🎤 What to Do · Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge
Things to Do in the Smokies
86 real, verified attractions across twelve categories — theme parks, The Island, every Ripley’s attraction, dinner shows, moonshine distilleries, mini golf, mountain coasters, wildlife, national park drives, and only-here museums — across Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville.
🗺 Gatlinburg · Pigeon Forge · Sevierville
✅ Verified Direct Sources
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🎡 The Island
🦈 Ripley’s
🍽️ Dinner Shows
🥃 Moonshine
⛳ Mini Golf
🏔️ Mountain Coasters
🐾 Wildlife
🏞️ Nat’l Park
🖼️ Museums
🎨 Arts & Crafts
🎯 More Fun
Tips
FAQ
Dollywood gets most of the attention, but the Smokies attraction scene runs a lot deeper than one theme park — a whole Parkway’s worth of Ripley’s attractions, an entertainment district built around a 200-foot observation wheel, a genuine moonshine trail, dinner shows, and national park drives all pull real crowds too. We checked each attraction directly against its own site, including a few details that are easy to get wrong: the Chimney Tops summit has been closed since the 2016 wildfire, Guinness World Records Adventure quietly closed for good, Doc Collier Moonshine Distillery has rebranded, and one long-running mini golf park is in its final season.
Dollywood & the Big-Ticket Days
Dollywood
Dolly Parton’s flagship theme park — roller coasters, live entertainment, and seasonal festivals (fall and Christmas both draw major crowds).
Dollywood’s Splash Country
Dolly Parton-branded water park next to Dollywood, with a wave pool, lazy river, and slides. Seasonal — open warm months only.
Anakeesta
Mountaintop adventure park reached by gondola — Treetop Skywalk, AnaVista Tower, a mountain coaster, dueling zipline, and the nighttime Astra Lumina light walk.
Ober Gatlinburg
“Tennessee’s Only Ski Area & Adventure Park” — aerial tramway, skiing and snow tubing in winter, plus a bobsled, ice skating, and wildlife encounters year-round.
Gatlinburg SkyPark (SkyLift & SkyBridge)
The iconic yellow chairlift to Crockett Summit, home to the SkyBridge — billed as the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America — plus overlook dining.
Wilderness at the Smokies
Tennessee’s largest indoor water park, plus outdoor water parks and an adventure center with a ropes course, laser tag, and mini golf.
A Whole Entertainment District, Free to Walk
The Island in Pigeon Forge
Open-air entertainment, dining, and shopping district anchored by the 200-foot Great Smoky Mountain Wheel observation wheel, a choreographed show fountain, an arcade, and dozens of shops and restaurants. Free admission and parking — pay only for what you ride or buy.
One Family of Attractions Along the Parkway — Combo Tickets Available
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
Major aquarium with a shark lagoon, a penguin exhibit, and a glass-bottom boat ride through the shark tank. Open daily, long hours.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
The classic Ripley’s oddities museum (“Odditorium”) — hundreds of strange-but-true artifacts and interactive exhibits.
Ripley’s Mirror Maze
Interactive mirrored-maze puzzle attraction right on the Parkway, also marketed as the “Marvelous Mirror Maze.”
Ripley’s Motion Blaster
A moving/motion-simulator theater ride that puts you inside the on-screen action.
Ripley’s Haunted Adventure
Walk-through haunted-house scare attraction, open on the Parkway since 1999.
Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini-Golf
Two 18-hole mini golf courses on the Parkway, with a multi-day “Play All Week” pass available.
Ripley’s Mountain Coaster
Alpine gravity mountain coaster with Smoky Mountain views, lit for night rides.
Ripley’s Super Fun Zone
Indoor family entertainment center on the Parkway — indoor mini golf, laser tag, and arcade games.
Ripley’s Super Fun Park
A separate, larger Ripley’s family entertainment park — rides, arcade games, and an AR experience called Verse Immersive. Ticketed separately from the Gatlinburg combo passes.
Ripley’s Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini-Golf
Farm-themed mini golf course — the Sevierville-area Ripley’s attraction.
Ripley’s sells tiered combo passes bundling the Aquarium with several of the other attractions above — worth pricing out if you’re doing three or more. A former separate attraction, Guinness World Records Adventure, permanently closed and is not included here.
All-You-Can-Eat Meals Paired With a Live Show
Dolly Parton’s Stampede
Four-course dinner attraction with equestrian stunts, friendly competition, and comedy in a 35,000 sq ft arena. Year-round, with a holiday Christmas show.
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud
All-you-can-eat Southern feast paired with a live comedy/stunt show depicting the famous feuding families, including a high-diving swimming-hole segment.
Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud
All-you-can-eat buffet dinner show built around competitive lumberjack/timbersports events between two rival stage families. Open year-round.
Free Tastings, No Reservation Needed
Sugarlands Distilling Company
Well-known moonshine and whiskey distillery right on the Parkway, with free daily tastings and long hours (10am–10:30pm daily).
Ole Smoky Distillery — The Holler
The original Ole Smoky location in downtown Gatlinburg, with free daily tastings and no reservation needed. A second Pigeon Forge location (“The Barn”) is at The Island.
Tennessee Shine Co.
Downtown Gatlinburg moonshine tasting and retail shop — recently rebranded from Doc Collier Moonshine Distillery to Tennessee Shine Co.
Junction 35 Spirits
Tennessee’s first distillery-restaurant, producing bourbon, rye, moonshine, vodka, gin, tequila, and rum. A member of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, with locations in both Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.
Old Forge Distillery
Working craft distillery at Old Mill Square producing whiskey and moonshine on-site, with free tastings and tours of the historic Old Mill grounds.
Gatlinburg Brewing Company
Downtown Gatlinburg brewpub and craft brewery producing house beers, paired with a pizza restaurant on the Parkway.
Smoky Mountain Brewery
Long-running regional brewpub chain with on-site brewing tanks visible from the dining room, serving house-brewed beer and pub food.
Rainy-Day & Evening Options
Crave Golf Club
Two 19-hole mini golf courses (indoor plus a rooftop outdoor course), two 30-minute escape rooms, mini bowling, and a candy/ice cream shop.
LazerPort Fun Center
Go-karts, an 18-hole indoor blacklight mini golf course, two large laser tag arenas, and a 10,000 sq ft arcade.
Lost Mine Mountain Coaster & Mini Golf
18-hole themed mini golf course paired with a mountain coaster, open daily 10am–11pm.
Hillbilly Golf
Mountainside mini golf reached by an incline lift, operating since 1971 — one of Gatlinburg’s longest-running attractions.
The Track
Long-running go-kart and mini golf park on the Parkway, open for 42 years.
Closing permanently November 1, 2026 — this is its farewell season, so visit before then if it’s on your list.
Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf
Treasure/adventure-themed mini golf course right on the Parkway.
NASCAR SpeedPark
25-acre family park with multiple go-kart tracks, kiddie rides, mini golf, an arcade, and VR.
Xtreme Racing Center of Pigeon Forge
Dedicated high-speed go-kart racing venue with multiple track configurations — a step up in speed from the mini golf combo venues above.
SpeedZone Fun Park
Multi-track go-kart park on South River Road with several racing courses of varying difficulty.
Adventure Raceway
Elevated wooden go-kart track with a signature 3-story spiral, a Parkway fixture since the 1990s.
Space Race Adventures
Space-themed entertainment complex combining futuristic electric go-karts with a cosmic-themed mini golf course.
Bigger Than Mini Golf, Not Quite a Theme Park
Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Fun & Snowpark
Adventure park built around a mountain coaster, plus a year-round tubing hill, axe throwing, and paintball.
Goats on the Roof of the Smokies
Only-here novelty stop with live goats grazing on a rooftop, plus a mountain/alpine coaster and gem mining.
Otters, Elk & a Show Cave
Rainforest Adventures Discovery Zoo
130+ tropical and temperate animal species across 2+ acres, with hands-on otter and sloth encounters and animal shows. Fully indoor and climate-controlled, open 363 days a year.
Smoky Mountain Deer Farm & Exotic Petting Zoo
140-acre hands-on petting zoo with deer, camels, zebras, and elk, plus pony rides and horseback trails. Family-operated for over 36 years.
Forbidden Caverns
Guided show-cave tour past natural rock formations, chimneys, and an underground stream.
Seasonal — open April 1 through late November, closed Thursdays and Sundays. Confirm dates before visiting.
Looking for the aquarium? Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is covered in our Ripley’s Attractions section above, alongside the rest of the Ripley’s Parkway lineup.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Free to Enter
Cades Cove
An 11-mile loop road through a historic valley with 18th- and 19th-century log homes, churches, and a working gristmill, plus some of the park’s best wildlife viewing.
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
A 5.5-mile one-way loop drive through old-growth forest past historic log cabins and waterfalls, including the Place of a Thousand Drips. Starts near downtown Gatlinburg at traffic light #8.
Chimney Tops Overlook Trail
A popular roughly 3.5-mile roundtrip hike through the park.
The original summit/pinnacle scramble has been closed since the November 2016 wildfire due to rockfall danger — only the Overlook Trail portion before the closed area is open.
CLIMB Works Smoky Mountains
Mountaintop zipline canopy tour company with multiple lines and sky bridges.
Wahoo Ziplines
Six-line, 2-mile canopy zipline tour — a well-known alternative to CLIMB Works, serving Pigeon Forge visitors too.
Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome)
The highest point in the Smokies (6,643 ft) with an observation tower offering 360-degree views. Officially renamed Kuwohi by the National Park Service in September 2024 to restore its Cherokee name.
Newfound Gap & Newfound Gap Road
A 31-mile scenic highway crossing the park at 5,046 ft on the TN/NC state line, with the Rockefeller Memorial overlook.
Laurel Falls Trail
One of the park’s most popular paved hikes (2.6 mi round trip) leading to an 80-foot cascading waterfall.
Rainbow Falls Trail
A strenuous 5.4-mile round-trip hike from Cherokee Orchard Road to the park’s tallest single-drop waterfall (~80 ft), named for the rainbow effect in its mist.
Grotto Falls (Trillium Gap Trail)
A moderate 3-mile round-trip hike near Roaring Fork to the only Smokies waterfall hikers can walk behind.
The Sinks
A roadside waterfall and swimming hole on Little River Road, easily accessible with no hike required.
Greenbrier
A quieter, less-trafficked entrance to the park near Gatlinburg along the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River, popular for streamside picnicking and access to the Ramsey Cascades trail.
Foxfire Mountain Adventure Park
Zipline and adventure park featuring the “Goliath” zipline plus aerial obstacle courses through the mountains above Sevierville.
Legacy Mountain Ziplines
Guided canopy zipline tour company operating multiple zip lines and a sky bridge through the forest canopy near Sevierville.
Big Rock Dude Ranch at Ponderosa
Guided horseback trail rides through wooded ridges and streams on Little Cove Road, one of the area’s most-reviewed horseback outfitters.
Cades Cove Riding Stables
NPS-concession stable offering guided horseback rides through Cades Cove, the park’s most-visited valley.
Gon’ Ridin’ Off Road
Guided ATV and side-by-side backcountry tours on private mountain trails off Wears Valley Road.
Off-Road Gatlinburg
UTV/side-by-side rentals and guided 4×4 tours running mountain routes just outside downtown Gatlinburg.
Want whitewater rafting? No outfitter is actually based in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville — the nearest trips run from Hartford, TN, about 25–30 minutes away, so treat it as a nearby day trip rather than an in-town activity.
Rainy-Day & Novelty Picks
Titanic Museum Attraction
Half-scale Titanic replica building with real artifacts, interactive exhibits, and a full-scale Grand Staircase recreation. Self-guided, 90 minutes to 2 hours.
Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center
Wax figure museum plus three additional attractions on-site: a 5D laser ride, a mirror maze, and a zombie walkthrough. Open 365 days a year.
WonderWorks
The “upside-down” building — 100+ hands-on science and mind exhibits across six zones, plus an indoor ropes course, laser tag, and a 4D motion theater.
Gatlinburg Space Needle
A 407-foot observation tower with glass elevators to a 360° viewing deck, plus a large arcade and an on-site pizza restaurant.
The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum
A small novelty museum housing thousands of salt and pepper shaker sets — one of Gatlinburg’s most low-key stops.
Alcatraz East Crime Museum
True-crime museum with five galleries and 500+ artifacts from notable criminal cases, plus interactive CSI-style exhibits. Located next to The Island.
Hollywood Star Cars Museum
50+ vehicles from famous movies and TV shows, including the 1966 Batmobile and the Ghostbusters Ecto-1.
Tennessee Museum of Aviation
50,000 sq ft aviation history museum with airworthy WWII warbirds, military aircraft, and cockpit exhibits, at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport.
Seasonal hours (Tuesday–Saturday) — confirm before visiting.
Studios, Galleries & Handmade Mountain Crafts
Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community
An 8-mile loop on the north side of Gatlinburg lined with dozens of independent artisan studios and shops — potters, woodworkers, painters, and other traditional mountain craftspeople, most open to walk in and watch them work.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
A 13-acre nonprofit arts campus running for over 100 years, with free public galleries year-round plus one-week and weekend workshops across ceramics, wood, metals, fiber, textiles, 2D arts, and sculpture.
Robert A. Tino Gallery
Gallery for local artist Robert A. Tino’s Smoky Mountain landscape paintings and prints, plus custom framing — a longtime regional favorite for mountain-themed art.
Comedy, Escape Rooms & Only-Here Stops
The Comedy Barn Theater
Long-running clean family comedy and variety show with music, magic, and animal acts.
The Escape Game Pigeon Forge
Themed, multi-room escape room experiences located inside The Island.
See Availability for 2 on Viator →See Deal for 3+ on Groupon →
Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride
Indoor animatronic-dinosaur boat ride — a Pigeon Forge staple for younger kids.
Apple Barn & Cider Mill
Working cider mill and farm complex with a candy kitchen, bakery, general store, and restaurant.
Smoky Mountain Knife Works
Self-billed “world’s largest knife showroom” — a free-to-browse, 108,000 sq ft tourist stop that draws over a million visitors a year.
Gatlin’s Fun Center
Reagan Terrace Mall complex combining black-light mini golf, an arcade, and Gatlin’s Escape Games under one roof.
Arcade City at The Island
Large ticket-redemption arcade inside The Island entertainment district with modern and classic games.
Fat Daddy’s Arcade
Standalone arcade adjacent to The Track amusement park on the Parkway, offering games and prize redemption.
Trapped Escape Game
Multi-room escape-game venue at Lumberjack Square in Pigeon Forge with several themed puzzle rooms.
Breakout Games – Gatlinburg
National escape-room chain location on the Gatlinburg Parkway, including licensed Clue and Monopoly rooms.
Smoky Mountain Escape Games
Locally owned escape-room company offering multiple themed puzzle experiences in Pigeon Forge.
MagiQuest
Interactive live-action fantasy game where guests use magic wands to unlock quests throughout a themed multi-level attraction — billed as “four attractions in one.”
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
Massive outdoor-retail flagship store popular as a free tourist stop for its indoor waterfall, large aquarium stocked with local Smoky Mountain fish species, and wildlife displays.
Pigeon Forge Snow
America’s first indoor snow park — real snow tubing across up to 15 lanes plus a dedicated snow-play area for building snowmen, inside a climate-controlled 35,000 sq ft facility.
Good to know: Open 365 days a year, rain or shine, hot or cold outside — real snow regardless of the season.
Tips for This Area
- Hours and seasons change without notice. Every detail above was pulled from the attraction’s own site, but check current hours before you go, especially for seasonal spots like Splash Country, Forbidden Caverns, and the Museum of Aviation.
- Pace your days by town. Group Gatlinburg’s Ripley’s Parkway attractions, moonshine, SkyPark, and Space Needle into one day, and Pigeon Forge’s The Island, dinner shows, and museums into another to cut down on Parkway traffic.
- Price out the Ripley’s combo pass before buying single tickets. If you’re doing three or more Ripley’s attractions, the tiered combo passes usually beat paying for each one separately.
- Dinner shows sell out on weekends. Book ahead for Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Hatfield & McCoy, and Lumberjack Feud, especially during summer and the Christmas season.
- The national park is free. Cades Cove, Roaring Fork, and Chimney Tops Overlook Trail don’t require an entrance fee — budget your ticket money for Dollywood, Ripley’s, and the other paid attractions instead.
Can you still hike to the top of Chimney Tops?
No — the summit/pinnacle scramble has been closed since the November 2016 wildfire due to rockfall danger. Only the Chimney Tops Overlook Trail portion before the closed area is officially open.
Is Doc Collier Moonshine Distillery still open?
The business has rebranded as Tennessee Shine Co. — same downtown Gatlinburg location, new name.
Is there whitewater rafting in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge?
Not based directly in those towns — the nearest whitewater rafting outfitters run trips from Hartford, TN, about 25–30 minutes away on the Pigeon River.
What’s a good rainy-day activity?
Ripley’s Aquarium, Believe It or Not!, and Mirror Maze, WonderWorks, Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center, Alcatraz East Crime Museum, and the moonshine distilleries are all indoor options.
How many Ripley’s attractions are there in Gatlinburg?
Ten currently-operating Ripley’s-branded attractions across the area: the Aquarium, Believe It or Not!, Mirror Maze, Motion Blaster, Haunted Adventure, Davy Crockett Mini-Golf, Mountain Coaster, and Super Fun Zone in Gatlinburg, plus Super Fun Park in Pigeon Forge and Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini-Golf in Sevierville. A separate attraction, Guinness World Records Adventure, permanently closed and is no longer part of the lineup.
What is The Island in Pigeon Forge?
A free-to-walk open-air entertainment, dining, and shopping district anchored by the 200-foot Great Smoky Mountain Wheel — you only pay for what you ride, eat, or buy.
Do I need tickets ahead of time for Dollywood?
We’d recommend checking Dollywood’s own site for current ticket policies, since theme park entry rules change by season — see the link in our Theme Parks section above.
How does NME choose which attractions to feature?
We verify hours, locations, and current status directly against each attraction’s own site rather than relying on aggregator lists, and we flag anything we couldn’t independently confirm — including closures like The Track’s and Guinness World Records Adventure’s. Read more on our methodology page.
Know an Attraction We Missed?
The Smokies has more to do than any one list can cover. If there’s an attraction across Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, or Sevierville we should add, email us and we’ll check it out.
Heading to the Smokies?
See the full trip guide — where to stay and where to eat, organized the same way, by area.
