Glades Road Is the Gatlinburg Nobody Mentions

The Parkway is pancake houses and taffy shops and neon that begs for your attention like it's being paid by the photon. Fine if that's your thing.

Five minutes off the Parkway on Glades Road, everything changes. The Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community stretches eight miles through the hollows — over a hundred studios and shops, the largest independent artisan community in North America. Ogle's Broom Shop has been making brooms by hand for generations, and watching the work — twist, tie, trim — in a room that smells like corn shuck and hickory is more interesting than anything on the Parkway. Cliff Dwellers Gallery shows pottery and woodwork from local makers, and this isn't souvenir-grade stuff.

Go on a weekday. Stop at every open door. The artisans are friendlier than the T-shirt shop employees and their stories are better than anything the Parkway is selling.