Flying In To Knoxville

It’s officially the season of hot apple cider, warm blankets, and pumpkin patches. It’s also the season for fall festivals, and the Smoky Mountain area is full of them!

Here are three festivals you can enjoy while on your Smoky Mountain vacation.

1. Dollywood Harvest Festival

If you love Dollywood and the fall season then you won’t want to miss this event! From early September to late October this annual celebration marks the best weather and some beautiful fall foliage in the Smokies. Stay late into the evening to see beautifully carved pumpkins, lit up and on display. During the day you’ll enjoy fall themed food, and colorful leaves all throughout the park.

2. Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair

In early to mid October the Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair heads into full swing. Artisans from across the country gather to peddle their wares while musicians serenade the crowds. You’ll see everything from woodworking and pottery to handcrafted jewelry and leatherworkings. If you have an appreciation for handmade goods then this event is for you.

3. Wears Valley Fall Festival

The Wears Valley Fall Festival takes place in mid October and is a favorite event for locals. Come experience the hundreds of vendors, melodic live music, and incredible Southern cuisine. If you’re interested in a true rustic, Appalachian festival with plenty to do and see for the whole family, then this one is for you.

No matter the festival you choose you’ll need a place to stay. Choose from one of our many options at Bear Camp Cabin Rentals today!

Air Travel to The Smokies

In choosing the Smoky Mountains as your vacation destination, you've chosen one of the best places to bring a family, group or sweetheart (or just yourself!) for a vacation in the country. The Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee are the #1 most popular National Park in the country (for many very good reasons) and the surrounding cities are continuously on the grow with excellent attractions for kids, adults, elders and everyone in between. You and whoever you bring with you are pretty much guaranteed to have an awesome time here.

And while many of our visitors drive to the Smokies from nearby places, many more come from further around and need to fly into Knoxville to have access to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Sevierville and Wears Valley. In this article, we'll give you a short run down of what to expect when flying into Knoxville.

* McGhee-Tyson Airport *

McGhee-Tyson is our major airport for Knoxville and Sevier County. Is it located on Alcoa Highway in Alcoa, TN, roughly 58 minutes from Pigeon Forge. As far as airports go, McGhee-Tyson is thankfully smaller and simpler than some other major airports you might be familiar with (it's a lot harder to get lost). McGhee-Tyson offers several restaurants onsite (Ruby Tuesday and Quiznos, to start with), several gift stores, a huge, gorgeous indoor fountain and more. The Hilton Knoxville is the onsite hotel and you can visit their website here

Car rental companies onsite are:

* Enterprise Rent-A-Car

* Budget Car Rental

* Hertz Rent-A-Car

* Alamo Rent-A-Car

* National Car Rental

There are also taxi services you can charter to and from the airport that you can see at www.knoxvilleairporttaxi.com.

After choosing your ride, you will turn left out of the airport and go North on Highway 129. You will turn right onto West Governor John Sevier Highway and drive that until you get to Chapman Highway. Chapman Highway is the road that connects Knoxville (West) to Sevierville (East). You will want to go East towards Sevierville on Chapman Highway (which is also 441). This drive will go on for quite some time (roughly 30-35 minutes) and then you will come to Forks of the River Parkway. When you see a clock tower show up along the city skyline, you've reached Sevierville. Forks of the River Parkway is extremely short and then turns right onto the Parkway that connects Sevierville with Pigeon Forge and later Gatlinburg.

Congratulations! You've arrived at the Smoky Mountains!

If you would like to see a Google Maps path that details getting from McGhee-Tyson Airport to Pigeon Forge, here is that link: https://goo.gl/maps/y2ZqHgaNj5s

If you would like to see a Google Maps path for getting back to McGhee-Tyson from Pigeon Forge, here is that link: https://goo.gl/maps/xnE1nr6AevE2