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Traveling from Charleston to Nashville and want to spend the night in either Gatlinburg or Travelers Rest, which town has more to do? Nice restaurants night life and some outdoor daytime activities. Hiking, water fun etc etc? Thanks
If you have the cash, stay in downtown Greenville - much, much nicer than anything in TR (although TR has come a long way). Downtown G'ville has numerous great restaurants and "night life" - there is no night life in TR.
Outdoor, daytime activity? just go to Falls Park and bring your camera.
IMO, Gatlinburg is one of the tackiest cities in the country (with the worst traffic!) - avoid it.
From a strictly logistical standpoint, Gatlinburg makes more sense as it's about half way, while TR is less than two hours into a 6 - 7 hour drive.
As drfranklin pointed out, the two are also on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum:
Gatlinburg is a somewhat tacky tourist town, but it's loaded to the rim with things to do, places to eat, lodging, and it's literally at the gate to Great Smoky Mountain NP (miles and miles of hiking, sight seeing, driving, etc).
Travelers Rest is nice, but it's a smallish town with a few restaurants, and virtually no lodging.
If you aren't looking to cut the drive in half (Greenville is still at least 5 hours from Nashville), then I'd second Greenville itself, otherwise I think I'd go with Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, or somewhere along I40 between Asheville and Knoxville.
Thanks for replies, not really looking for a touristy place like Gatlinburg is described, any other suggestions that might be a little further along than Greenville?
Drive an hour north of Greenville, SC to Asheville - Asheville is the antithesis of Gatlinburg. Then, take I-40 west (out of Asheville) to Nashville (4 and 1/2 hours to Nashville - plus you gain an hour with central time).
If you haven't seen downtown Greenville/Falls Park, you really need to make the quick detour on I-385 (it ends right in downtown) and have lunch/dinner there - again, make sure you see Falls Park. You can then take Hwy 25 north to Asheville - MUCH prettier drive than I-26.
I'd say Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge but if you don't want something touristy, that won't work. I second Greenville or Asheville. Another place you might want to check into is Knoxville, TN. It has a nice downtown with restaurants and nightlife. It is further along the way so you're not stopping too soon. You have plenty of choices.
We were planning to go to Nashville and we were going to stop in Chattanooga, TN, but that would be a different route for you, through Atlanta. Otherwise, if not Greenville, I would stay in Asheville or Waynesville.
Some people call Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge the "Myrtle Beach of the mountains" as they have more shopping, restaurants and tourist attractions. Including Dollywood theme park. But I would hardly consider Traveler's Rest a tourist destination, as it is more of quiet, small town near the foothills of the mountains. But they do have a Hardee's and a Walmart.
Asheville would be my stopping point for the day. It's roughly halfway and you would have plenty of time left in your day to sight see a little, have some dinner, and still get a good night's sleep.
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