Dollywood and the Smokies: How Far?
 

Thanks everyone for all the information on Nashville and South Carolina. We'll be on our way in a few days. We are really interested in good photographic locations, as we belong to a competitive camera club. How far away are the Smokies from Nashville, and is Dollywood doable in a day? Can't wait to see Tennessee. It will be our first time in the area.

According to the atlas it is 218 miles from Nashville to Gatlinburg. Haven't been to Dollywood. It's in Pigeon Forge which is outside of Gatlinburg about 20-30 minutes. Talked with someone who had been in the Smokies last week and she said the color had not yet started. If you stop in Knoxville they have the Sunsphere which remains from the World's Fair they had a number of years ago. Its gold colored sides have wonderful reflections in them.

Actually Pigeon Forge is right next to Gatlinburg, and takes 5 mts. to get to.
And yes, Dollywood is definitely doable in a day. It's a very pretty park, as far as theme parks go.

Randa, thanks for the information. In terms of doing Dollywood in a day, I was referring to the distance from Nashville to Dollywood. According to Photodog, it is a great distance away. From his mileage estimate, I would guess four hours of driving, which I think will be too much driving. I wonder how far Dwood is from northwest South Carolina, our second location.

Don't know where you will be in northwest SC, but you will probably still be a distance from Dollywood. We live in NW Georgia and it takes us 3 hours to get to Gatlinburg.
If you really want to do Dollywood, just plan to stay in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg or Sevierville or Townsend. The rates are really high right now and lots of people this time of year.