Cades Cove — Restaurant in Maryville

This review is only for the bike rental at Cade’s Cove. Settle in, this is long! During a spring visit to the Cove, we decided to bike the loop during summer vacation. As vacation approached I researched the bike ride. I read the bike rental site, read their policies, and their FAQ. I read blogs about biking the loop with kids. We debated bringing our own bikes, but decided renting would be easier. We had read that the bikes could be gone by 6:45 am, so we planned for early. I knew there was a threat of rain, so when my alarm went off at 4:45 am (drive from Gatlinburg) I checked the radar. It looked like a possible shower at 6:15, but then a good 2 hours or so of clear weather. I figured we would get our bikes, wait out the rain, then bike before the next rain came. Nowhere was it ever noted that you could not rent bikes if it were wet out. If that had been the case, I would have seen the rain on radar, went back to sleep, and done something else on our last vacation day. We arrived just after 6:30. There was a line, but the bike shop was dark and a ranger was there. The ranger was surprised that no one was renting. At 7:10 the bike rental guy rolled in and said because of the rain he thought no one would be there. No apology. We all explained that we were okay biking in a little rain. He said they would not rent when it was raining. I asked why that wasn't on their site and he said it would scare people off when it might not rain (obvious lack of care for customers). I asked when they would next open and he said if it stopped raining. We decided to hike a bit of the loop. We passed the ranger station and stopped to talk for a bit. There were 3 rangers and they were all surprised they weren’t renting bikes (at this point the sun was starting to shine). They said the rain policy was nothing they knew of and the shop had rented in the rain before. I decided to head back to the shop now that it wasn’t raining and the sun was out. By this time there were others attempting to rent. The guy still said no, but now because it was “wet out”. I told him he said the rain just had to stop. He told me he never said that. We pointed out the sun and blue skies and he said the liability was too great due to the wet pavement. I said that there are frequent showers in the mountains, so when is it ever completely dry? He didn't answer me, but wryly smiled. I told him that the rangers were unaware of the rain policy and were shocked he wasn’t renting (again, blue skies out). He said the rangers were wrong and they often don’t rent when it’s wet out. By this time others had gathered and explained they had also planned their trip around the biking, the weather was good now, etc. etc. He wouldn’t budge. At some point the manager was asked for and one guy pretended to not be the manager (but then it was later discovered he was). Another guy came out and gave the same “wet policy” explanation. When a manager was asked for again he said that he had been directed by the manager to be the “bearer of bad news”. Finally the guy who had first said he wasn’t the manager came back out. Jack Hostetler (the manager, ??) then proceeded to go on a rant about why he wouldn’t rent bikes. The highlights included that the bikes were not good in the rain (why would you have such poor bikes in a mountain climate?), we would be endangering the lives of us and our children if we biked, liability was too much, bikes were rented for too cheap to be worth it, people refused to wear helmets (we said we’d wear them), people refused to walk their bikes down hills (we said we would walk). He was rude throughout this exchange. Bottom line, bring your bikes or rent elsewhere. The park should work with a bike rental company with better people skills and more invested in biking. If the bikes can't be ridden with a little moisture on the ground in a mountain environment, why are they in the bike rental business? With all that being said, don’t let this stop you from experiencing Cade’s Cove...

This review is specifically regarding the bike rental and general manager. We came early on a Saturday morning to rent bikes to ride the loop before it was open to vehicles. When we arrived there were multiple others attempting to rent bikes and they were not open. After hunting down staff and finally finding the manager we were first told they don’t rent when it’s raining. Makes sense - however it was blue skies, so we were then told they don’t rent when the pavement is wet. The ranger and staff of the park were unaware of this being a policy and it is also not stated anywhere on their website or was mentioned when several of the others around us had called prior to arriving to verify before they drove in. If there is in fact a policy, fine, but the real problem was the attitude and lack of people skills from the manager, Jack Hostetter (or so we think he was the manager because he denied being so at first). He story kept changing at one point he told us his bikes were unsafe-pretty sure he was trying to say the roads were unsafe however there were many other cyclists out that morning. My husband asked at one point if the pavement dries later would he rent to which his response was ‘do you know what walk means?’ He was rude, argumentative, and had a lot of upset people in the park. I highly suggest Cades Cove Trading Company LLC find a new general manager before the National Park Service gets a new vendor. I imagine there will be a number of additional reviews similar to this based on the amount of people we spoke to in the park that had the same experience. It’s a shame for such a beautiful location to be tarnished by such poor management. We otherwise thoroughly enjoyed...

Rented bikes the Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2020 with my wife and our 17 yr. old twin girls. I knew it would be busy, but the amount of autos on the loop was excessive and took away from the bike ride. I spent more time watching my back for traffic (and extended truck mirrors) than looking for wildlife. I would only bike again on a Wed morning, which is currently the one morning they don't allow autos on the Loop (until 10am or 11am I believe). Saw wild turkeys, but no other wildlife, probably because did not get started until 11am which was my fault. I must say the bike staff were very helpful and pleasent and the gift shop was great. They also had a nice snack shop there with hot dogs, hot pretzels, sodas, and ice cream which was awesome since did not pack a lunch. The valley is absolutely beautiful and there are bunches of wild flowers to put in the forground of your pictures. Would not recommend for young riders as there are some long hills and deep ditches on the side of the road. If I had to do it again, would just drive the loop for free at an earlier time in the morning to take in more wildlife. I hope they go back to allowing 2 mornings a week without auto traffic on the loop to provide those who wish to bike only the experience they seek in a...