We have some news and we are going to be honest about how we feel about it: second place is pretty good. Especially for the first time entering.
Smoky Ridge Getaways was named 2nd Place Best Small Cabin Company in the Best of Pigeon Forge 2026 contest, presented by PigeonForge.com. The contest is voted on by the public across dozens of categories covering lodging, dining, attractions, and local businesses throughout the Smoky Mountains region. Thousands of votes were cast and the competition in the cabin category was real.
We finished behind Great Smoky Vacations, who took the top spot, and ahead of He Is Risen Cabins in third. For a two-cabin boutique operation going up against established operations with larger inventories and longer track records in the region, landing on the podium in year one is not something we are taking lightly.
Smoky Ridge Getaways is not a large operation. Two cabins, a family run business, and a commitment to doing the boutique experience right rather than doing it at scale. Flashy Splashy Lodge and Views From The Mountain Top are the only two properties we manage and that is intentional. Every detail, every amenity decision, and every guest interaction gets attention that a larger operation simply cannot replicate across dozens of properties.
Finishing second in a public vote against the full field of small cabin companies in Pigeon Forge tells us that the people who have stayed with us, and the broader community paying attention to what we are building, see what we are trying to do. That is genuinely meaningful feedback and we are not treating it as a participation trophy.
We are going to say it directly: we want to win. Not because a badge on a website changes anything about how we run these cabins, but because first place in a public vote represents something real. It means the guests who stayed with us told someone. It means the experience delivered. It means we earned it.
Between now and the 2027 contest we are focused on the things that move that needle. Guest experience improvements at both properties. Content and communication that helps people understand what makes Smoky Ridge Getaways different before they book. And continued investment in the cabins themselves so that every stay gives someone a reason to come back and tell a friend.
Second place is the right motivation. Not comfortable enough to stay, close enough to know first is reachable.
The Best of Pigeon Forge covers a lot of ground beyond lodging and a few other results caught our eye from places we have visited and written about this year.
Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud took home Best Comedy and finished second in Best Show, which tracks with our experience taking twelve people there on Easter weekend. The swimming hole still gets us. Check out our Hatfield McCoy’s Dinner Show review if you missed it.
The Local Goat finished third in Best Burger, which undersells it slightly given how the Easter lunch went, but third place against the full Pigeon Forge dining field is still strong. Read our Local Goat Pigeon Forge review here.
Bloomin’ BBQ finished third in Best Festival, which is a tough category in a region that runs a festival almost every weekend from April through November. For a free event in downtown Sevierville that includes championship BBQ, three music stages, and a Late Night Jam led by a five-time world champion banjo picker, third place feels like the result of voters not having attended it yet. Read our Bloomin BBQ & Music Festival review.
The Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion finished second in Best Car Show, which is a strong result in a region that hosts some of the most attended automotive events in the country. Read the Great Smoky Mountain Jeep Invasion if you are planning to attend.
To everyone who voted, who stayed with us, who shared a post, or who told someone about Smoky Ridge Getaways this year: this result is yours as much as ours. A public vote is a measure of the community around a business and ours showed up.
We will see you in 2027 with something to prove. In the meantime, explore our website to find out why we are the Best Small Cabin Company in Pigeon Forge. Come see what the votes were about.
