Pigeon Forge with kids: A guide for the best weekend

If you have a vacation to Pigeon Forge with kids in your mind, then this is the blog for you to read. Full of fun places and sights for kids and adults alike, I was pleasantly surprised how much we loved our trip there. I will outline all the fun things we did and I hope it inspires you in your own vacation planning. 

This was our 3rd year doing a post-school year trip and we took it a bit earlier than normal because I got the opportunity to speak at the Teach Them Diligently homeschool conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It seemed to be super easy to bring the whole family and combine the 2 things: speaking and vacationing- so we did. We were very excited to see a new part of the country and Tennessee did not disappoint! It charmed us with its beauty and fun! We loved the green everywhere, the sights from touristy things to nature trips and even the once-a-day downpour or thunder & lightning that just seemed to be a part of life there! I must say hearing a bit of southern drawl everywhere we went was fun too!

Let’s break down the trip!

Flights:

We used our trusty orange suitcases (easy to pack, carry on, and spot) and the boys each carried a backpack with some activities and airplane snacks in a gallon bag labeled with each person’s name. Nana makes these and they are filled with non-messy and non-crumbly snacks!. We actually had more suitcases than normal because I was carrying my 3 books for the conference. We always take small games and devices to share and watch shows on the plane. I’ve linked our favorite items we pack in our ‘Road trip to Utah‘ blog post. 

PACKING:

If you’d like any tips on items to make your trip with kids easier here’s the link to my ‘20+ things to add to your summer vacation packing list’ blog.

CARS:

This is our 6th-ish time using TURO for our rental cars and we have had great experiences every time. We rented 1 mini van and 1 SUV. One tip: rent all your car-seats and boosters from just one car so it’s not confusing which car to return which car seats with!

Teach them Diligently Homeschool Conference

This happened before our vacation time really started and wow! Wow! I wasn’t prepared for the outpouring of encouragement and love that we felt at the conference. From meeting many of you personally to enjoying keynote speaker Ben Carson to wandering/shopping our way through the exhibit hall- it was a whirlwind of 2 amazing days! I was privileged to speak in 2 break-out sessions and a Q&A session. Despite huge nerves ahead of time, I loved every minute of speaking and connecting and hearing your stories and in some cases even getting to pray together! I came away with a full heart from the experience. Highly recommend this TTD conference if you are a homeschooling Mom at some point in your life! Check it out at teachthemdiligently.net. The founders, the Nunnery family, run the whole thing with such high quality and integrity. I was honored to be a small part. 

As soon as the conference wrapped up we switched gears and were all about vacationing and getting to see a bit of the area!

Lost Mine Mountain Coaster and Mini Golf

The minute we were done at the conference Tim had us heading here for a big dose of fun for the boys especially! It wasn’t pre-planned and we saw it driving by so just stopped to try it out. We all played mini-golf and did the alpine coaster ride to get some of the squiggles out of the kids. There were lots of mountain coasters around but we recommend choosing at least one! This one was more fun than your average mini-golf place and the alpine coaster ride was a blast too!

Ice Cream at Cruze Farm

Right after the outdoor fun we were all ready for a treat! We heard about Cruze Farm from one of you and decided to try it. It did not disappoint! There were about 10 flavors of soft serve and a few other specialty items and we thought they all were delicious! Super family friendly. Several boys got cherry Dole Whip and loved it. **make sure you look at the flavors you can twist- it’s a fun way to combine their unique options. 

Wonderworks

We happened to get given 3 tickets here and the boys were in awe over the cool building, so we pulled in the parking lot. Turns out, it’s amazing but also very stimulating. We could’ve spent 5-6 hours in here but we spent 3 and that was just enough to see and do it all. Hard to explain but think kids museum meets the coolest hands on activities and mini rides inside. Everything inside is included in your ticket! Highly recommend. 

Dollywood Stampede

We were all looking forward to this and it capped off our day perfectly! This was probably your top recommendation and I see why. Great food and captivating entertainment for all ages. Kids under 2 don’t get their own seat/dinner but that didn’t seem like a big deal for us because the food is plentiful! But they do have to sit on your lap. We chose the uppermost row of seating and felt that gave us a bit of space to stretch if we needed to with the kids! I wouldn’t say VIP or premiere seating is worth the extra price from what we saw. Yes you are a bit closer but everyone has a great view. Oh yes, drinks are included! All in all-a must do in our opinion. We heard the pirates voyage dinner show is amazing too and it’s connected to the same company. 

After the homeschool conference, we checked out of our Pigeon Forge hotel and headed to Gatlinburg (about a 20 minute drive). What a quaint mountain town with the most beautiful sites. Everywhere you go it’s stunning and you are only 3 minutes from the entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park. We stayed in a hotel but apparently the place to be is to rent a mountain cabin. We saw lots! They looked amazing. The downtown itself is just a lot of restaurants as well as touristy trinket shops. We didn’t spend much time there. But here is what we did do:

Cades Cove

Started off on our sightseeing day heading towards Cades Cove. You leave Gatlinburg and enter Smoky Mountains National Park. The drive from Gatlinburg to the beginning of Cades Cove was a good hour long but totally fun and gorgeous (take a Dramamine if you struggle with windy roads). We drove along the river and so funny…at one point Tim saw a huge grouping of butterflies near a pull off in the road and we spent a fun chunk of time just exploring the river there and enjoying ourselves. Fun fact: Papa said the river had the best skipping rocks ever! Papa had his best throw with 8 skips across the river! All the boys and even mama joined in. 

We hadn’t considered a lunch stop but at the entrance to Cades Cove was a store with some food options that worked just fine! Hamburgers, bbq sandwich, pizza, etc. Always nicer to sightsee on full tummies but in hindsight we could’ve packed a lunch!

Once you got into Cades Cove the drive is a one-way loop and slow moving but honestly just perfect for seeing all the area had to offer in scenery and wildlife-particularly the black bears. Pull offs were super easy for visiting the churches and homes and ‘bear-watching’. We totally took our time and spent a good 2 hours doing the 20+ mile loop. This is a must do in my opinion. 

Heading back into town we decided to veer off and drive up to Clingmans Dome. Whew…what a drive that was. A couple car-sick boys later we finally made it. Our day was pretty cloudy with minimal views but we loved the idea of stepping into North Carolina at the top of the mountain and the views were stunning! The walk/path to the actual Clingmans Dome was very strenuous and steep….we could do it but it was challenging. I don’t say that lightly- you’ll huff and puff your way up. It’s a wide path and paved so strollers work great IF (and that’s a big ‘if’)you are willing to push them. Just a heads up on that. Bring water. And give yourself extra time. 

Park Grill

This was one of the first restaurants we came upon after a long day of sightseeing and so good! Highly recommend. Amazing kids menu, reasonably priced. The salad bar comes with every meal, adult and kids alike! 

Dollywood

Monday was our big Dollywood day and started off pretty roughly for me with being sick all night. Maybe it was food poisoning? Altitude sickness? Cleaning up Beck’s throw up the night before? Who knows but that’s probably more detail than you want. Luckily it was Papa and Nana to the rescue taking the 5 oldest boys to the park. It actually turned out to be a great day for Griffy and Lucy to get extra sleep staying behind with Tim and I at the hotel.

Nana’s review on Dollywood:
Incredibly fun! I felt like the park was laid out wonderfully and so easy to navigate and find each ride. The big boys were all about the roller coasters and the little boys had a blast on every kiddie ride. The rides are all mixed together so the bigger boys could be doing their thing right next to the younger boys riding a ride. I felt like the park was very safe, super clean, and restrooms were easy to find. It’s the policy of the park to provide ice water any time you ask for it so that’s a big deal in the heat!  Since our day started out in an absolute downpour it seemed like less people were at the park so the boys were able to get off a ride and get right back on again making their ride count way up there for the day! Their favorite rides were ALL the roller coasters-especially Big Bear Mountain and Daredevil Falls. Crew and Beck loved Rockin Roadway where they got to ‘drive’ their own vintage car around the course! I’d say they did that attraction about 5 times in a row. Hidden Hollow, an indoor play area, was a nice break from the heat and all boys enjoyed it while Papa and I took a little break.  The food was good and lots of variety- the prices were slightly on the higher side. We loved the fresh baked cinnamon bread! All in all a totally fabulous day- we highly recommend Dollywood! 

Ripley’s Aquarium

Before we left Gatlinburg, we headed downtown on your recommendation to see the aquarium. Wow, I’m so glad we did. It was an amazing aquarium. I would plan for 3-4 hours to enjoy it. 

Titanic Museum

This was requested by Jude and Hudson who have been interested lately in the Titanic story. We highly recommend going! Each of us had a hand held radio/transmitter that told the story as you moved through the museum. The kids had separate kid friendly stories to listen to. Jude did the adult one and enjoyed it! You are also given a name of a passenger as you enter and at the very end you can see if ‘you’ survived or not. I think we all survived except for Chase’s person. Took us less than 2 hours in the museum. It was VERY well done. Super impressed. 

Pigeon Forge Gem Mining

I added this in before our trip because several of the boys are so into gems and rocks and even though I didn’t know how it worked I knew we couldn’t pass this by. Boy-was it the best thing! And honestly super reasonable price for 5 boys with 1-2 hours of entertainment. You pick your size bucket of ‘gems and earth’ and then begin mining and sifting through the dirt to find the gems. Each boy collected far more gems than I had anticipated or expected. I think I got the “mama bear” bucket for $100 which gave plenty of neat stones and gems to each boy. 

After mining-you can go inside and the Gemologist empties their bags and identifies the gems (see the picture of gem identification) and honestly it was so interesting. We all learned a ton! If you go mining, the addition of this at the end is well worth your time. If you’ve got any rock-loving kids be sure to do this!

Who knew there was so much to do in Pigeon Forge? Thank you to those of you that gave us great suggestions- plus the internet. Vacationing in Pigeon Forge with kids was wonderful! We had enough things to do that made for such a great trip- please let me know if you use any of our recommendations if you ever head that way! I always love to hear that!

xo, Sarah