Regional Attractions

Our Neighbors are as Welcoming as We are.

Hello, Dollywood!

A legendary park named for a country music legend

The one-and-only Dollywood is just a short drive from downtown Gatlinburg. The rides are wild, and the music never ends in this incredible 150-acre theme park in nearby Pigeon Forge. After experiencing Dollywood’s incredible selection of unforgettable rides and shows, don’t forget its Splash Country Water Adventure Park. Only 13 minutes from Gatlinburg, Dollywood welcomes more than 2.5 million visitors a year, making it one of the most popular places to visit in Tennessee and an essential part of your vacation.

Directions are here.

Dinner shows and the Stampede Show

It’s showtime in Pigeon Forge. Are you ready?

Interested in dinner and a show? On your visit to the Smoky Mountain region, there will be plenty of fun opportunities to combine the two, including Dolly Parton’s Stampede Show and the Pirates Show. Depending on which direction you’re coming from, you might pass through Pigeon Forge on your way to downtown Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s almost always showtime in Pigeon Forge, with about a dozen theatres presenting as many as 20 shows every day. With concerts, musicals, variety shows, comedy and magic, Pigeon Forge is one of the most entertaining places to visit in Tennessee. Whether you love Broadway showtunes, country, rock, gospel or plain old family-friendly humor, there’s a curtain going up on big performances every night.

Area attractions also include the Old Mill, powered by a gigantic, ancient waterwheel and still churning out meal and flour on the Little Pigeon River.

Experience the Titanic.

The only thing missing is Leo.

It’s been more than a century since the HMS Titanic’s maiden voyage ended in tragedy, but her legacy lives on at the Titanic Museum Attraction, just up the road from Gatlinburg in Pigeon Forge. Book your passage, and receive your own boarding pass for an interactive experience that pays homage to one of the most famous ships in all of history, and step back in time. Walk the grand staircase. Steer the ship. Learn to send an SOS signal. Touch an iceberg, and visit our tribute gallery, dedicated to one of the Titanic’s most colorful passengers, Margaret “Unsinkable Molly” Brown.

Cherokee, North Carolina

Explore the rich cultural history of a proud Native American tribe.

What is now western North Carolina has been one homeland of the Cherokee people for centuries. Today’s Eastern-band members are direct descendants of those who managed to avoid the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of the Cherokee to Oklahoma in the 1830s. Adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee is a walk back in time and is also home to North Carolina’s largest tourist attraction: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Hotel.

Bristol Motor Speedway

Got the need for speed? You'll find it in Bristol.

Join the crowd at the next exciting Bristol Motor Speedway event! Gatlinburg’s just a short drive from the track and the perfect place to get ready for the big race, not to mention an attractive destination to arrive in after you’ve had your fill of the roaring engines. Once you’ve joined up to 160,000 of your best friends for a few action-packed hours, it always feels great to work in a little of nature’s quiet peace and tranquility, something a vacation in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains delivers in spades.

University of Tennessee Sports

Rocky Top, you’ll always be--home sweet home to me!

Good ole’ Rocky Top. The one and only Big Orange. Experience kickoff in person from the gridiron at Neyland Stadium. Catch tipoff courtside at Thompson Boling Area, with hot hoops action on the legendary hardwoods of The Summit. If catching the Vols this season is a part of your plans, it makes sense to make a vacation of it by staying the night just up the road in Gatlinburg. There’s no better retreat on Earth than the Smokies on a fall weekend or during the madness of basketball season.