assured us that things would be taken care of and that someone would call us the next day. have not heard a word from them yet. Apparently from other reviews I have read, treating customers rudely is completely acceptable. Hope you don't encounter the rudeness, if you stay outside at the mining area they guys there are awesome. read more

Unfortunately one of the last things we did was see the bears. My son really wanted to see them so my wife, son and daughter went. I really had no interest as I suspected it was going to be depressing. According to what my wife reported, depressing was hardly the word. She said the conditions of these bears and their habitat was awful. I really regretted shopping at this store and supporting their terrible captivity of the bears. read more

I wanted to buy some souvenirs for my coworkers in this store. I was impressed by the size and variety I saw on the website. However, I refused to enter once I saw it had live bears there and reading into it further, these bears are very poorly treated. I cannot comprehend how they are able to get away with this. Don't shop here. read more

The new three bears general store offers visitors the opportunity to see live bears. I was not sure what to expect when I paid my $3.50 per person so my family could see the bears. I was not disappointed. The bears are in a nice habitat that is viewable on three separate levels and is on par with a major zoo. There were five bears and we really enjoyed watching our son get a kick out of them. Well worth the $3.50. We also bought half a pound of the fudge in the gift shop. read more

On this day momma bear papa bear and baby bear were strangely y missing from the admission price. Only after admission is PAID, are you informed that feeding time is better 3-4 , however we did get to see one of the cousin bears, who apparently was recovering from pen inbreeding seizure. WASTE of money. Next time I will take the money wasted buy honey and lure bears to my cabin read more

The store is huge and has a nice selection of souvenirs. For that, I'll give 2 Stars. Unfortunately, the store owns and exploits live bears for money. The bears are living in a concrete exhibit which is covered in feces (when we were there). The running waterfall into a pool had green slime lining the concrete. The bears are showing symptoms of living on concrete with turned in feet. I found it sad that these poor bears have no idea what soft ground feels like. There's no plants or greenery in the exhibit. The only "natural" pieces are dried tree trunks scattered around. The store allows customers to buy food (dog milk bones, grapes and apples pieces) to toss to the bears below. While I was there I saw multiple people hurling the food at the animals attempting to hit them. People are mean and unfortunately these bears have to put up with it to get a treat. I think the owners did a good deed by rescuing the animals to begin with from their prior situation but surely placing these animals in a sanctuary would be a better and more humane option. I get that having live bears sets this gift store apart from the dozen others scattered along this road. I would prefer to see a live webcam of these bears foraging and walking around on grass rather than concrete. read more

we like to stop here just to browse....I was going to buy my baby a doll from upstairs, searched the same doll on ebay and with shipping included, was still about 15$$ less, so their stuff is over priced. read more

Absolutely love this place! Everyone is so friendly and the store is clean and merchandise is awesome. Prices are great and we love the bears! And most of all, we love the fact that words "Jesus Saves" is on the building outside! We visit every year when we come to Pigeon Forge... wouldn't be the same without it! read more

We loved this store on our visit to pigeon forge. I have came to this store all my life. Every time we visit the smokies, we always come here. We are at Sawyers and met the owner there and just so happens to be the owner at the three bears. As he was talking to us he told us why the quote "Jesus Saves" is on the sign and that is just amazing. The store was very clean and had a great selection. The live bear attraction was great. Customer service was great. read more

The most interesting part about Three Bears is the fact that the regular fountain drinks cost 1.50 to 2.50 depending on size. I have a daughter and a wife to provide for as well so when I want to do these expensive attractions in Pigeon Forge I would expect that my large beverage would not cost a $1 to get it refilled. This in my opinion is why most states in this country are starving in ways that others are excelling because everyone is scraping pennies off of people's shoes. The service was terribly slow and then blamed the fact on not having enough people to help serve. In an attraction if you don't have enough people, just don't open at all. It's a waste of time and money. read more

I regret supporting this establishment. We had been gem mining and met the owner. We were inspired by his story and wanted to support him. When we went to see the bears, we walked in and saw them and had to leave immediately. Making money off of holding bears in a place not fit for them is so wrong. They live in a small pit that is either rubber or cement, I dont know. There is no real foliage or trees anywhere. It's hot, etc. If one claims to be a christian as the owner does and is on the front of the store, the statement is negated immediately when you walk in the store and you see God's creatures held captive in unfit quarters to make a buck. Many ways we can make money using God's talents without hurting his creation. Please don't support his establishment. Please urge him to set these free. Please take your children somewhere like Cade's Cove to see the bears where they live in their natural habitat freely enjoying God's beautiful earth! read more