Book ’Em While You Got ’Em. Why the Federal Government Is Making Camping in the Smokies a Lot More Crowded The Great Smoky Mountains and other national parks across the country are caught in political crossfire, resulting in less access to their majesty. There are few things more peaceful than a Smoky Mountain camping getaway. It’s a disconnect from the
Local Lists Items That Are Banned Across the National Park Growing up with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in my backyard, I never gave much thought to the rules. I just, you know, went to the park without putting much thought into it. I mean I knew what would be considered the park commandments from a young age. You
Herschend Family Entertainment Just Acquired 20 New Parks and Attractions Including Kennywood, Dutch Wonderland and Something Called the Boulder Dash Herschend Family Entertainment just acquired 20 new parks and attractions including Kennywood, Dutch Wonderland and ….Boulder Dash. I’ll admit it. For a second, I let my imagination run away with me. I saw Kennywood – which is a Pittsburgh icon
Water is coming back to the best ride at Dollywood, here is what we know Dollywood’s beloved, quirky and bizarre dark ride Blazing Fury is about to be restored – at least in part to its former glory. Officials hinted at a major refurbishment for one of the park’s legacy rides last year. This year, it was announced that the Dollywood
Arby’s in South Knoxville, a viral kudzu post Once thought a miracle cure for erosion, kudzu is thriving in the mountains whether we want it to or not. We moved to Tennessee in 1990. At the time, we settled into a house in rural Blount County, not far from the Sevier County line. It was an immersive introduction to all
A Virtual Tour of a Local’s Favorite Historic Places in the Smoky Mountains Traveling is about a lot of things. It’s about getting away from the daily grind and freeing yourself of the responsibilities that come with work. Additionally, it’s about bonding with friends and family. It’s also about seeing other parts of the country and world and absorbing cultures
Inside the area that legendary author Horace Kephart once described as “a country of ill fame” In 1904 Horace Kephart, a librarian/outdoorsman who tended the stacks at the Yale University Library and for a while worked for an American rare book collector in Italy, separated from his family and made his way to the Mountains of North Carolina. Kephart was
Carl Dean, husband of Dolly Parton, has died. The man who inspired the song Jolene among others was 82. For nearly 60 years, Carl Dean was married to one of the most beautiful, talented and wealthy women in the world. And somehow, almost no one knew who he was. Dean married Dolly Parton in May of 1966. He watched from
The little-known story of how the Smoky Mountains nearly had two theme parks, instead of one There are many great figures who shaped the path of the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge over the years. Some are well-known and some mostly forgotten. From Dolly Parton, to the first Ogles who set foot in White Oaks Flats, later known as
A local offers his opinion on the lesser well-received aspects of Ghost Town in the Sky Up in the high mountains of North Carolina sits the rusting remains of a dream. The ironically named Ghost Town in the Sky opened in Maggie Valley, North Carolina in 1961. It was a charming – and originally thriving – Old West theme park