We have rented cabins in the area 13 times. 12 of the 13 we rented in the Timber Ridge area and loved every cabin. The one time we left that neighborhood we found a condom floating in the hot tub and pills under a bed.

If you are going to be there for a week and want to see the both the National Park and Dollywood I highly recommend getting season passes to Dollywood. Go to the park in the morning when it is cooler out. Get an early dinner then head to Dollywood at 5-6pm. Dollywood clears out at and the lines are much shorter in the evening. With one of your passes upgrade to the one that comes with free parking. If you go to Dollywood a few evenings you will get to ride so many more than going during the day. Food is expensive in Dollywood, like every amusement park, so eating dinner before you go will save you $$.

Anonymous wrote:Would you consider a hotel?
My kids loved the pool at the DoubleTree in Gatlinburg.

I was going to recommend this too. We stayed here last year and were very happy with it. It’s high up with a nice view, and it’s a stop on the gatlinburg trolly (it might not be called a trolly, little bus, whatever). I was not impressed with either Dollywood or gatlinburg but we did like the doubletree.

I would stay at the resort at Dollywood personally.

Would you consider a hotel?
My kids loved the pool at the DoubleTree in Gatlinburg.

Anonymous wrote:OP, we went several years ago and I will not recommend the cabin we stayed in. I would search on Airbnb for your dates and not accept anything lower than a 4.9 or 4.8 rating and then go with the lowest reviews, and see why that is. If it has anything about cleanliness, stay away! it baffles me the filth that people are willing to put up with and give it a good review anyway.

This is part of why I've really started trying to avoid private rentals unless they're possibly recommended. We've ended up staying in so many disgustingly filthy places with great reviews and I can never get comfortable. The have been occasional his but way more misses.

OP, we went several years ago and I will not recommend the cabin we stayed in. I would search on Airbnb for your dates and not accept anything lower than a 4.9 or 4.8 rating and then go with the lowest reviews, and see why that is. If it has anything about cleanliness, stay away! it baffles me the filth that people are willing to put up with and give it a good review anyway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Hahahaha, you’re not wrong.

OP, imagine ocean city but with guns and whisky instead of surf boards and beer.

Yes, I’ve always called it Myrtle Beach in the middle of the mountains.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Lol so accurate. The place we stayed in had bed bugs. Turns out it’s nearly impossible to eradicate them in those “rustic” looking houses with wood paneling/log looking walls. Too many places for them to hide.

OP here.

Thanks for whoever recommended the cabin, unfortunately, it's not available the dates we're going.

I've been to Gatlinburg before and I'm from the south so I know what I'm getting into (even though, as a black family, I know I'll hate the vibe). However, the kids are excited about Dollywood and my spouse is excited about the Smokies so we're committed. Culturally, it's not that much different from other places we've been (Outer Banks, Shenandoah, North Georgia) so we'll be able to bear with

The post about bed bugs has me nervous though. Are we better off just staying at one of the Dollywood resorts? I can ignore confederate flags, MAGAs, and gun culture but I'll hate being in a dirty cabin 😆

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Hahahaha, you’re not wrong.

OP, imagine ocean city but with guns and whisky instead of surf boards and beer.

The he analogy I use is OC and I Drive in Orlando had a baby and sent it to live with grandma in the mountains of TN.

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Lol so accurate. The place we stayed in had bed bugs. Turns out it’s nearly impossible to eradicate them in those “rustic” looking houses with wood paneling/log looking walls. Too many places for them to hide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Hahahaha, you’re not wrong.

OP, imagine ocean city but with guns and whisky instead of surf boards and beer.

This is entirely accurate! I posted the cabin above. I saw the warnings here about Pigeon Forge, but there’s really no preparing for that spectacle. There’s a reason we didn’t go to either town much at all. We were there for the park.

Anonymous wrote:Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

Hahahaha, you’re not wrong.

OP, imagine ocean city but with guns and whisky instead of surf boards and beer.

Have you been before? If you get the icks easily this not the place for you.

We stayed here: https://abnb.me/rvtS9ke31Gb

Very clean, beautiful views, extremely quiet. This is the quieter side, so you have a short drive to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, but you’re very close to one of the national park entrances (can’t remember the name), so it didn’t take long to get into the park at all.

Between Airbnb, VRBO, and numerous private websites, the choices for cabins in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Sevierville are overwhelming.

Has anyone stayed in a cabin they'd recommend?

We're a family of 4, and the biggest concerns are nice views, at least 2 bedrooms, separate beds for the littles (bunk or twins, not futons or sofabeds), ideally a ln arcade game, well maintained and EXTREME cleanliness. We get the ick in home rentals (as opposed to hotels) so I well kept is extremely important and judging online listings is challenging.

General price range would be no more than $350-400/night.