Townsend River

The other major attraction, to which Townsend would most definitely could not live without, is the Townsend “Wye” River that flows from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

If you’ve not been to Townsend, Tennessee, before, you can imagine the town very simply as a one-road town. This road runs parallel, for the most part, to the Wye river that accommodates thousands and thousands of swimmers, tubers, waders, and fishermen that visit every Summer (and seasons beyond). Calling it a river may be sort of a misnomer as it’s considerably more narrow (on average maybe about 25-30 feet wide) and shallow than most rivers you’ve been to, but it is perfectly accommodating for a family looking for free fun in the National Park.

As you can imagine, tubing down the river here is quite popular, and if that sounds like something you need to put on your Summer “to-do” list, you’ll find plenty of professional tubing companies to accommodate you and your group. Some even provide shuttle service to and from the river and prices for tubing may start at $9.00 a person.

Some of our suggestions for tubing companies include:

Smoky Mountain River Rat
205 Wears Valley Road
Townsend, Tennessee
865-448-8888

Tube Junction
8215 Tennessee Highway 73
Townsend, Tennessee
865-448-8990

River Rage Tubing
8303 Tennessee Highway 73
Townsend, Tennessee
865-448-8000

Coming instead to do some quality fishing? Here are some people to look into:

GSM Outfitters
3275 Wears Valley Road
Sevierville, Tennessee
865-366-2608

Little River Outfitters
106 Town Square Drive
Townsend, Tennessee
865-448-9459

The Backcountry
8453 Tennessee Highway 73
Townsend, Tennessee
865-448-6628