Every summer my family and I pick a spot to vacation that’s within driving distance for us. It’s our summer road trip vacation, we love it! This year we decided to visit the Smoky Mountains and while we were doing some research we came across Pigeon Forge, it looked like it had a ton of stuff for families so that’s where we headed!
There was so much to do but today I have our top 10 things you must do in Pigeon Forge!
For more information on Pigeon Forge and everything there is to do please visit mypigeonforge.com. We’re thrilled to have partnered to bring you this post and share our trip with you!
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The reason we planned this trip was to visit the Smoky Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We decided to hike every morning until about lunch time and then head back to Pigeon Forge for the other fun things.
The first day of our trip, we found a spot to park and trail that looked like it would be a great hike. So, we took off without water or snacks (please don’t do this, we didn’t plan very well). After hiking for probably an hour and thinking it would loop back around to the parking lot, my husband decided to check the gps and see where we were.
Thank goodness he did because we were NOT going to loop back to the car, we were on the Appalachian Trail that was headed all the way to Maine. We quickly turned around and made it back to the car because anyone got too thirsty!
The waterfall trails were my favorite, Grotto Falls is beautiful and we were able to walk behind it. Something we had never done before!
Make sure that if you plan a trip to Pigeon Forge or the Smoky Mountains in general, you plan plenty of time for hiking and seeing all the beautiful things there are!
Another great spot to visit is Cades Cove – we drove through on a really hot day so didn’t see a lot of wildlife but it’s known for this and if we would have gone in the evening I’m sure we would have seen lots of animals!
At 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the highest point in Tennessee and the third highest mountain east of the Mississippi. The observation tower on the summit of Clingmans Dome offers spectacular 360° views of the Smokies and beyond for visitors willing to climb the steep half-mile walk to the tower at the top.
This was a pretty good hike because the trail goes straight up at some points, but keep going! It’s so worth the views from the top!
The Island at Pigeon Forge
The Island in Pigeon Forge is your one stop in Pigeon Forge for affordable family fun all night and day! Explore our terrific new shopping and entertainment complex with more than sixty retail and specialty shops, a number of popular restaurants and eateries, rides and games, dancing fountains, live music, attractions and much more.
My boy’s favorite things were the Ferris Wheel and the Ropes. They’re old enough they could go on the rides while my husband and I did some shopping and just relaxing!
Being a huge foodie we had to eat at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen and we were not disappointed. Everything is served family style. You pick three main dish options and three sides with it, at the end everyone has their own dessert. We were stuffed beyond belief when we left! The food was amazing!
Try the Moonshine!We stopped at Ole Smoky while we were at The Island and did some tasting. It’s $5 and you get the chance to try 12 different flavors before you buy any. The cool thing is that you get that $5 back in the form of a coupon to use on your purchase after you do the tasting. As you can imagine, we came home with a few! My favorite was the Margarita!
Titanic Museum
Another amazing stop we made with the Titanic Museum, It’s a one-of-a-kind way that guests can experience what it was like to walk the hallways, parlors, cabins and even the Grand Staircase of the Titanic. There are over 400 artifacts directly from the ship and its passengers.
We were able to touch a real iceberg, touch 28-degree water, stand on sloping decks and feel what it was like to be a passenger on the Titanic
As we entered the ship, we received a boarding pass of an actual Titanic passenger or crew and discover if we lived or died at the end of the tour. My kids and I all survived but my hubby didn’t! It’s an amazing experience!
Wonderworks
One of the top things to do in Pigeon Forge, WonderWorks Indoor Amusement park, is one of the best Pigeon Forge Attractions. With over 35,000 square feet of “edu-tainment” WonderWorks is an amusement park for the mind. The attraction combines education and entertainment with more than 100 hands on exhibits that challenge the mind and spark the imagination.
To be honest, we went to Wonderworks thinking we would spend an hour or so going through everything. We left over 4 hours later and could have stayed longer but we needed supper! The boys had so much fun!
Their favorite things to do were the Ropes Course and the Laser Tag – so make sure to add those to your list!
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show
This is an ALL YOU CAN EAT dinner show! It’s fried chicken and pulled pork with all the sides and dessert! We were so stuffed after we ate, it was the perfect evening. Delicious food and a fun dinner show!
My husband and I were even picked to be part of the show. I was nervous I would have to sing of dance, but that didn’t happen and we had a blast!
Flyaway Indoor Sky Diving
Have you ever dreamed of flying? Stop dreaming and learn how to fly! Flyaway Indoor Skydiving can give you the experience of flying without the fear of jumping from a plane or falling out of the sky.
This was one of those activities that I wasn’t sure about doing, but I am so glad that we did! It was one of my kid’s favorite things of the trip and now they’re ready to tackle real sky diving! Let’s be honest though, Mom’s not sure about that!
MagiQuest
MagiQuest was actually four different activities in one location. There was the actual Magiquest, Pirate Golf, Mirror Maze and The Vault.
MagiQuest is an interactive live-action, role playing game where players embark on quests and adventures in an enchanted fantasy world using real magic wands to solve the mysteries of the game. My kids had done this at Wisconsin Dells too so they knew as soon as they saw the building that they wanted to go. MagiQuest was actually our first stop of the trip when we got to Pigeon Forge!
Outdoor Gravity Park
Outdoor Gravity Park is a little bit off the main road through Pigeon Forge, so I think it isn’t as well known as a lot of the other activities. My boys said that this was the MOST FUN they have ever had and we could have spent all day here.
The OGO is bombastic, fantastic and made out of plastic. It’s hilarious, mysterious and variously delirious. The OGO is your friend and it won’t let you down. You can laugh in it, surf in it, lie in it, swim in it, slide in it, sun in it, run in it, jump in it, play in it. And then start all over again. Some think it is just a huge human hamster ball but it is so much more.
Check out their video!!!
The Track
The Track was another favorite and we think a must do when you’re in Pigeon Forge. There are a few different options for go karts, my youngest wasn’t quite tall enough to go on Wild Woody so they ended up on the Family Track together.
The Family Track stays true to its name and is the perfect ride for the whole family. The curvy track is the essence of classic go-karting featuring single and double go-karts racing on a traditional figure-eight track with an overpass.
Bumper cars meet boating on the Blaster Boats. Cool off, battle each other and soak friends and family with the water cannons in each boat. Watch out, water cannons are posted along the perimeter of the pool, too, for the best of all water battles.
This was perfect the day we stopped because it was in the 90’s and so hot! The boys had a blast cooling each other down by spraying water!
Where to Stay
This isn’t an activity but in our opinion a MUST do because of how amazing the hotel is. We stayed at Black Fox Lodge, which is right off of the main drag through Pigeon Forge. The location perfect and convenient to everything we did.
The hotel is pretty new so all the rooms are beautiful and comfortable. We had a suite that allowed plenty of space for our family to stretch out for the whole week. With one room having two queen beds and an attached living room with a kitchenette, table, couch and two bathrooms in the suite we felt like we were at home.
The hotel offers a free breakfast each morning, and we’re not talking yogurt and a banana! Every morning was eggs, waffles, pancakes, bacon and much much more. We left feeling very satisfied and didn’t need lunch until later into the afternoon.
They also have a restaurant that we ate at several times because the pizza oven on site makes an amazing pizza! It was really convenient on the evenings where we were just too tired to go out to eat!
There’s also a great pool with a slide for kids, every night before bed the boys were in the pool cooling off and having fun!
We loved this hotel and if we ever are in the area again, this will be the first place we pick to stay!
For more information on Pigeon Forge and everything there is to do please visit mypigeonforge.com.
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