Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg is a city in eastern Tennessee.

This is a heavily touristic town on the outskirts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Hitchhiking out

It is very easy to find rides from the Visitor Center inside the National Park proper to the center of commercial Gatlinburg, specifically to the crossroads of 441 and 321 near the Best Western hotel.

East towards Asheville, North Carolina

From the crossroads in the center of town it is a good idea to walk the 1.5 miles east along the 321 East Parkway so that you get past the Gatlinburg Police Department. Although hitchhiking is ostensibly legal in the state of Tennessee, this contributor found cops driving from the station towards the town center continued to hassle and harrass until he moved past their station towards the town limits.

From there on out it is country roads until the Junction with I-40 in Newport. The gas station near the Waffle House in Newport is a good place to find a ride all the way to Asheville, along a very beautiful stretch of forested, mountain highway.