Bluff Mountain Adventures — Attraction in Pigeon Forge

The only reason I discovered this place is because I was stuck in traffic on the parkway. The office is a small building lost in the shadows of the Titanic, the new National Inquirer building, and the Mountain Valley Winery. The signs for Bluff Mountain Adventures are very poor and outdated compared to the LED signs that surround them. If it weren't for the faded ATV on the rocks outside you wouldn't even know this place offered ATV rides. In general, they have excellent reviews. This review like my others will be long and brutally honest.

When you approach the building, don’t walk to the front door, instead go around back. Obviously, the ATV rides are a secondary business and they don’t make it a priority or convenient for customers to book a ride. You enter a small space just big enough for a family of 5, but if you’re coming with a large group, be prepared to wait outside until it is your turn. They have 4 different options for rides, but I was told they are only currently offering two. To me that’s the same as McDonalds perpetually being out of fries. If you are not going to offer it, why have it on your menu or website? I chose the 1 ½ hour mountain trail ride. Be aware this is not an exclusive guided tour, you will be in a group with other people and you are at the mercy of the worst rider. They give you directions out to the mountain. The map is okay and I was able to find my way, but it could use some more landmarks and reference points. The road narrows and almost becomes a one-way road at one point and after that you still have several miles to drive. Keep an eye out for a small faded and broken sign sitting on the right-hand side of the road. This is the entrance to the property.

Once you park, walk down a gravel path to the place you check in. The building itself looks old but it’s nice on the inside. The bathroom was clean, but I noticed the paper towel dispenser was being held together with tape and the TP dispenser didn’t look much better. The guys were all friendly and welcoming and the place is well lit. They take your paperwork and you must pick out a helmet and safety glasses. Then they send you down to a classroom area and show you a safety video. The 10-minute video was dull and tacky and that’s putting it nicely. After the video, they guides came in and repeated the same things we had just heard. Then we went outside to get further instruction, but the machines were totally different that what we saw in the video. I’m guessing like the signs on the parkway, the video is long overdue for a makeover.

The ATVs are in decent shape. The break light on the machine in front of me was broken and I thought that was a huge critical safety issue. Once we got on the trails, they took us to a little practice course and then up to the top of the mountain. The pace was pretty good, between 12-16 mph. We had 7 ATVs in our group. The trails are very rough and could use some maintenance. Much worse that what I was expecting. The rocky sections at the top are not for inexperienced riders. Once you reach the top the views are amazing. We spent 10 minutes at the top of the mountain. The guides were knowledgeable about the area and pointed out some of the cities and mountains we were looking at. Keep in mind you are riding on dirt and clay trails so you will get dusty in the summertime when it is dry. Overall once we got in the trails it was a great experience.

If I had to give a review based on the ride itself, I would probably give them a solid 4.5 stars like everyone else. However looking at these three things: high expectations of customer service, a business’s desire to have me as a customer and how much the business takes pride in itself and its product, I have to rate Bluff Mountain Adventures a honest 2 stars. The ride is great, but the overall company appears to have grown stagnate and stale. It seems to be lost in the 90’s with lots of room for...

I really hate to post negative reviews, but feel obligated to share our experience with Bluff Mountain prior to and during our ride on 6/28/17 at 2:00.

First, we waited for quite a while to register for a ride. The woman working in the office spent an exorbitant amount of time with the people in front of us, all male, and was quite flirtatious and blatantly "reverse sexist" (talking about how "the ladies are off doing women stuff (shopping) while they were there doing "man stuff" riding ATVs) - this significantly extended our wait. Once it was our turn (two moms, each with two daughters), her attitude was very different. Not the best experience, but didn't damper the excitement of the two 14 year olds I was taking on the ride.

All the literature claims a very family friendly ride - and the people dividing up the groups clearly knew we were first timers. That said, there was no "practice," just the safety video and off we went.

Most of the ride (the portion we completed) was a lot of fun, but our guide didn't stop or check on us regularly. In addition to me and the girls, there were two dads and sons.

Without advance notice, we turned into a steep rocky rutted downhill trail which had a sign "steep sides". As a skier, I would rate this trail section clearly a double black diamond. The girls rode their brakes and made it down safely after our guide. I wasn't as fortunate. Despite riding my brakes, the bike hit a rut, bounced to the left "rise" on the side of the trail and flipped. Though the safety instructions tell you to throw yourself off to the opposite side if your bike flips, this wasn't an option on this trail. The bike landed on me.

The very nice dad and son behind me ran to help, and the son was able to lift the bike so I could get out. I am very bruised, sore and swollen but thankfully not severely injured (at least as far as I can tell so far).

The dad behind me wasn't as fortunate. Trying to run down the steep rocky path to help, he slipped and went down on his wrist. I don't know the ultimate outcome but it certainly appeared broken and he was light headed and weak.

Our guide was very far ahead with the girls and couldn't hear me yelling to stop. The son ran down the path to find him. Because of the dad's injury, our guide returned to base and came back with a four seater to take him back. The rest of us continued on our bikes to base and the ride ended with the guide dismissing us as quickly as possible.

All in all, I enjoyed riding the ATV and there were some positive aspects. But I don't think two 14 year olds and myself should have been on that trail. I don't know if that's part of the standard "family friendly" route - if it is, please re-evaluate or do some work on that trail.

If by some chance the other family that was so helpful / and the dad ended up injured - does see this, I am so so sorry for your injury and so so thankful for your help.

And to our guide - whose name I really don't think we ever learned - I don't think you're a bad guy but not sure you were in tune with the group's needs and safety.

I'd love to try an ATV ride again sometime but only if there is more preparation and attention to risk and safety.

The girls did have fun but we clearly didn't get an hour-long family friendly ride. We also have no pictures of our trip as we clearly heard not to bring a camera or phone ... only to stop mid-trail for a photo session where the guys in our group had phones in their pockets. We females had left our "stuff" below after the safety speech.

Again I don't like giving negative reviews but hope this causes some reflection and...

I rode ATVs at Bluff Mountain for the first time in April. It was such a pleasant experience I have been back three more times since then in just three months. I've been taking my family and friends! It is an outing that really isn't like anything else. There are 6,000 acres of privately owned land with endless, challenging trails spread throughout. You get to ride very nice ATVs over an array of challenging and fun terrain. You get to ride up hills so steep an ATV can't make it up unless it's in 4-wheel drive. You get to ride over very rough rocky patches, through creeks, through deep puddles. The lookouts give you an unbelievable view. When I finished my first one-and-a-half hour ride, I was dirty, wet, and tired, and already planning my return trip.

Each time I've ridden, the guide has given my group caring attention and provided a full one-and-a-half hour ride. They don't cut corners and they show that they want you to get your money's worth. Each time I bought tickets the folks in the office were very professional and made everything easy. I can't recommend this outing enough.

Some extra thoughts you may not find on the website:

Do bring a small bottle of water. It can be dusty out there and you will want it when you stop at the lookouts. Most 20oz or smaller bottles can fit under the seat. Anything bigger likely won't fit. Wear long pants even in the Summer. They say to wear shorts on the website, but branches can slap at you and you hit both dusty areas and very muddy areas where you do get wet. Personally I prefer to have pants on in those conditions. You have to remember the ride home in your car. Cargo pants are preferable because items can fall out of your front and back pockets on the ride. You'll want your phone for pictures but need to make sure it won't fall out on the way. Bring cash to tip the guides. These folks have worked hard to make your trip enjoyable and you will want to tip them when you're finished. The guides even do some of the clearing work on the trails. They are obviously passionate and you will feel like thanking them after your outing. The first time I rode in a group and they suggested we bring cash to tip. I thought "for the price of this ride, why are they expecting a tip?" When we were done I couldn't wait to give them my money! In four rides I've always wanted to thank the guides after we were done. Don't expect to go screaming fast on this ride. The terrain would not allow it. You are on a wooded trail with very rough terrain. You might hit in the low 20's on straight stretches, but that won't happen often. This ride focuses on challenging terrain and supplies beautiful scenery. The varied terrain and powerful ATVs are much more fun than just going fast in a straight line.

I look forward to...