On the Dolly Parton trail in Tennessee, USA: From Dollywood and Smoky Mountain resorts to a Nashville hotel, museum and Broadway musical, Dolly Parton transformed her Tennessee roots into an extraordinary tourism legacy.
Dolly Parton was not only one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, but also an actor, philanthropist, cultural icon and remarkably astute entrepreneur. From a one-room cabin in the foothills of Tennessee, she rose to conquer the world—yet never stopped looking homeward.
Across a career spanning more than half a century, Dolly transformed the joys, hardships and contradictions of everyday American life into music. She wrote more than 3,000 songs, released 49 studio albums and won 11 Grammy Awards. Her unmistakable voice travelled far beyond Nashville, making her one of country music’s most successful crossover stars and producing pop classics such as “Islands in the Stream,” her enduring duet with Kenny Rogers.
A Legacy Far Beyond the Stage
Some of her most meaningful work, however, happened away from the spotlight. Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, she turned her success into opportunity for generations of children, distributing more than 300 million books around the world.
Yet the grandest and most immersive expression of her imagination lies in the Great Smoky Mountains. Here, amid the landscape that shaped her music and remained closest to her heart, Dolly created a tourism empire unlike any other—one built from roller coasters and gospel harmonies, mountain crafts and cinnamon bread, homespun stories and unapologetic rhinestone sparkle.
Dollywood: Her Greatest Love Letter to Tennessee
Dolly’s most ambitious love letter to the Great Smoky Mountains began as a theme park and grew into a destination in its own right. Dollywood helped reshape tourism across eastern Tennessee, anchoring an expansive hospitality campus of resorts, restaurants, live entertainment and family attractions.
Dollywood was named America’s Favourite Theme Park for the third consecutive year in the National Amusement Park Historical Association’s 2024 survey, beating giants such as Disneyland and Universal Orlando Resort. And these were no casual voters: members visited an average of 13 parks that year and have experienced attractions at more than 130 parks during their lifetimes.
Set across 160 acres in Pigeon Forge, beneath Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains, Dollywood feels like an extension of Dolly herself. Roller coasters rise above wooded hillsides, gospel and bluegrass drift from its theatres, Appalachian crafts are made by hand and the scent of cinnamon bread follows visitors through Craftsman’s Valley.
Since 1986, the park has grown into one of the American South’s leading attractions. More than four million people visited the wider Dollywood campus in 2025, even as several regional theme parks struggled with slowing attendance.
How to Experience Dollywood, Dolly’s Way
Over the years, Dolly shared her own guide to experiencing Dollywood—from its irresistible Southern treats to attractions inspired by her childhood dreams.
Stay for the Soundtrack
At Dollywood, live music is not entertainment between rides—it is the heart of the experience. Country, bluegrass and gospel performances take place throughout the day.
Don’t miss Harmonies of the Heart, an intimate production featuring members of Dolly’s family and filled with the songs and stories that shaped her.
Step Into the Dollyverse
The Dolly Parton Experience traces her journey from a childhood in the Smoky Mountains to Nashville and global fame. Costumes, photographs and personal memorabilia reveal the woman behind the rhinestones.
More than a museum, it feels like an autobiography told through music, memories and spectacularly extravagant fashion.
Come for the Coasters, Stay for the Cinnamon Bread
Dollywood’s signature treat is the cinnamon bread baked fresh at the Grist Mill. Served warm with icing or apple butter, it more than justifies the queues.
Dolly’s personal favourite, however, was the funnel cake—crisp, fluffy and generously covered in powdered sugar. Find it at Crossroads Funnel Cakes and Splinter’s Funnel Cakes. For a fuller Southern meal, Front Porch Café serves dishes such as fried green tomatoes and warm pimento-cheese dip.
The Smokies After Dark
Dollywood’s newest statement of ambition is NightFlight Expedition, a more than $50-million indoor attraction combining a family roller coaster, white-water rafting and an immersive boat journey.
Inspired by the Smokies after dark, the ride carries passengers across mountain ridges, through rushing rapids and into glowing bioluminescent waters. It is quintessential Dollywood: boldly imaginative, rooted in Tennessee and filled with Dolly’s irrepressible sense of wonder.
Sleep Among the Smokies
HeartSong Lodge: Dolly’s Mountain Homecoming
Dolly Parton expanded her hospitality world with HeartSong Lodge & Resort in Pigeon Forge, another gleaming addition to the Dollywood portfolio.
Surrounded by the softly layered foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the lodge celebrates the landscape that shaped Dolly’s childhood and inspired her music for more than five decades. It is Dollywood’s second resort, joining DreamMore Resort & Spa, which opened in 2015.
Guest rooms bring the mountains indoors through illuminated fireflies, woodland murals of bears and owls, and bespoke soundscapes of crackling fires and birdsong.
SongTeller: Dolly’s Story, Reimagined as a Hotel
This autumn, Dolly’s story moves to downtown Nashville with the opening of the 245-room SongTeller Hotel.
Rooms are available to reserve from 14 September, with nightly rates starting at $386. Music and storytelling shape the experience, including two live-performance venues, Parton’s Live and Jolene’s.
Accommodation ranges from Signature Rooms with king or twin queen beds to three distinctive suites: the Acoustic Suite, Six Sisters Suite and SongTeller Suite, sleeping between two and five guests.
The Life of Many Colors, Preserved
Upstairs, the 20,000-square-foot Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum will bring Dolly’s world vividly to life through personal artefacts, immersive displays, multimedia installations and stories presented in her own voice. Conceived as an immersive journey from her Smoky Mountain beginnings to global stardom, it will be the largest exhibition ever devoted to her life and career.
Two museum shops will carry official merchandise and limited-edition collections. Tickets are available from 29 September, and visitors can explore the museum without staying at the hotel.
From the Smokies to Broadway
Dolly: A True Original Musical is scheduled to begin previews at Broadway’s St. James Theatre in December, before officially opening in January. The production will combine favourites such as “Jolene” and “9 to 5” with new songs Dolly composed especially for the stage.
Its producers confirmed to Variety that the show will proceed according to schedule, honouring Dolly’s wishes.
Dolly Takes to the Open Road
The musical forms part of a broader collection of ventures carrying her unmistakable creative signature. In June, she also unveiled the Tennessean Travel Stop in Cornersville.
The Love Letter Lives On
Dolly Parton may have travelled the world, but Tennessee was always the place to which her heart returned. She did more than celebrate its mountains and music; she transformed them into an invitation, drawing millions towards the landscapes, stories and communities that shaped her.
Her absence will be deeply felt, but her presence remains everywhere—in the melodies drifting through Dollywood, the warmth of its welcome and the dreams still taking flight in the Smokies. The show, as Dolly would have wanted, goes on.
For latest travel news and updates, food and drink journeys, restaurant features, and more, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram. Read more on Travel and Food Network
