While many visitors to the Smoky Mountains know and love driving the Cades Cove loop, there’s another motor nature trail that’s worth exploring, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Located just minutes from Gatlinburg, this beautiful scenic drive is full of history and exciting sights to see!

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When visiting Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, you will find numerous distilleries where you can sample and purchase authentic “white lightning”’. Up until the last decade or so, the practice was illegal, but today making moonshine is big (and legal) business. Here is some history of moonshine - an iconic part of life in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains.

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Appalachian log cabins came from the influence of German and Scandinavian traditions brought by settlers to the area in the 18th century. The masonry can mostly be traced to Scotch-Irish influence, and the design has a resemblance to that of English. Most logs used during that time used would have been chestnut, oak, spruce, and poplar.

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Originally approved by Congress in 1944, the Foothills Parkway was envisioned as a 72-mile route from Chilhowee Lake to Cosby. In the late 1960s, portions of the Foothills Parkway were completed: a 17-mile section between US 129 and Walland, and on the eastern end, a 5.5-mile section connecting Cosby with Interstate 40.  

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Considered a hidden gem in the Smokies, Pittman Center offers small-town charm and breathtaking natural scenery. Visitors to Pittman Center enjoy peace, quiet, history, and an entrance to the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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