Honeymoon in Gatlinburg area.

[Guest Murzor]

Greetings from Indiana! My soon to be wife and I will be heading to the Gatlinburg area for our honeymoon.

With that said I'm reaching out to all of you for information. I need your local do's and dont's for carrying. I know the laws, but you know the real world, and thats what I need to know. Any info would be helpful, and maybe i'll run into some of you on the trip!

Shoot straight, and God bless

[dats82]

You should look through the carry prohibited locations for that area. That will give you a heads up before you get there. This list is likely not comprehensive.

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/forum/55-carry-prohibited-locations/

Also, as you probably know, if you have a permit that is recognized in whatever state you are in, you can carry in the national park, but you are still not permitted to carry in the park buildings.

Thanks for visiting our state, and congratulations to the two of you!

[Clod Stomper]

What he said.

Plus, while open carry is legal in TN, hence legal on the TN side of the Smokies, not all Parkies will be aware of the law and may call LE on you (while wetting their pants) if they spot a gun. Especially if they're seasonal. LE will know the law, but to avoid hassle, I'd just keep it concealed

Also remember that NC law applies while on the NC side of the park and TN law applies on the TN side. So when you cross Newfound Gap, the law changes. I am not very familiar with NC law.

One more thing... please, PLEASE. For the love of all that is Holy. Do NOT stop in the middle of the road to see a bear. If you just HAVE to see a bear that is stopping traffic, find a place to pull out of the road. THEN go join the herd of tourists that are snapping pictures. The residents of Sevier Co and other Park employees will thank you.

Have a good trip, and congratulations!

Will

[dats82]

One more thing... please, PLEASE. For the love of all that is Holy. Do NOT stop in the middle of the road to see a bear. If you just HAVE to see a bear that is stopping traffic, find a place to pull out of the road. THEN go join the herd of tourists that are snapping pictures. The residents of Sevier Co and other Park employees will thank you.

This made me smile, but it's painfully true. I will never forget this lady in Cade's Cove who stopped her car in the middle of the road and literally ran toward the bear to take a pic. Asside from the traffic issue, please realize that these are still wild animals, and they very well could eat you.

[Guest adurbin]

We watched several people chase, on foot, a mother and her cubs through Cade's cove to get pictures. I held my itchy trigger finger off the camera's capture button just waiting for the mother bear to turn around and thin the gene pool a bit. But, congrats to you both and have fun!

[Parrothead]

keep it concealed and enjoy all TN has to offer.

[jon29253]

Congrats. Carry. Enjoy.

[frankmako]

keep it concealed and enjoy all TN has to offer.

plus one on this. have fun while you are here.

[williamsburg]

keep it concealed and enjoy all TN has to offer.

This is the best idea.

Congrats on getting married.

Have fun in the Smokies.

Alot to do over there.

Hey Murzor whatcha know about ? I see you're a member there too.

[Guest vca2004]

The Cades Cove motor trail is in the National Park, but has buildings you might want to get out and see. So get a vehicle safe that can be mounted to your car seat with a cable and you can leave your firearm in the car when necessary and not have to miss out on stuff.

Congrats and enjoy!

[Seabeejason]

You just have to be aware of the tourists. Some of them get freaked out a bit by a gun. I was backpacking out of the backcountry a while back and had a .44 magnum strapped to my side and happened to run into a couple tourists from Chicago (they were foreign too). They were very interested in our packs, where we had been, etc. They were really nice until they seen our guns and then things got a little awkward. They were still nice to us though. All long as you are courteous about it I think most people are accepting.

For the most part you will be just fine. Just don't carry into park buildings or posted businesses (all the common sense stuff). And if someone asks why you have a gun just use it as an opportunity to educate them about the 2nd Amendment and the right to carry.

[Glenn]

If you are interested, Gatlinburg has a distillery and a winery that give away free samples. You don't want to forget you are carrying and indulge in the free samples.

Glenn

[peejman]

What they said. Keep it concealed and you'll be fine.

Traffic will be horrible most everywhere on the weekends, be prepared for that. If you're sight seeing, please use the pull-offs and let folks pass. Cades Cove is closed to vehicles on saturday and wednesday mornings until 10am. Lots of trails are closed due to storm damage.

We watched several people chase, on foot, a mother and her cubs through Cade's cove to get pictures. I held my itchy trigger finger off the camera's capture button just waiting for the mother bear to turn around and thin the gene pool a bit. But, congrats to you both and have fun!

I've watched people hold their toddlers out the car window to see the mama bear and her cubs.

Interestingly, I've hiked in the park for many years. I'd never seen a bear outside of the cove before this year. We saw a mama and two cubs off the Rainbow Falls trail 2 months ago and a solitary bear near Grotto Falls a couple weeks ago.

[Guest Murzor]

Thank you everyone for the information. We will be arriving Sunday afternoon and leaving for Virginia on Wed. Hopefully traffic and touristy stuff wont be too crowded. I promise I will pull over when Im getting smacked to stop to see the bears.