Truly secluded vacation and honeymoon rentals still exist in a place called Starkeytown in the Smoky Mountains! With all the expansion year after year it’s getting harder to find a place where you can step outside in the mornings to take a breath of pure mountain air and enjoy coffee with birdsong. I’m sharing this hidden treasure in East Tennessee so you’ll have a chance to experience peace and quiet in the mountains before commercialism inevitably touches the edge of paradise. Take a walk on a forested road while listening to a creek bubble over rocks, sometimes as a trickle and others as a rushing, awakening push toward the ocean. Sit on a porch swing in quiet, instead of listening to the repetition of cars or neighboring cabin music and voices. Maybe even run naked after your sweetheart in the back yard before a plunge in the hot tub on your wedding night! Are these rentals what you’d call luxury? Well, it depends on how luxury is defined. If you define it as a clean place to stay with character and exceptional location, then it’s finer than any castle in Scotland!

The verdant forest of Starkeytown is only six miles from the city of Pigeon Forge. The first cabin on this tranquil road is called “The Wild Side Cabin.” It gets its name from all the turkey, squirrels, raccoons and bear that live in the woods surrounding it. My mother grew up there in a little shack that eventually was replaced by a hunting cabin now turned vacation rental. With its hot tub, front porch swing, massive yard and the surrounding woodland, it’s a honeymoon couple’s dream. But with its three bedrooms, you could also bring the kids in the summer to connect with nature instead of their phones or on-line gaming! (Just don’t tell them about the Starlink internet.)

Unplugging is even easier at the next cabin up the road called “Little Mountain Hideaway.” If you’ve ever watched a scene in the movies where two lovers awaken to sunlight dancing on leaves high in the trees, this is where it can be your reality! Sit on the front porch holding hands, and let your head rest on his (or hers.) The sound of the creek across the little one lane road is more intoxicating than any moonshine you’ll taste in Gatlinburg. (But not as powerful as Uncle Jesse used to make when he lived on the property in the late 1800’s.)

Small families love the last rental in Starkeytown at the dead end, bordering the National Park. While not a cabin, “Starkey’s Homestead” is one of the quietest, most unique places to call your home away from home in Pigeon Forge. Couples have absolutely rented this gem for their honeymoon as well, for the simple fact it’s at the edge of nowhere. History lovers enjoy the old barn, and let’s not forget the man-made waterfall at the foot of the hill! Consider getting married at the little waterfall if you have eight or fewer people during your stay, which is the maximum occupancy of this treasured find. A wedding venue called Honeysuckle Hills is only three miles down the road, too, so this is a favorite place for family and friends to stay if they’re attending a larger wedding just down the road. Many families simply take over ALL the rentals in Starkeytown, so the wedding ambience and vacation stay blend perfectly. Fall is everyone’s favorite time of year to head to the mountains, and Starkey’s Homestead has two gas fireplaces (one is in the main bedroom,) and a quaint firepit in the yard. And did I mention this one is pet friendly?

Beware that “holler syndrome” is a real thing in Starkeytown! I watch it happen time and time again… once you unpack your luggage, the mind is next. The allure of all the “busy” activities in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is likely to take a back seat for you, too, when you stay here.

I love you for reading this article and thank you for allowing me and my family to maintain this slice of heaven we call Starkeytown. While you’re at it, look us up on Starkeytown Sisters! All these beautiful cabins are described in detail with pictures there.