5. Hello, Dollywood
Named after country singer Dolly Parton, Dollywood has long been Tennessee’s most popular ticketed attraction, luring more than three million visitors per year. Located in the small town of Pigeon Forge, this always busy 150-acre theme park provides family fun with its mix of folksy Smoky Mountains traditions and crafts, thrilling rides, and entertainment.
All told, the site boasts more than 50 rides – nine of them rollercoasters, including the popular «Tennessee Tornado» – spread across 10 themed areas such as Timber Canyon and Jukebox Junction.
Other highlights include live concerts and festivals, as well as an old steam railway, the Dollywood Express, which circles the park. Other Dolly-related attractions in this 290-acre site include Splash Country water park and the Dollywood DreamMore Resort.
Address: 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
6. Tennessee’s Civil War Heritage
Tennessee, perhaps more than any other state, has been shaped by war. Not only did the «Volunteer State» provide more soldiers for the Southern cause than any other, it also contributed more troops for the North than any other Confederate state. As one of the most northerly of the Confederate states, Tennessee witnessed numerous battles during the deadly conflict, many of them commemorated by visitor centers, museums, and memorials.
One of the best is Fort Donelson National Battlefield, site of the first major Union victory and home to a cemetery, visitor center, fort, and a much-loved pair of breeding eagles. A visit to Shiloh National Military Park is a sobering experience: it was the location of the first significant Civil War battle in the west and contains more than 3,500 Union graves.
Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, the country’s largest military park, is also of great historical significance, as is nearby Point Park Battlefield, where the infamous «Battle Above the Clouds» took place. All these sites, as well as Stones River National Cemetery, are part of the Tennessee Civil War Trails program.
