Brad Miller Takes Us To Cooter's Place in Gatlinburg

Your pal and mine, Brad Miller, recently visited Cooter's Place in Gatlinburg, TN.  He wrote a post all about the other great Dukes of Hazzard destination.   It's all yours Brad.

I would like to thank Larry for allowing me to share with everyone our visit to Cooter’s in Gatlinburg. My wife, Lynn, and I needed a little get-a-way for a few days and decided to head to the mountains. So…..I just had to stop in at Cooter’s while I was there. We live in middle Tennessee and a mere 20 minutes from Cooter’s in Nashville, so I get to visit that store quite often (still not as often as I would like). I am sure the employees get tired of seeing me there but they are always so nice and knowledgeable.

I would like to send out a very special thanks to Joe Pulley (Co-Manager at that store) for making me feel welcome and allowing me to walk around and take pictures of everything. I told Joe and some other employees there about the blog so maybe they will check it out.

As you walk in you are greeted by none other than the ole General himself. So of course I had to take that opportunity to get another picture with him (you know, you can never have too many of those).

They had a mini General sitting out front to lure you in to the go kart racing (ahhh…if only I could fit in one).

I did however get some pictures of others enjoying the race track. It is a small track, but it does have the benefit of being indoors. So no matter how hot or cold, rain or snow, you can still ride at Cooter’s. And you have several Hazzard County vehicles to choose from.

Just in case anyone is wondering about the driving/riding requirements I included a picture of that too.

In the main foyer after you walk up the stairs by the register is a real neat diorama in a glass case of a scene at the Duke Farm.

This picture is hanging on the wall behind the diorama and I just had to share it. Mainly because my sons have a Cozy Coupe car and I have been saying for quite some time that I am going to turn it into a General Lee but have yet to do so (not sure what I am waiting on).

They also offer indoor mini golf (18 holes). So there again you don’t have to worry about the elements outside to keep you from playing. Each hole/room offers or is going to offer a different type theme. Joe told me they are giving it an overhaul to update it and make it more detailed and more like Hazzard County. They have the Boar’s Nest (hole #18) almost complete. I am excited to see what the finished product of all 18 holes will look like. There is a lot of potential there if they decide to run with it.

After you pay for your mini golf and are heading for hole #1 you will be greeted by a black bear decked out in his 01 sunglasses and hat. Also there is an old Uncle Jesse moonshine still.

The Boars Nest looks really good and they are working on the jail. I think they should do different places from Hazzard County like the Duke Farm and Cooter’s Garage.

As you go from room to room on the golf course they have a lot of posters/signs hanging up. Some of the ones I found really cool were the ones that had information on them that kind of gives a back story to the characters/vehicles from the show. It was interesting to read and also gives someone that may not be too familiar with the show some history of it. I included a few of them in the blog. Sorry for the glare on some of them.

Here is one of the posters/metal signs that most of us should be familiar with.

Unlike Nashville, this store doesn’t offer a museum for visitors, however, they do have some show used items there (like a couple of Cooter’s outfits) and some items from the Dukes Golden Age (using Larry’s term there, which I do like his way of deciphering different items putting them into the age bracket). Although being in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge you have to offer the mini golf and go karts. I thought about comparing the two but it would really be like comparing apples to oranges. They both offer a unique Dukes experience in their own right. Since I’m not big into go karts and mini golf I prefer the Nashville store with the museum and more cars from the show you can get pictures in/with. My boys however prefer the Gatlinburg store since they like doing the activities there. I highly recommend visiting both stores if you get the chance, you won’t be disappointed in either.

Like the Nashville store, the Gatlinburg store offers a lot of Dukes of Hazzard and General Lee items for sale. They offer a wide array of items so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding yourself or someone you know something.

They changed their sign the second day I went there although I think they mean they are “accepting” not “excepting” applications. Larry, I got you and me an application. What do you think? It would be quite a commute for you though.

Again, I would like to thank Larry for allowing me to share this with you all. Hopefully this has inspired some of you to take the trip to Gatlinburg and visit Cooter’s. YeeHaw!!!






Sounds like a plan to me Brad.  Thanks for the great post!