Gatlinburg’s Best Breakfast Is at Crockett’s

Sunset falls over the Great Smoky Mountains. Dave Allen Photography/Shutterstock

Crockett’s Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which churns out huge home-cooked breakfasts and a fascinating hillbilly history, honors the work of the dedicated frontiersman and soldier David C. “Crockett” Maples (born in 1840) and his wife Mary R. Ogles, who were known for serving the best breakfast in the Smoky Mountains.

The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. Kevin Ruck/Shutterstock

Lumbering was a huge business in these parts. Lumberjack camps were rough places, and women were expected to turn out meals for their hungry husbands. When Maples returned from the Civil War in 1865, he and Mary had a small general store that helped supply necessities at the lumberjack camp in the Smokies. To grow their small business, they began making home-cooked breakfasts for anyone who came to Crockett’s camp. After World War II, the name of the town where they lived was changed to Gatlinburg.

Anyone who eats breakfast at Crockett's Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg won't need another meal all day. Courtesy of Bill Neely

Crockett's Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg provides gluten-free options as well as their meals that include pancakes and cinnamon rolls. Courtesy of Bill Neely

The breakfast menu here includes unusual ways of preparing traditional breakfast foods that render it difficult to make a choice. The Cherokee Corn Pone, a traditional spoon bread with cranberries added at Christmas, is delicious. After one of their famous Hungry Hunters Hunt Camp Skillet Breakfasts, which include eggs, meat, potatoes, grits, and their famous biscuits, you won’t need another meal that day. The enormous pancakes are like no other, and it wouldn’t be right to leave without the signature fried cinnamon roll. You won’t have room after breakfast but take one for later in the day.

Children enjoy looking at old-time farm implements while they wait for their breakfast at Crockett's Breakfast Camp in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Courtesy of Bill Neely

In addition, they offer a special menu that includes gluten-free and celiac-safe meals. Vegan and vegetarian meals are also available, so our group with mixed dietary needs could happily eat there. We enjoyed the White Oak Flats Daily Post newspaper “from 1886” after we made our selections from the menu inside it.

A Dolly Parton statue in downtown Sevierville. PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

The log cabin building is filled with memorabilia from the frontier days, and the children who were with us liked exploring the museum-like decor, with many of the items explained in the newspaper. This happily occupies the time while you wait for your meal to be cooked from scratch. Our children were fascinated by the old-time weights, which are pulley operated to open and close each door.

The DreamMore resort at Dollywood. Courtesy of Dollywood

The FireChaser Express at Dollywood. Steven Bridges/www.stevenbridges.com

We'll definitely make Crockett’s Breakfast Camp our breakfast stop when we’re in the Great Smoky Mountains. From there it’s also possible to hike the national park trails or shop in the numerous unique gift and art shops in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville, or have fun times at Dollywood. The breakfast you just ate will keep you going through the entire day.

A glass-blowing demonstration at Dollywood. Courtesy of Dollywood

When You Go

CrockettsBreakfastCamp.com

Bonnie Neely is a freelance writer and photographer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at Creators.com. Copyright 2022 Creators.com