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Knoxville, TN → Pigeon Forge, TN 36.9 mi (59.4 km) |
 Next Day |
Hello Dolly, and everyone!
Can you believe, after all these years, I’d only ever set foot in one amusement park?! And that was just to see a historical landmark! Well, from the moment I first heard of Dollywood, the Appalachian amusement park owned in part by Dolly Parton herself, I knew one day I’d need to pay a visit en route to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As it turned out, my new friends I’d met in Katmai, Tyler and Marie, were going to be out that way for a wedding, and well, I’d never wanted visit Dollywood by myself. So we met up in Knoxville, headed to Pigeon Forge, and got extra excited for a day of discovering a place we’d all heard of but never explored in detail!
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Tyler splurged for premium parking, which put us right up at the front of the lot by the gate, and I was just delighted to realize that all of Dollywood was preparing for Halloween! There were pumpkin sculptures galore, and each of the roller coasters—oh yes, roller coasters—were marked by pumpkin signs and decorations! There were so many directions to go that it was hard to decide which to try first. I voted for Big Bear Mountain in Wildwood Grove, because it reminded me of California’s Big Bear!
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The line had stalled, but a handy sign clearly showed which rides in the park were temporarily closed. I was then devastated to learn that I had to be at least 39 inches tall to ride! Dang it! I really wanted to try out the park’s longest coaster at 3/4 of a mile! No, no, I told Tyler and Marie, go ahead, and I’ll watch. And I did. I looked through the rails of Dollywood’s newest attraction (2023) and saw smoke puffing up from its oldest: the Dollywood Express, the coal-fired steam train formerly known as Klondike Katie (1949), who’d retired from the White Pass Railroad in Skagway to become the main attraction of this park’s first incarnation, Rebel Railroad (1961)!
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In nearby Timber Canyon, I sat with Marie and ate some of the park’s famous cinnamon bread while Tyler waited nearly an hour and a half for the Mystery Mine to open after a technical shut-down! Marie, it turns out, doesn’t like spinning roller coasters, and from Tyler’s report, it sounded like the Mystery Mine was a motherlode of spins and near-vertical drops, with seat pads positioned to rattle a person’s ears! At least the ride had a catchy theme song! I wasn’t thrilled to miss the thrill ride, but I was comforted by the tasty cinnamon bread and the idea of the 25-pound apple pies for sale at the same place!
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There was a lot I didn’t expect about Dollywood, like Craftsman’s Valley, where folks could make candles or watch glassblowing if they liked! There was a full schedule of musical performances celebrating the bluegrass, folk, and gospel tunes of the Appalachian region! Oh, and Dollywood happens to be home to the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, which at 400,000 cubic feet is the nation’s largest exhibit of non-releasable bald eagles! These are eagles that, for one reason or another, are permanently disabled and wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild, so they’ll live out the rest of their days in this humongous aviary!
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Intermixed with the rides were more fantastically spooky pumpkin sculptures, like this huge pumpkantula and its babies, plus wonderfully non-branded music playing over the loudspeakers! With surprisingly small crowds on a Labor Day weekend, Dollywood was a very manageable, easygoing park, which felt like it was trying to share something beautiful more than just sell a brand. I really enjoyed that. After all, amusement parks should be amusing!
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Other rides around the park recreated moments from Dolly’s childhood while others celebrated Americana, like the firefighter-themed FireChaser Express, which not only twisted and turned, but also had a backwards launch from 0 to 20mph in two seconds to escape a shed full of fireworks about to blow! Then there was the 21-story Wild Eagle, which opened on March 24, 2012 as the country’s first wing coaster! That means all the folks who braved its four huge loops were sitting on either side of the track with only air above and beneath them! I sure wish I could have tried it. Marie was very happy to sit it out with me, but I wish I’d been as tall as Tyler! He had a great time!
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It didn’t feel like all that long before the sun started to get a bit dim, and dinner crossed our minds. Maybe it was all the little pumpkin frogs reminding me that pumpkin spice season was fast approaching. Anyway, the last coaster on the itinerary, the wooden Thunderhead with its 100-foot drop, shut down for repairs before anyone could get to the front of the line. That was our signal that our day at Dollywood was done.
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The “Hot Fresh Cinnamon Bread Made Daily” sign posted on the side of a replica grist mill in Craftsman’s Valley really made our stomachs rumble. But the historic-looking building gave us an idea of where to go for a celebratory dinner after a day of fun!
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The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge is one of the oldest continuously operating grist mills in America, built in 1830 as Lewis Mill. Originally built to grind corn, it served as the first post office in 1841, a secret clothing shop for the Union during the Civil War, an electric mill in 1921, and by 1952, a restaurant and tourist attraction for visitors to the newly designated Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We were on the list for over an hour, but it was worth it: huge servings of locally caught trout, savory greens, scrumptious mashed potatoes, and amazing blackberry cobbler! We rolled out of there like corn cakes after 10PM, loaded up with the energy we’d need for another day of adventure in the most visited national park in the whole system!
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After we all said goodnight, I settled into my room at The Wayback Hotel, where “Normal Is No Fun.” There is so much that I want to do in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but tomorrow’s going to be improvised. A landslide back on August 1 has cut off half of the park, meaning a hike to Charlie’s Bunion is right out of the question and all those Labor Day visitors will be condensed onto the east side of the park. In short, a battle awaits!
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I guess this is how you find adventure in the tamest places! It’s a gamble either way, but anything’s better than nothing! After some slow dancing with the moon, I’ll have some new Appalachian memories to share with you!
Big dreams and faded jeans!
More 2025 Adventures |
Total Ground Covered: 36.9 mi (59.4 km) |
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