Gatlinburg's Nightlife Is Craft Distilleries and the Parkway

Tennessee loosened its distilling laws in 2009 and Gatlinburg answered by building moonshine tourism into an entire category. Ole Smoky Moonshine on the Parkway pours free samples until 10 PM and has live bluegrass most nights. Sugarlands Distilling runs a similar setup with better music.

For an actual bar, Crawdaddy's sits in the Gatlinburg Inn building and has been serving drinks since the dinosaurs wore suits. Smoky Mountain Brewery has a mountain view from the upper deck and IPAs that won't embarrass you.

This is a 10 PM town by default and an 11 PM town on weekends. Pigeon Forge five minutes north runs slightly later but not much. Go to bed, hike Chimney Tops in the morning.