POV Drive East Parkway | Cosby to Gatlinburg TN

Описание: This video is a point-of-view (POV) drive on US Route 321, also known as East Parkway, traveling from Cosby, Tennessee to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The drive begins at Foothills Parkway East in Cosby, continues through Pittman Center, and ends in downtown Gatlinburg.

US-321 becomes East Parkway as it runs parallel to the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This route serves as a quieter eastern entrance into Gatlinburg and is often used as an alternative to US-441 from Pigeon Forge.

Along the drive, you’ll pass several points of interest and access areas, including:
• Foothills Parkway East connection near I-40
• Cosby area roads leading to Cosby Campground and hiking trailheads
• Pittman Center, a small community with local churches, residential areas, and open land
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundary, which runs alongside portions of East Parkway
• Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail access, near the Gatlinburg end of the route
• Gradual transition from rural roads into Gatlinburg city streets

East Parkway plays an important role in Gatlinburg’s road history. Before the rise of heavy tourism traffic, this corridor connected small mountain communities and served as a primary access route along the park’s eastern edge. As Gatlinburg grew into a major tourist destination in the mid-20th century, US-321 became a key gateway for visitors entering from I-40, Cosby, and eastern Tennessee.

Today, East Parkway is known for lighter traffic, fewer commercial areas, and direct access to park entrances compared to other routes into Gatlinburg. It’s commonly used by travelers heading to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, local cabins, campgrounds, and residential neighborhoods.

This POV drive shows the full route in real time, including road conditions, traffic flow, and the gradual change from rural highway to urban mountain town.

Route details:
Start: Foothills Parkway East, Cosby TN
End: Gatlinburg TN
Highway: US Route 321 / East Parkway
Features: park boundary views, rural communities, park access roads

There are a few specific goals of Travel Towner:
1. To take fun POV (“Point-of-View”) videos of scenic drives, highways, and roadways so you can virtually travel anywhere you like; or look back at a time when you were younger.

2. Document a fun walking tour of a specific park, attraction, or point of interest so you can see what's it's like to really be there.

3. Showcase vintage footage from yesteryear to show today's viewers what is may have been like back in 19- something something! If you have any vintage footage of past attractions, parks, road trips or anything interesting from the USA? Contact me and let’s feature it here!

4. Just for Fun. These are videos that are funny or interesting in some way that I think everyone will enjoy!

Please give a "thumbs up" if you like taking a POV Road Trip or love POV driving.

Want to get in on the fun and make cool videos too? Here is everything I use to make it happen:
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Another big part of the channel is to document a piece of Americana… at a certain point in time. Wouldn’t it be cool to go back to where you lived, 20 or 30 years ago, and take a ride through your hometown? As more roadway drives, walking tours, and vintage trips are added, it builds history so future viewers can go “back in time” and see what it was like, back then.

Roadtripping and traveling are uniquely American pastimes- and we should preserve it’s history- so future generations can appreciate the Freedom of the Road.

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