Gatlinburg Grind Coffee Shop

The shop serves fresh-roasted coffee, espresso drinks and bagels made fresh daily, plus pastries. It is a small coffee shop, so the menu is short and the service is quick. The prices are at the low end for Gatlinburg, and it is a good choice for a morning cup before a day of shopping or hiking. Reviewers rate it highly on Google, and a local newsletter calls it a quick, dependable stop.

Glades Road is the loop of studios, galleries and craft shops that make up the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community, an eight-mile drive that many visitors skip because it is off the Parkway. A coffee shop in the middle of that loop makes it easy to turn a short pause into a morning of browsing. If you are looking for a place to sit with a cup of coffee and some quiet, this is easier than any shop on the Parkway.

The location also helps with traffic. Glades Road avoids the worst of the downtown Gatlinburg crawl, and that makes it a good first stop if you are driving in from Pigeon Forge and want coffee before facing the Parkway.

Hours have been listed differently by different sources. One traveler tip says the shop keeps limited days, with weekends the most reliable, so call (865) 277-7958 or check the shop's Facebook page before you drive out. The arts and crafts shops nearby keep their own schedules, and many close earlier than the Parkway stores.

The community is close to the Gatlinburg entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so it is a convenient coffee stop before an early start at a trailhead. Remember that the park's parking tag costs $5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year, must be displayed on the dash, and is not replaced by an America the Beautiful pass. You can find details on the National Park Service fees page.

• Counter service; no reservations needed.
• The shop is small, so bring a plan for taking your drink to go on busy mornings.
• It is a better fit for coffee and a bagel than for a full breakfast.
• If you want a full breakfast, pancake houses on the Parkway and in the Arts and Crafts Community are close.

A cup of coffee here and a slow drive around the Glades Road loop is one of the calmer ways to spend a morning in Gatlinburg.