Townsend sits at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the peaceful side of the Smokies, as residents like to say. This is code for less crowded. This charming mountain town along Tennessee’s Little River has benefitted from both the eco-tourism and land protection of its neighbor, the National Park Service. There are no city property taxes, but residents have an array of services, including a volunteer fire department.
Eastern Tennessee State Route 321, or Lamar Alexander Parkway, runs through the five-mile length of the town, alongside the river, and functions as a main street where most businesses and a few choice houses sit. The Little River has carved a small valley through the range, and as the neighborhood of Townsend extends outward from downtown, the elevation gets higher. This is Davy Crockett country, and history is everywhere if you know where to look. The Henry Whitehead House and Elijah Oliver Cabin, two preserved early pioneer domiciles near Cades Cove, are great places to start.
The market is open and healthy here, and homes are more expensive the higher in elevation they go. The idyllic pace, seclusion and natural features are a draw, but buyers need to be prepared for a rural lifestyle that can feel cut off from the rest of the world. Residents say the cohesiveness of this community of under 1,000 more than makes up for its geographic isolation. Funky wood and stone A-Frame two to three bedrooms can be found for under $300,000 near the town center. Attractive and newer chalet-style condos that can be used as vacation rentals are priced the same. On the lower end, manufactured homes in the Big Valley Resort are available for under $200,000 with the blue-ridged Smokies in their backyards. Near the town center and to the west side, closer to the park entrance, one can find chinked log cabins with spacious interiors for half a million dollars tucked between oak and yellowwood trees. There’s also plenty of land for sale where one can build their dream cabin.
The two closest Elementary Schools, Townsend and Walland, both earned B-minuses on Niche. Residents turn out for basketball games and holiday meals at Townsend Elementary. Heritage Middle and High School both earned B-minuses, as well. Heritage High has a student-to-teacher ratio of 16 to one.
The Cades Cove Picnic Area sits atop a 1,943-foot plateau and boasts 81 distinct picnic sites, each complete with its own grill. You can stomp to the fiddle at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. A little way up the mountain on the east side of Townsend are several trailheads and the Townsend Wye, a cold mountain stream deep enough to swim in.
There are plenty of places to eat and shop on the main drag, such as The Riverstone, which serves traditional American fare, and Diamondjack at Little Arrow, an artisanal eatery serving a revolving menu of locally-sourced ingredients.
Where else can you find a Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival & Games, a Fall Festival, Hops in the Hills, a Grains and Grits Spirits and Food Festival and a Hot Air Balloon Festival?
Ben Cantwell
Greater Impact Realty Lakeway
(423) 220-4747
93 Total Sales
2 in Townsend
$55K - $75K Price Range
Adam Norton
Gorman Realty
(865) 276-8095
26 Total Sales
2 in Townsend
$265K - $775K Price Range
John Permaul
Partners Realty Group
(865) 507-2774
62 Total Sales
2 in Townsend
$55K - $75K Price Range
Nancy Hodge
eXp Realty, LLC
(865) 666-5895
23 Total Sales
14 in Townsend
$35K - $960K Price Range
Jerry Sandifer
Exit Tennessee Realty Pros,LLC
(865) 830-3253
125 Total Sales
2 in Townsend
$820K - $2.2M Price Range
Clay Dalton
RE/MAX Beaches
(770) 415-3741
63 Total Sales
3 in Townsend
$335K - $410K Price Range