Fall trip to Nashville/Gatlinburg recommendations

[KeysNole]

I have business in Grandview Tennessee and would like to make the most of the trip. The wife and I will be flying into Nashville from Ft. Lauderdale. Our aim is to catch the leaves changing. It appears as though late October-mid November are our best bets.

Looking to spend 1-2 nights in Nashville, then make our way to the Gatlinburg area. We generally like to head off the touristy path, so I know going to Gatlinburg may be counterproductive. We are open to other recommendations. The only thing we are tied to is a day trip to Grandview, which is 135 miles SE of Nashville. Gatlinburg is another 100 miles east.

We want to accomplish a few things: Good music/food, winery (Arrington Vineyards?), zip lining, and leaves changing. It looks like white water rafting is out of season.

Best "authentic" bars/clubs in Nashville? Is going to the Vanderbilt campus worth it?

Places to stay with mountain/river views in Gatlinburg or surrounding areas?
Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[OrlandNole]

I'm working on a deadline, so just a few quick thoughts here, I'll try to post more later after others chime in:

Arrington - Nice local winery near my house. Check to see if they're playing music while you're here and bring a picnic. Make a day trip out of it and check out Lieper's Fork and Franklin.

Music - Broadway and 2nd Avenue is a must - stroll down and pop in and out of Honky Tonks. Check out what's playing at the Ryman while you're in town. The Bluebird Cafe is packed but a Nashville original.

Restaurants - There are so many new ones that I lose track. Some that I like: Catbird Seat, Bastion, Etch, Pharmacy, The Chef and I.

Gatlinburg - It's a zoo in late October. Plan on spending hours sitting in your car in traffic. That's all I got.

 

[OrlandNole]

As an alternative to Gatlinburg, check out Chattanooga and Fall Creek Falls State Park. Both are near Grandview.

 

[LesClaypool]

Vandy campus is not worth visiting IMO.

 

[cfbfan23]

As an alternative to Gatlinburg, check out Chattanooga and Fall Creek Falls State Park. Both are near Grandview.

I'll take Chattanooga over Gatlinburg any day of the week. We did a little hike in the Laurel-Snow State Natural Area....it wasn't during the Fall, but I imagine it would be a pretty good spot to view the leaves in Autumn.

 

[runkpanole]

Vandy campus is not worth visiting IMO.

We drove through on our recent trip and I agree. It wasn't anything special. That said, we did enjoy the Pancake Pantry nearby.

As for Gatlinburg. The mountains were beautiful, but I felt like I was in tourist hell. I'd rather find some other places in the mountains.

 

[Random_John]

I 3rd Chattanooga. Didn't Gatlinburg burn halfway down a year or two ago?

 

[OrlandNole]

I 3rd Chattanooga. Didn't Gatlinburg burn halfway down a year or two ago?

I was there last month. You wouldn't even know there was a fire.

 

[Imtotallynottribe]

I have business in Grandview Tennessee and would like to make the most of the trip. The wife and I will be flying into Nashville from Ft. Lauderdale. Our aim is to catch the leaves changing. It appears as though late October-mid November are our best bets.

Looking to spend 1-2 nights in Nashville, then make our way to the Gatlinburg area. We generally like to head off the touristy path, so I know going to Gatlinburg may be counterproductive. We are open to other recommendations. The only thing we are tied to is a day trip to Grandview, which is 135 miles SE of Nashville. Gatlinburg is another 100 miles east.

We want to accomplish a few things: Good music/food, winery (Arrington Vineyards?), zip lining, and leaves changing. It looks like white water rafting is out of season.

Best "authentic" bars/clubs in Nashville? Is going to the Vanderbilt campus worth it?

Places to stay with mountain/river views in Gatlinburg or surrounding areas?
Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.

I have a different opinion than the average LRer apparently, I think Nashville is vastly overrated as a tourist destination unless you’re into country music (but Prince’s hot chicken IS the real deal just make sure you down grade at least one heat level from what you normally get for Buffalo Wings, for example I normally get hot or extra hot wings at Hobbit/BW3/Hooters/wherever but the hot at Prince’s was way too hot while my wife’s medium was perfect). And I think Gatlinburg is unfairly maligned as long as you know what to do when you’re there.

Before moving on to Gatlinburg, I will say that I enjoy Chattanooga and its surrounds more than Nashville as there’s more to do if you’re not a country music fan (and I’m not). But I enjoy Gatlinburg/Cherokee/Pigeon Forge/Sieverville better than Chattanooga.

As far as where to stay in the area, unfortunately I can’t be a big help because I own property in Fallston NC which is about 2.5 hours away so I frequently just get up early and pull in late on a trip there and when I don’t I just stay at the casino resort in Cherokee.

As far as the best views/pulloff points/short hikes in the area, most of the best east of the Mississippi will be found on the road between Cherokee and Gatlinburg. It is a fantastic drive especially if you go out of your way and drive out to Clingman’s Dome which is a turnoff about a third of the way to Gatlinburg from Cherokee.

Actually, I had some work pop up so I’ll come back and finish this later.

 

[seminoledq]

Party Fowl, Puckett's, Hattie B's for some good grub in Nashville.

 

[semihawk]

I did the opry and saw martina McBride. Wow, what a voice. granted the Gaylord place is not the same as the old ryman but it's still worth a visit.

 

[KeysNole]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Wife's priority is leaves changing...she's a bit set on Gatlinburg due to proximity to everything, but we have a few months to iron everything out.

 

[billanole]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Wife's priority is leaves changing...she's a bit set on Gatlinburg due to proximity to everything, but we have a few months to iron everything out.

Just know that Gatlinburg is a version of the Old Miracle Strip in Panama City mixed with a Myrtle Beach kinda thing.
It is so crowded in leaf season that you don’t really have freedom of movement, but of course some of the rentals are situated with great views and you can just hang tight and soak it all in.

 

[cmanole]

For a nice hike that's not too demanding but with plenty of scenery, drive up Mt. LeConte then hike to the falls.

 

[Nole Lou]

I have family in Knoxville so we're by there all the time, and I swore off Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge probably 20 years ago. I'm all about touristy kitschy stuff, like Myrtle Beach and Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. But the last couple times I went there I spent nearly all the time in the car at a complete standstill. Total waste of time. I'm sure there are off-seasons, weekdays, early mornings, etc ways to do it, but I would not venture there again without being very sure I was arranging it to totally avoid the traffic.

We've been to Nashville a couple times and like it. We saw the country music hall of fame, and the Johnny Cash museum, both of which were interesting and I liked, but I wouldn't add them to a bucket list. Walking around the Opryland Hotel inside was kind of a trip.

Everyone says they hate it, but we really enjoy drinking and going bar to bar on broadway listening to the bands. We don't like country, and you can go up and down Broadway listening to bands and not have to listen to any country country. Sure there are country bands playing, but there are plenty of party rock, singer/songwriter, folk, stuff there too. We're not big partiers, but for us we've had a blast drinking on broadway, listening to music, and getting food at acme, or whatever that underground hamburger place is.

But I like Chattanooga too. If I wasn't planning on the drinking side of it, I'd probably visit Chatannooga.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

But I like Chattanooga too. If I wasn't planning on the drinking side of it, I'd probably visit Chatannooga.

There are some great breweries and bars in Chattanooga! Hutton & Smith and Heaven & Ale are both doing great things.