WildSide — Attraction in Pigeon Forge

I visited on 8/22/24 from 9:30 am to 1 pm. For context, I am an active mountain biker and have visited some of the best places in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. This is my 2nd time in a few days to visit WildSide.

The GOOD – facilities are excellent and natural surroundings are beautiful with phenomenal views. Pass purchase and waiver form is quite efficient. Lady in basecamp is very nice and helpful. I met a manager in basecamp last week; he was very nice. Restroom facility top notch and very clean (two, I think). Water bottle fill station is available which I appreciated. Several benches and picnic tables, in the shade, are available. Trail maintenance is routinely performed and it shows. I rode mainly the most difficult blue and the blacks. Only a handful of them but Whip-or-Will, Rattler Ridge, Thrillium, Very Gneiss, and Dolly’s Curves are fantastic and I found myself wanting to keep hitting them over and over. Definitely some of the smoothest berms of anywhere I have ridden. The detail work with optional lines/jumps on Thrillium is impressive; very well designed. And then you have the two jump lines…wow; those are really impressive and you will want to keep hitting them over and over again. A bike wash is available and this is a nice touch. My shuttle driver for the day was Dan. Dan did an outstanding job quickly and safely getting me up the mountain. You could tell that Dan was very proud of WildSide as well as the Sevier County area. He shared all kinds of interesting information with me which I appreciated. He was stoked about the amazing new zip line that WildSide is building. He also pointed out several more value adding improvements that WildSide is planning to do.

IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES – some of the downhill sections required a little peddling but were not too bad. Bench is too close to restroom; I hit my knee hard on two separate days coming out of bathroom. Employee saw what happened and tried to slide bench away but it is bolted to concrete. If person is blowing trails off while walking (versus riding electric bike) they should keep looking back for riders – safety issue. (I encountered this on Thrillium last week). Build more trails (I know you plan to). Consider paving the shuttle road.

The NOT SO GOOD – only one and, unfortunately, it was at the very end of great day. I was using what I thought was changing areas at the side of wheelhouse (like I did last week with no issue). Some guy came around driving a Bobcat like skid-steer loader and yelled at me “who told you that you could use the showers”. I was stunned because there were no showers that I was aware of. He said he did not want anyone to get hurt that showers were under construction. I never saw any indication last week of shower work only what appeared to be nice changing areas like I have used in other parks. There were no signs or caution tape or anything like that. I was a little confused then and said “I just wanted to change clothes not shower”. He replied that I could not do that. I then asked where I could change clothes and he said “the bathroom”. While I appreciate the safety concern, I did not appreciate his angry and disrespectful tone or that I had to ask questions to find an alternative. The whole scene was embarrassing. Again, no signs or caution tape, etc. He was quite a contrast with all other staff I had encountered up to that point. *UPDATE 8/23/24 – Daniel with WildSide called me to follow up on the incident. He said that individual was a construction contractor and NOT a WildSide team member. He apologized for what happened and assured me he would have a discussion with the construction contractor group. Given the rest of my experience at WildSide, this makes perfect sense. Thanks, Daniel, for the nice follow-up! Changing my review from...

We had a trip planned for a year to meet up with some military family that we served in Iraq with, no plans on what "to do" during our trip. One of our guys saw a video on tiktok of the zip line and said, "we have to do this"! The next day I made a call, spoke to Kelsey who worked with our need to do two groups (we had a 3 yo) one group zip lines while the other takes the 3 yo on the UTV trail. From start to end - our interactions with Kelsey and making these arrangements were seamless. When we arrived, we were instantly welcomed by various staff. The check in process for our big group was easy. When the group on the UTV tour made it to the top of the mountain our guides Brad and Dale told us "Ladies whose spouse is on the zip line - take a look over there - they are headed down" that meant the world to us to be able to see them race down the line. Their guide, Jessica even took photos of them and sent them to me. When the guys did the UTV us gals had some time to relax before our zip lining, we played Jenga, had a snack and enjoyed the view. Our zip line guide, Ryan was amazing - he didn't know what he was getting himself into, but we sure had fun. Our trek up the mountain driven by "Big John" (who is not big) was filled with so many laughs - he was a great sport. Once up top the ladies got to meet Jessica, who instantly spotted "the wives" and welcomed us. The one and only thing I wish we could have done differently - One zip line for the experience and do it again to enjoy it. That is one FAST line - and SOOO much fun! Only open a month and ran like a well oiled machine, with the absolute BEST staff and customer service....

Several thoughts are running through my head about Wildside. From a mountain biking standpoint, they are really just getting started. They've already got more trails planned and in work, and it looks like they are a fair bit more challenging than what currently is on offer. That said, what they've got open (15 or so?) are all a lot of fun. Most of the trails are suitable for any rider comfortable with downhill berm turns, with a few that are a little spicier/jumpier. Can't wait to come back in 6 months to see what they've done next! Check YouTube videos for trail descriptions and details. (Teaser - they're working on a screaming zipline - it'll be something!) What really sets Wildside apart from most recreation destinations I've been to lately is the staff. The front desk team were engaged, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable about the area, passes, and their merch. Listening to the crew getting ready for the UTV tour, they were they same. What really struck me was my shuttle driver. Dan (not positive of the name) was in uniform, always smiling and encouraging all the riders, checking to make sure everyone was doing well, even checking the midpoint on the way down. He was first one off the truck and started undoing straps, helping people who needed it, and always with a positive attitude. People like this make you want to come back again. The only 'constructive' comment I'd make is that it would be nice to have a changing area, shower and bike wash available for guests. After driving back to Minnesota in a rainstorm, I still have Wildside orange on my bike! Unreserved five stars. Can't wait to see...