Pigeon Forge is a bustling town in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. This resort town is just minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg and is a short drive from Knoxville. When Gatlinburg’s popular attractions filled up the small village in the mountains, entertainment options began to spread up the main thoroughfare known locally as the Parkway into Sevier County and Pigeon Forge. Today there are many attractions for vacationing families to enjoy when in the area.
There are many attractions in and around Pigeon Forge, but if you don’t count the nearby national park, there is no doubt what the main attraction is — it’s Dollywood. Since 1985, Dollywood has been luring tourists from all over the world to see this country-themed amusement park owned by country music legend Dolly Parton. Dolly and Herschend Family Entertainment opened the park to an enthusiastic response that has not fallen off in the decades since. The park’s success has led to major expansions that have resulted in many more rides, shows and even an entirely new portion of Dollywood — a water park known as Splash County. In addition, Dollywood is also involved in the nearby Dixie Stampede rodeo and dinner show. So if plunging over a waterfall in a raft, hurtling down an abandoned mine shaft on a roller coaster or even riding flying elephants is your idea of fun, Dollywood has you covered.
When walking the streets in search of souvenirs, riding rides, swimming or hiking have you worn out at the end of the day, sometimes a good laugh is exactly what the doctor ordered. At the Comedy Barn an award-winning team of comedians and performers will have you rolling in the aisle with a brand of family-friendly comedy.
The barn is hard to miss along the Parkway. Its giant red roof and barn doors on the front side make this multimillion-dollar facility an obvious attraction while you’re in town. Enjoy the acts of stand-up comedians, jugglers, fire-eaters, singers and all kinds of high-tech special effects during your visit to this theater.
If rafting the rapids on the nearby Ocoee River seems too intense for you during your trip to Pigeon Forge, try an extreme boat ride of a different sort. The Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride is an attraction that places you on a boat on an indoor river that winds through a dark jungle filled with animatronics dinosaurs and state-of-the-art sound effects. Watch as dinosaurs come to life and enjoy the sights and sounds of a time long gone.
