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The US state of Tennessee is filled with amazing cities and towns, where fun is maximum and enjoyment is unlimited. Tennessee is one of the best places to spend your summer and spring vacation, you might have heard a lot of people saying that, but a state so big cannot be covered in a single vacation unless you are loaded with cash and have unlimited days to spend on your vacation.
Therefore, even though you are married to the idea of visiting Tennessee, you might have to narrow down your primary place to have fun and make memories. And the ideal candidate for this primary place in Pigeon Forge.
Pigeon Forge is a small mountainous vacation town in eastern Tennessee near Gatlinburg, known for its amazing theme parks, must-visit museums, and insanely popular live shows and theater. Not to mention, it’s a mountainous town, so you will be surrounded by the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains. Apart from numerous places to have indoor fun, there are a lot of natural hang-out spots for you and your family or friends to have a picnic, enjoy the fresh mountain breeze, and make outdoorsy memories.
To make our case more convincing, we have compiled about 5 (of many) reasons for you to choose Pigeon Forge as your primary destination on your vacation to Tennessee.
Let’s get on it.
1. Dollywood
Of course, we weren’t going to miss this one. Dollywood is practically the reason why Pigeon Forge attracts millions of tourists all year round. Dollywood is an Appalachian-themed park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, named after a famous American singer and songwriter, Dolly Parton, who is also a part-owner of the park. The park consists of extremely thrilling amusement rides with an adjoining Dollywood water park, where kids and adults have intense fun during their summer vacation.
In addition to that, Dollywood has a museum where Dolly Parton’s costumes and memorabilia are on display for fans.
We all know how popular Tennessee is because of country music; some of the famous American musicians and singers are\were from Tennessee, including Dolly Parton. Therefore, just near Dollywood, you will get to see some of the most crowded and popular attractions where country music fans come together to party and hang out. Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede is one of them.
Apart from that, there are amazing themed restaurants and food stops in Dollywood, including gift shops for you to take souvenirs back home.
2. Titanic Museum
We all have seen Titanic and cried at the end – and yes, the door was big enough to hold Jack and Rose let the poor guy die. Jokes apart, if you liked the movie Titanic, imagine how it would feel like to be inside an actual one. Well, not an actual one but a replica. Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge gives you that opportunity.
Brilliantly orchestrated to look like a real ship from the outside, the Titanic Museum Attraction is an interactive museum that serves as a time machine, taking you back more than a century ago when the actual Titanic was made to cross the ocean. The museum brings in a new and much more accurate perspective to the history of the Titanic, along with the display of real and replica artifacts from the ship. As an entry to the museum, you will be given a ticket with a name of an actual passenger who was on the original titanic, so it would be like you are seeing the inside of the ship from the eyes of the original passenger.
The Titanic Museum does an amazing job to shed the light on the fascinating history of the ship and its passengers and crew. It’s definitely a place worth visiting.
3. Hollywood Wax Museum
Remember the movie House of Wax? Yeah, this museum is nothing like that. It is so much prettier and livelier. Also, it’s a haven for Hollywood fans to see the wax versions of their favorite celebrity.
Located in Pigeon Forge, Hollywood Wax Museum is a beautiful piece of architecture from the outside, and much more aesthetic from the inside. It is a museum that contains wax-made figures of Hollywood celebrities with a background that fits their sculptures perfectly. You can take pictures of them and with them and make amazing memories.
This quirky entertainment center is open 365 days a year. You can expect to find and pose with your favorite Hollywood celebrity here, and if your favorite one isn’t there, it will be in future years.
Some of the famous wax figures that we find in the Hollywood Wax Museum are Tom Hanks, Michael Jackson, George Clooney, Charlie’s Angels, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Lui, John Wayne, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Marilyn Monroe, and more.
4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention the legendary, famous Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park, filled with woods and green plains, got its name from the blue peaks of the Smoky Mountains that surround it.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is stretched upon 500,000 acres of beautiful wilderness. The state has worked impressively to conserve the greenery and wildlife of the park. Apart from the obvious beauty of the park that is more than enough to convince anyone to visit this place, the green plains are an additional benefit as a perfect picnic or camping spot for you and your group. Moreover, there are multiple tracks for you to hike, trek, or take a casual stroll beside the beautiful gushing waterfalls.
The best spot in the whole 500,000-acre park is Cades Cove, which is a haven of beauty-lovers. It is the most popular area of the park that solely attracts millions of tourists annually. Although Cades Cove takes place about 31 miles away from Pigeon Forge, it is definitely a place you cannot miss. This picturesque value is not only mind-blowingly beautiful, but it also serves the sights of historical sites, including old mills and log cabins. You might even get luckier and catch a glimpse of native elk.
5. Gatlinburg
Not exactly in Pigeon Forge, but just a 20-minute drive away from Pigeon Forge is a beautiful mountain town called Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is one of the most naturally adventurous and picturesque cities in eastern Tennessee. Although you can have access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg is a getaway town for the park and most of its key attractions will provide you an awestriking view of the mountains, which you will never be able to forget.
A 407-feet long Space Needle is an observation tower that will serve you immensely scenic views. Moreover, a 2.1-mile Sky Lift cable car will give you a bird’s eye view of the smoky mountains range, running from Gatlinburg Downtown to the most popular ski resort in Gatlinburg.
After having a lot of indoor fun at Pigeon Forge, you can drive to Gatlinburg and live in its epic beauty. The town is filled with greenery and the fresh mountainous breeze that will keep you happy and light. You can even spend the night there at Gatlinburg Cabins and capture amazing night views at affordable rates.
