Ranking the properties owned in the Smokies owned by Dolly Parton and her partners You might have thought that Dollywood and the Stampede would have been enough. But Dolly Parton’s footprint in Pigeon Forge continues to grow. By my count, including Dollywood, Splash Country, and the two resorts as separate entities, Dolly and her various partners have a total of
Christmas at a Water Park? Wilderness at the Smokies offers a plethora of holiday happenings Many years ago, a young Hoosier in the wilds of Northern Indiana, I knew how to ice skate pretty well. I was never graceful at it, in fact, I was a plow horse on the ice. But I could get around, play a little hockey
The Drury Plaza Hotel in Pigeon Forge and Hotel Indigo in Gatlinburg offer visitors new hotel options A long time ago, when the world and I were young, I visited the Smokies in a very different way than I do now. Back then, I was still a young Hoosier. And a Smoky Mountain vacation is a Hoosier rite of passage.
Planning your way to Smoky Mountain perfection In the Smoky Mountains, perfection, if you’ll forgive a bit of poetic license, is like the Little Pigeon River. It’s fed by a series of prongs and tributaries and streams from all sorts of sources. Finding perfection is to follow the path of your passions until the reach the main waters flowing throw
Where Is the Best Place To Stay in the Smoky Mountains? Recently, some out-of-town guests visited me near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They stayed in a nice cabin overlooking the Gatlinburg SkyBridge. I wondered where I would stay for my vacation if I was not local. For example, would I want to stay in a popular destination to
A local offers 5 romantic date ideas for Valentine’s Day in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Romance is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe more accurately the eye of the beholder’s partner. I have performed a grand romantic gesture or two in my life. For instance, proposing to my now-wife in Paris (France, not Kentucky or Tennessee) comes to mind.
A local talks about his favorite hotels in Gatlinburg Not surprisingly, there are a lot of great options for staying in Gatlinburg. My favorites are along the River Road where the hotels face the river and back into the side of the mountain. They’re close to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies and an easy walk over to downtown Gatlinburg. We like
This immersive hobbit-inspired village will make you feel like you’re living in a Tolkien novel In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell. Nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat. It
Renting a cabin is one of the absolute best ways to enjoy the Smokies. Sure, there are a lot of things that make the area a tourist hot spot — from the amusement parks and abundance of mini golf to the dinner shows and pancake houses. But the one thing that makes the area truly unique is the one thing
An local’s review of DreamMore, Dollywood’s first Resort When I was in my early 20s, spending more than $1 on a cheeseburger was a splurge. Today, I barely bat an eye when dining at a nice restaurant, ordering a quality steak, and heck, let’s go ahead and order a glass of wine too while we’re at it. So when it