Celebrate The New Season At Dollywood’s Harvest Festival

Dollywood's Harvest Festival has arrived just when we're dreaming about packing up the car for a mountain getaway.

Starting September 9 through October 28, Dolly Parton's theme park in the Great Smoky Mountains will transform into a celebration of fall. The park will be decorated with more than 12,000 pumpkins of all sizes—some topping out at 1,500 pounds—and will light up at night for the Great Pumpkin LumiNights. Ten rides will adopt a pumpkin theme, including roller coasters Big Bear Mountain and Wild Eagle.

Dollywood restaurants will feature gourds and other autumnal flavors on the menu, such as spiced pumpkin bisque, garlic knots with pumpkin cheese sauce, and hickory smoked ribs with pumpkin spiced rub. Visitors can enjoy fall apples, too, in the cinnamon-apple stuffed sweet potatoes, apple-cider cupcakes, and harvest apple lemonade.

And of course, there will be music. More than 1,100 performances are planned, including gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and country acts like Mandy Barnett, Lee Roy Parnell, and T.G. Sheppard.

When you're tired of raucous rides and entertainment, you can take to the shops to browse for fall-scented candles and pumpkin jams. Then head back to Dollywood’s resorts to relax (DreamMore Resort and HeartSong Lodge will have delectable-sounding dishes like pumpkin-cranberry crème fraiche and smoke-kissed duck breast with an orange chipotle glaze).

DreamMore's Camp DW will keep the kids entertained with fall-themed arts and crafts, plus s'mores around the campfire and nightly bedtime stories.

Then when you're ready to hit the trails and enjoy the bright colors lighting up the mountains, check out our list of Prettiest Places For Fall Foliage In Tennessee.