Where Gatlinburg’s crafts actually get made
The Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community is a loop of country roads a few miles east of downtown Gatlinburg: Glades Road, Buckhorn Road and a stretch of US-321, about eight miles in all. Along it, in small shops, studios and galleries, dozens of independent artisans make and sell their work: pottery, woodworking, weaving and other textiles, brooms and baskets, jewelry, glass, leather, candles, soap, painting and photography. The community bills itself as the largest independent organization of artisans in the United States.
Its own history traces it to around 1937, when woodcarver John Cowden and other craftsmen who had worked in downtown streets and studios moved their shops out to the Glades, where many of them lived. That history matters, because the loop isn’t a themed shopping village; it’s a spread of working studios, and in many of them the person behind the counter made what’s on the shelves.
Why go? Because it’s the calm, handmade counterweight to the Parkway. Browsing is free, the pace is slow, and a piece of pottery or a hand-turned bowl from here is a better souvenir of the Smokies than anything sold downtown.
How to do the loop
Getting there. From downtown, head east on US-321, the East Parkway, for about three miles and turn onto Glades Road. Follow Glades to Buckhorn Road, then Buckhorn back out to US-321; turn right and you’re back at Glades Road, which closes the loop. On the way out, the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers, a quirky stop with a gift shop, sits in Winery Square just off US-321, about half a mile above traffic light #3.
Parking is the easy part. The member shops have their own free parking, so you drive from studio to studio and pull in at each one. It’s the opposite of downtown, where you pay once and walk.
Or take the trolley. The city’s free Yellow Route trolley runs the Glades and Buckhorn loop. It runs daytime hours only, daily from April to October and Monday to Saturday in November and December, with no service listed from January to March; a full circuit takes about an hour, so check the city’s current schedule before counting on it. Every trolley route passes the transfer hub at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies downtown.
Plan your stops. The shops sit along miles of road, so pick your crafts from the community’s map and member directory before you set off. Half a day covers a handful of studios at a relaxed pace; add a hands-on class and it becomes a full day.
The trade-offs, and who should skip it
It’s spread out. This isn’t a street you stroll. Without a car, you depend on the trolley’s season and hours, and walking between studios along the two-lane roads isn’t much fun.
Every studio is independent. Each member runs its own shop, so a studio you drove out for may not be open when you arrive. For a specific artisan, check its listing or call ahead.
It is still shopping. The membership includes eateries and bed and breakfasts alongside the studios, and the joy of the loop is the handmade work. If browsing and buying crafts doesn’t appeal, there’s little else here to do.
Who should skip it: families with young children who want rides and attractions, visitors on a tight budget who won’t buy anything, and travelers without a car outside the trolley season. For them, a morning in the national park is the better use of the time.
