Help me find things to do near Dollywood

raser · #1 08-01-2007, 01:38 PM

Ok, I have finally decided what to do on vacation this year and I need some help in what to do when we are not in the park. Some things to know, my wife loves waterfalls and lighthouses (no chance of finding a lighthouse in TN.) My daughter loves horses and dragons. My son loves adventure. I don't have alot of money this year. What can we do on a small budget in this area? Thanks.

**Wes** · #2 08-01-2007, 01:45 PM

Here's a good site for the area:
http://www.mypigeonforge.com/activities.asp

I'm a sucker for the tourist stuff, so I usually do stuff like that when I'm up there so I don't usually do the parks and such. But the Blueridge Parkway is a nice drive and it's free. Not sure how close it is, maybe 1.5 hours away near Asheville, NC.

edh101985 · #3 08-01-2007, 02:29 PM

Just find a horseback riding hike up to a waterfall. That solves all the problems, lol. Seriously, I know your on a budget, but the Dixie Stampede is worth it, and they have a horseback riding show. Your son will enjoy all the go kart tracks they have. How old are they? Your son also may like the zorb attraction. http://www.mypigeonforge.com/Attract...iness_id=1124&

stevetothekizzo · #4 08-01-2007, 02:41 PM

Personally, I thought Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg was one tacky tourist trap with Dollywood being the diamond in the rough. I would say check out Zorb and Dollywood/Dixie Stampede/Splash Country maybe a mini golf course that features a lighthouse and move on to the Smokies. They have several creeks for tubing. Do some online reasearch to find the best ones. I believe there is one called "Deep Creek" just across the border in NC just beyond the national park. Tubing is always a blast and it's cheap. Plus camping, hiking, and something simple like a picnic is fun in the Smokies as well (and cheap too). The traps on the strip in Pigeon Forge are expensive and cheesy.

**Brian F** · #5 08-01-2007, 02:41 PM

Steve, I agree about the tourist trap stuff being cheesy. But, the area and the park are beyond wonderful. Personally, I don't even care that much for Dollywood, there's too much for me in the park!

Raser, look up the Deer Farm petting zoo. It's just east of Sevierville. Your daughter will love it, and it's surprisingly affordable.

Back to Wes' idea of the Blueridge Parkway- you can be on the Blueridge in about a half an hour from Dollywood.

You'll also be about 20 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park. Plenty of places to hike. Just driving through the park can be fun. Drive to Clingmann's dome, and take the 1/2 mile hike up to the top of the tower. Go to Cades Cove.

Drive over to Cherokee NC, and do a quick hike to Mingo Falls

Here's a link to some pictures of what we did last year when we were there. If you have any questions about any of the activities, PM or E-mail me.

http://public.fotki.com/fbama73/fami...ssee__north-1/

raser · #6 08-01-2007, 04:23 PM

Sorry, forgot ages. My daughter is 15 and my son is 12 if I told you my wifes age she would shoot me. Zorb sounds fun, how much is it?

**Leo C** · #7 08-01-2007, 04:42 PM

I joined my family this year in Pigeon Forge and basically we tried not to spend a lot of money. The townhouse resort we went to had a kitchenette so we brought 3 grocery bags of things and bought stuff from the local Food City. You may have to join their shoppers club to get the discount. Walmart Supercenter is also in Sevierville. With that same resort Dollywood and that place had a special buy one day at Dollywood get one free promotion. Check Dollywood's site for listed hotel/resorts they have this special with. The display signs outside the golf and go cart places in Pigeon Forge are helpful. I went to $5 go cart ride special night because of that.

Knoxville is also only a short distance away, under a hour. My sister found Tuesdays were free admission days to their small art museum. The 1982 World's Fair Park is right next door. In Knoxville just a short distance away from this site is the University of Tennessee, the home of the Vols. My mom loves gardens so we went to the school's botanical garden. It's free and it was beautiful.

In Sevierville you can see the county court house with a bronze statue of Dolly Parton out front. At the Tourism Welcome Center or Chamber of Commerce, whatever it is called, by the Sonic restaurant in Sevierville I found free round of golf business cards for NASCAR Speedpark in Sevierville. There is all kinds of coupons and deals. I'm sure at one of the minature golf places there is a lighthouse.

We managed to go see the Biltmore in Asheville, NC. It costs around $40 but it well worth the beauty. You just don't see a castle in everyday America.

If you're really devoted to parks Ghost Town in the Sky reopened but I wouldn't suggest it just yet for the whole family to shell big bucks. For one enthusiast who wants to help out, yes.

To rid myself of the shock of seeing the tourist trap cheesiness I had the first day I came into Pigeon Forge, we went to the Smoky Mountains the next day. Cade's Cove was a cool drive. I thought there would be more buildings. The nature and the views are worth it. I warn you it's a 30 mile drive in the woods. I wish we had time to do the lookout tower.

Have fun and good luck! Enjoy the cool state that is Tennessee.

edh101985 · #8 08-01-2007, 06:37 PM

Prices TBD but I doubt its that much. http://www.zorb.com/smoky/index.html

stevetothekizzo · #9 08-01-2007, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian F

Steve, I agree about the tourist trap stuff being cheesy. But, the area and the park are beyond wonderful. Personally, I don't even care that much for Dollywood, there's too much for me in the park!

Raser, look up the Deer Farm petting zoo. It's just east of Sevierville. Your daughter will love it, and it's surprisingly affordable.

Back to Wes' idea of the Blueridge Parkway- you can be on the Blueridge in about a half an hour from Dollywood.

You'll also be about 20 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park. Plenty of places to hike. Just driving through the park can be fun. Drive to Clingmann's dome, and take the 1/2 mile hike up to the top of the tower. Go to Cades Cove.

Drive over to Cherokee NC, and do a quick hike to Mingo Falls

Here's a link to some pictures of what we did last year when we were there. If you have any questions about any of the activities, PM or E-mail me.

http://public.fotki.com/fbama73/fami...ssee__north-1/

I agree with you Brian. The landscape is beautiful. Heck Dollywood rivals Busch Gardens Europe for overall beauty of a park. It's too bad that areas around major attractions such as Dollywood and the Smokey's have to turn into a hodge podge of just really tacky buildings and expensive gimmicks. Disneyworld has the same surroundings, and I am not talking about I-drive. I-drive looks like Beverly Hills compared to Pigeon Forge. Even Wisconsin Dells as cheesy as that is, at least offers some pretty major attractions such as Mt. Olympus and Noah's Ark as well as several nice resorts. The area southwest of the Disneyworld is what I am talking about.

I can see some signs of improvements though for Pigeon Forge. Last time I was there they had a nice shopping center going up that had several nice little restaurants. I ate at the Atlanta Bread Co. while finishing up some work.

Gatlinburg was nothing to write home about either, but I guess I thought it was going to be something it wasn't. I was expecting kind of a Park City, Ut atmosphere instead of a town that is 95% owned by Ripley's. I can now find aspects of it enduring in its own way. I guess Ashville is supposed to be beautifulf though.

jimhamblin · #10 08-01-2007, 08:54 PM

House boat!!!

Couple of great houseboating lakes within two hours of Pidgeon Forge.

**Brian F** · #11 08-02-2007, 01:45 AM

Ok, a couple more things.

When I referred to "the Park," I meant GSMNP, not Dollywood. DW is OK, and honestly, I would like it much better if it were anywhere else. Great Smoky Mts Nat'l Park is beyond a doubt, my favorite place on earth. The mountains and trails remind me exactly where coasters fall on my priority list- high, but not the top.

The first time we went, my wife used Dollywood to talk me into going. I fell so in love with the mountains at first sight- we didn't even spend much time at DW. We'll probably stop at DW for a while this year when we go back, because my daughter is now tall enough to ride TH.

There is one WONDERFUL thing about Gatlinburg- the bypass. Once you're Southbound out of pigeon Forge, you can take the bypass, and go completely around the mess that is Gatlinburg, and it drops you off pretty much at the Sugarlands visitor's center.

Raser- you need to treat yourself to dinner at Bennett's Pit BBQ in Pigeon Forge at least once while there. Mmmmmmm..... Bennett's

Biltmore is awesome, but it's about 40 bucks a person to get in. We've been each of the last three years, and I'm thinking we'll pass this time. I'm hoping we'll go to Chimney Rock State Park in N.C.- If you've seen "Last of the Mohicans" you know the scenery, as it was filmed there.

Also, you're less than an hour from Knoxville. K'ville has a zoo, minor league baseball, a symphony orchestra, the gardens at the University of Tennessee (Go Vols!) They also have Baptist hospital that's offering relocation packages for nurses (like my wife) and plenty of factory maintenance jobs for good techs (like me) and why am I posting, I need to go PACK!