When my wife and I went, we rented a cabin that was between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. I believe that it was actually in the park area, but not positive. It was awesome. No cell service and a hot tub outside, among other things. We drove to a place to white water raft. Not sure what it was called, but it took about 45 minutes to get there. It wasn't too bad, just not crazy enough. We found a nice trail to hike as well. If you are into that, go to the station and they can give you suggetions on where to go.