Shop, Eat, Play

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: The Island in Pigeon Forge

What’s Here: Surrounded by the Little Pigeon River, this 23-acre island—yes, there’s an actual island in the Smokies!—bustles with over 80 shops, restaurants, rides, and family-friendly fun.

Insider’s Highlights: The Island Show Fountain, programmed to perform to light and music year-round, can be enjoyed while strolling around or sitting in a rocking chair near the dancing waters. The 200-foot-tall Wheel —one of the tallest attractions in the Southeast—offers 42 climate-controlled, enclosed glass gondolas so you can comfortably get an unparalleled view of the Smoky Mountains. New this year is SkyFly: Soar America, a state-of-the-art immersive theater with an award-winning film that can be seen only here. To simulate flight, sensations and scents accompany visuals on a 50-foot spherical screen. With feet dangling, experience what it would be like to race over glaciers, waterfalls, deserts, swamps, and more amazing sights.

Where To Go in Sevierville: Tanger Sevierville, Tennessee’s largest authentic outlet center, offers more than 100 stores, lots of places to get food and drink, and amusements like Ripley’s Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini Golf and the new Xperia: Ocean Journey.

Dolly Parton Celebration

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Dollywood

What’s Here: This one-of-a-kind theme park has racked up awards from Amusement Today, Southern Living, Tripadvisor, and USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice, among others.

Insider’s Highlights: Dollywood’s stages come alive daily with showcase performances that celebrate music, storytelling, and of course, Dolly. Year-round entertainment includes “Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends”, a musical production led by Dolly’s niece, Heidi Parton, alongside her family and friends, as they honor the musical legacy of the Parton family; “The Dollywood Dream Documentary”, the story of the park’s origins through personal reflections from Dolly and her business partners; and “Heartsong”, a multi-sensory film where Dolly guides you on a journey through the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains. For all things Dolly, visit The Dolly Parton Experience – an immersive attraction spanning multiple buildings, featuring interactive elements and exhibits that showcase her career, inspirations and dreams, family, signature style, and treasured mementos.

Where To Go in Sevierville: Explore Dolly Parton’s Downtown Sevierville, snap a selfie by the Dolly Parton statue, and enjoy a treat at Red’s Soda Fountain & Ice Cream, a 1940’s-style tribute to a place Dolly once loved. For comfort and convenience, stay near Dollywood in Sevierville.

Splish & Swoosh

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Dollywood’s Splash Country

What’s Here: Pigeon Forge’s award-winning waterpark is open seasonally to enjoy 35 acres filled with a variety of water slides, sparkling pools, and splash zones.

Insider’s Highlights: Get wet on the six-lane mat-racer slide, 8,000-square-foot lagoon-style leisure pool, tallest twin speed slide in Tennessee, multi-level interactive water adventure, 25,000-square-foot-wave pool, and/or lazy river.

Where To Go in Sevierville: All year round you can stay and play at the award-winning Wilderness at the Smokies, Tennessee’s largest waterpark resort. The adjacent 50-acre Soaky Mountain Waterpark is open during the summer.

Coasters & Creatures

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Snowpark

What’s Here: Rides, snacks, and surprises await at “Pigeon Forge’s #1 Adventure Park.”

Insider’s Highlights: Race down the longest and fastest outdoor year-round tubing hill in Tennessee on the 500-foot-long, 70-foot drop to reach speeds up to 35 mph. Control the speed you want to go on the Avalanche Snow Coaster. Ride the first Alpine Flyer in North America, a suspended coaster that operates day and night; soar through the air on a two-rider seat while taking aim at targets. Or stand firmly on the ground and aim for the bullseye at targets in the outdoor axe throwing area.

Where To Go in Sevierville: SkyLand Ranch, Rowdy Bear’s sister property, also has an Alpline Coaster. Ride the chair lift up the mountain to a range of amusements, including a barn with miniature horses.

Playful Science

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: WonderWorks

What’s Here: Housed in a building that appears to be upside down, this science-focused indoor amusement park boasts over 100 hands-on exhibits, a full laser tag arena, food, and fun that doesn’t feel like learning (but is).

Insider’s Highlights: Feel hurricane-force, 71-miles-per-hour winds. Make giant bubbles. Recline on the bed of nails. Snap a selfie at a kiosk that identifies which celebrities look most like you. Pilot a course on a flight simulator. Experience zero gravity in the Astronaut Training Gyro. Test your skills and mettle on the indoor glow-in-the-dark ropes course.

Where To Go in Sevierville: Verify the pull of gravity at Sevier Air Trampoline & Ninja Warrior Park , which offers 60 trampolines, an obstacle course, rope swing, jousting area, and more.

On The Run

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Alcatraz East Crime Museum

What’s Here: Located near The Island, this museum takes a hard look at U.S. crime history and its consequences, delving into criminal intent, criminal profiles, the penal system, victims’ stories, crime prevention, law enforcement, forensic science, and the justice system. More than 500 artifacts from different eras are on display.

Insider’s Highlights: Get horrified by Colonial-era artifacts of punishment. See John Dillinger’s death mask, Al Capone’s rosary, Bonnie & Clyde mementos, the white Bronco made famous during the OJ Simpson chase, a polygraph machine used by the FBI, and Ted Bundy’s VW Beetle, among others. Interactive stations include a CSI lab, simulated shooting range, safe cracking challenge, digital fingerprinting, DUI safety training, and jail cells.

Where To Go in Sevierville: At Tennessee Shine Company walk through the moonshine tour to get an inside look at moonshine’s storied, illegal history. Then see how fast you can drive around the track at NASCAR SpeedPark Smoky Mountains —after all, NASCAR got its start from moonshine runners.

Photo Ops

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Hollywood Wax Museum

What’s Here: Lifelike wax sculptures of celebrities fill this space, and props are available to enhance your photographs with them.

Insider’s Highlights: Pose alongside stars and legends like Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, Johnny Cash, Johnny Depp, and so many other icons.

Where To Go in Sevierville: Sevierville is packed with selfie spots and Instagram-ready backdrops.

3-D History

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Titanic Museum Attraction

What’s Here: Experience the Titanic in all its glory and tragedy at this structure that’s 50-percent the size of the original ship. Exhibits showcase more than 400 genuine artifacts from the ship and its passengers, the world’s largest display.

Insider’s Highlights: The Grand Staircase was built at a cost of over $1 million and is the only replica in the world that you can climb. See first- and third-class cabins. Touch an iceberg, reach into 28-degree water, and try to stand on the sloping decks of a sinking ship. See the memorial wall detailing the fate of 2,208 passengers and crew members.

Where To Go in Sevierville: See 40 of Sevierville’s most important sites on a self-guided historic walking tour .

Night Out

Where To Go in Pigeon Forge: Options abound! Four perennial favorites include:

Where/What/Highlights: Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Attraction , the world’s most-visited dinner show attraction, packs a 35,000-square-foot arena with action centered upon 32 magnificent horses and world-class riders. Other animal performers include chickens, pigs, and ostriches. The show also features music, dance, comedy, and audience-participation competitions. During the show dig into creamy vegetable soup, a juicy whole rotisserie chicken, hickory-smoked pulled pork, corn on the cob, herb-roasted potatoes, biscuit, plus dessert.

Where/What/Highlights: Pirate’s Voyage Dinner & Show is an action-packed dinner show centered around a 15-foot-deep pool “lagoon” where a pirate ship is docked inside a 21,000-square-foot arena. Mermaids, parrots, seals, pirates, and acrobatic sailors battle in an engaging series of competitions that include diving, dancing, jousting, climbing, twirling, and other impressive feats of agility and endurance. While daring feats often hold the spotlight, the show also features a rousing assortment of dance, comedy, and an original music score by Dolly Parton and Mark Brymer. During the show feast on creamy vegetable soup, pan-fried chicken, sugar-cured ham, corn on the cob, macaroni & cheese, and apple pie.

Where/What/Highlights: Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud is an energetic variety dinner show built around the central theme of rival families and forbidden love. The talented cast sings and shouts; picks banjo and strums guitar; dances, taps, and stomps; performs stunts and acrobatics; tells corny double-entendre jokes; and does as much as possible to inspire laughs and wows from the audience. During the show indulge in an all-you-can-eat feast of creamy soup, fried chicken, pulled barbecue pork, smashed potatoes, corn on the cob, hot bread, coleslaw, and pudding dessert.

Where/What/Highlights: The Comedy Barn Theater, the most successful clean comedy theater in the world, stages an array of acts including comedians, jugglers, ventriloquists, well-trained birds, musicians, dancers, a jokester who talks with ping pong balls in his mouth, and more. Audience “volunteers” are sometimes recruited to join a skit.

Where To Go in Sevierville: The Pines is a new entertainment venue with games like duck bowling and snookball that’s housed in the former theater building where Dolly Parton played her first paying gig at age 10; a mural pays tribute to young Dolly and other past performers. Pinchy’s Lobster & Raw Bar is Northeastern-style restaurant and beer garden where the outdoor seating area includes cozy fire pits, cornhole boards, and a stage for weekend concerts. Special events throughout the year offer a diverse range of evening entertainment.