There are plenty of places to get in some swimming and splashing around during your time in the Smokies – and some stay warm and enclosed during the winter, offering options at any time of year.
While Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open year round with free admission, and contains thousands of miles of flowing water, unless you’re fishing you probably don’t want to take a dip in winter. Best to know about the indoor spots during the chilly seasons.
Image courtesy of Wild Water Dome
The 2022 winter and Christmas holiday season in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge offers an abundance of specialty shopping opportunities for gifts, mementos, and unique items.
There’s lots of activity in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area as the 2022 winter holiday season ramps up. Here’s everything that’s going on in November and December.
Halloween is coming and the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area has a number of special events to get you in the spirit.
Image by senivpetro on Freepik
One of the best and friendliest bluegrass festivals happens September 15-17, 2022, just a few miles north of Pigeon Forge, at Dumplin Valley Farm, a great venue featuring a stellar lineup of talent, late-night jams, wonderful food and a family-friendly atmosphere filled with music all day long. The festival is relaxed, authentic, unpretentious and absolute top of the line.
The Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival, 2022 is the 22nd annual occurrence of this low-key event that many people book an RV or camping spot a year in advance for. Day visitors and walk-ins are welcomed, with tickets at the gate, while many people fill the campground surrounding the farm and settle in for the three days or more. Many also bring their own instruments, and music fills the air, wherever you are.
Images courtesy of Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival
September 15-17, 2022, means a 3-day party in Pigeon Forge as the town fills up with pure automobile muscle and classic cars, with chrome and fins and gorgeous paint jobs, all cruising the strip and on display at the car show.
Images courtesy of the Rod Run
In 2022, the annual Hot Rod Roundup in Dollywood’s Splash country makes its final appearance. The Shades of the Past contract with Dollywood ends in this year and unfortunately, can’t be renewed.
The organizers say there’s no equivalent location in the area that can hold this large-scale event, and think they couldn’t better it elsewhere, so they have decided that this is the Last Roundup for this long-standing Pigeon Forge event. It will be long remembered after this final year.
Image courtesy of Shades of the Past
Summer in the Smokies can get hot, and there are many ways in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park to make a splash and cool down. From just dipping your toes along the banks of a stream, to diving into one of the swimming holes in the area, from river tubing to whitewater rafting – and with swimming pools thrown in for good measure – here are some ways to feel the spray and get a soaking.
On Sunday, July 3, 2022, a lot of people will stay up late at night to celebrate the coming of July 4th, in the nation’s first Independence Day Parade, as Gatlinburg once again marches to an early drummer, and kicks off its annual parade beginning a few seconds after midnight.
Image courtesy of Anakeesta
Dollywood celebrates summer in 2022 with its annual summer festival of fun, called the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration – beginning July 18 and lasting through August 7th. Included in the regular ticket price, the Celebration offers nighttime lights, daytime splashes…and Bubbles are back!
Images courtesy of Dollywood and Gazillion Bubbles
We are the one of largest cabin rental agencies in the Smoky Mountains and have been recognized by Southern Living as the Best Family Resort in the Smokies. We manage over 340 cabins in the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville Tennessee areas. Visit us today and get over $700 of free attraction tickets with your cabin rental.
