The Mountain Mile & Tower Shops is an upscale shopping and entertainment complex in Pigeon Forge, growing all the time with new attractions. The complex is situated just across the river from The Island, and is reached from Teaster Lane – this runs parallel to Parkway, and is a less crowded way to go north-south through the length of Pigeon Forge. You can also walk and bike to this end of town using the Riverwalk Greenway.
Images courtesy of the Mountain Mile
Mountain Mile is a huge area (174 acres) that is still filling up with stores, restaurants and attractions. It offers a relaxed and spacious experience that is quite unusual for a gathering of stores – this is a new mall concept, and the designers have taken pains to make it a highly attractive and fun one.
There’s a huge front lawn area where events and family attractions are staged, including outdoor movies in summer, and an ice skating rink in winter. As a counterpart to The Island’s 200-ft tall observation wheel, Mountain Mile gives us a 200-ft tall Monster Tower, with 3 thrill rides that offer great views of the town and mountains, as well as some exhilarating jolts of fun.
Shops in the Mountain Mile
Across the 300,000 square foot venue, there are some fine stores to visit at leisure, including:
- Royal Bee
- Appalachian Apparel Co.
- The Mountain Mile General Store
- BAAK Boutique
- Nike Clearance Store
- REI Co-Op
- Burkes Outlet
- DXL Men’s Apparel
- Rack Room Shoes
- Fragrance Outlet
- Thistle Dew Nicely
- J&P Cycles
Eateries in the Mountain Mile
In between all your shopping and entertainment adventures, you can fuel up at several onsite eateries, currently including:
- Cinnaholic Gourmet Cinnamon Buns
- Cream & Sugar
- Junction 35 Spirits Kitchen & Bar
- Azul Cantina
- The Listening Room Café
And as of this writing, Guy Fieri’s new Downtown Flavortown will open soon, filling 43,000 square feet of the complex with his own famous style of entertainment center. A 300-seat restaurant and bar with some signature American menu offerings accompanies a huge arcade center for the kids and a 14-lane Duckpin Bowling alley – perfect for young kids to try their hand at. UPDATE: it’s here now! See our feature story on Downtown Flavortown.
Mountain Monster Thrill Rides
From the towers that front the shops, an elevator takes you the 200 feet up, and the Monster Dive brings you down in an arcing free fall across the lawn that can only be called a thrill. Or you can ride a saddle seat up in the Monster Launch, which takes you high, quick-like. And there’s the Monster Fall, which brings you to the ground straight down at a wicked clip. Great fun for the thrill seeker.
More gentle thrills are available trying to get of the escape rooms of Escapology in the nick of time, and don’t miss Selfie Hangout to capture your photo for the memory books.
The Mountain Mile also offers a great scenic adventure with rental Polaris Slingshots available from Mountain Mile Adventures. These 3-wheel motorcycles are 2-seater, open-air roadsters that in Tennessee can be driven with a standard driver’s license. For those familiar with the machine, it can make a wonderful way to take a scenic drive in the Smoky Mountains. And from this part of town the escapes to the west are close by, with Wears Valley and the Foothills Parkway beckoning – see our guides to Getting Around and to Scenic Drives to get oriented to the possibilities.
USEFUL INFORMATION
The Mountain Mile
2655 Teaster Ln, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Web: mountainmilepigeonforge.com and Facebook
