A report from the Smokies

[Collin Hays]

I went to the Smokies last week to check on a few properties, meet with my management team, and do some fly fishing.  Here are my observations:

Gatlinburg was still relatively busy, but not like a typical summer.  Several nights, we didn't have to wait for a table at a restaurant.  The traffic going through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge was still heavy, but not bumper-to-bumper.  

Townsend looked half empty.  To the east, Cosby looked slow.  There is a brand-new campground there with cabins, and it looked to be about 50 percent occupied, maybe less.

I drove over to Maggie Valley, NC and it was absolutely dead.  It felt like February.  Many of the shops were closed, and even finding a restaurant open to eat at from Sunday through Tuesday was a challenge.  Lots of empty parking lots and closed souvenir stores.  I have never seen Maggie Valley this way during the summer months.  

I drove through several entrances of the national park to kind of gauge traffic.  Sugarlands, Greenbrier, Cosby, and Cataloochee.  If the NPS is stating that the number of visitors to the GSMNP is up from last year, something's wrong with their counter, as it simply can't be.  I talked to merchants all over the region that told me business is way down.