Pigeon Forge gears up for busy summer as vacationers flock to East Tennessee
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Pigeon Forge is a busy place no matter the time of year. As we get closer to the warm summer months, events like Rod Run and other festivals and parades become more common place.
Places like the Valley Forge Inn on the Parkway benefit from the increased volume of people this time of year.
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'This is probably the best time of year for us because we just came off our break time, our slower time,' said Valley Forge Inn employee Daniel. 'Like I said, it's one of the best times for us. Money wise, it's great.'
Thousands have already descended on Pigeon Forge and with Rod Run less than a week away it's expected to get even busier. Daniel has been with Valley Forge Inn for nine years. He said in his time at the hotel he has seen changes.
'There's been a few changes especially with some of the parking guidelines and selling and stuff like that,' he said. 'That's definitely impacted it a lot.'
Adria Boyd from Kingsport said she and her family come down every year and they have also seen immense changes in the area.
Definitely a lot more busy. There's a lot more to do obviously, way more attractions, obviously The Island was a big thing and that changed over time,' Boyd said. 'Definitely a lot busier.'
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Visitors we spoke with ranged from the Tri-Cities to Alabama as they take in everything Pigeon Forge has to offer.
'It's my son's birthday next week. The beach was over crowded and we just wanted to try something new.' Alabama native Hallie said. 'We enjoy it, this is their second time coming and they're able to do mostly everything. I feel safer coming up here than I do at the beach. We've walked almost all the way down that way and all the way up this way today and hadn't been scared or nothing.'
The Valley Forge Inn is one of the last few family owned hotels in the area. Daniel told 6 News it's always great to see the people who make return trips year in and year out.
'We definitely have a lot of people come stay with us just because of our location,' he explained. 'The Island is right behind us and we're dead in the center of town. So I think a lot of people choose us for that reason. We definitely have a lot of returning guests and they've become like family to us really.'
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With the spring Rod Run coming to Pigeon Forge next week, hotels are beginning to fill up. It just shows how popular and busy this area gets when the temperatures start to warm up.
According to the My Pigeon Forge website, there is something going on every weekend from now through at least the end of the summer.
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