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Tennessee with Kids
If you’re planning Tennessee with kids, base in Gatlinburg and give the Smokies two days and Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge a few more. The busiest national park in America is an amazing place to explore if you have a plan. For us that meant a drive out to Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome), a few minutes on the Appalachian Trail, and hitting the Cades Cove loop early before the traffic backs up. Setting those alarm clocks early is the secret to success here.
Memphis has been our halfway stop on road trips east for years, and Graceland is more fun with kids than you’d think. Nashville is the one we’ve only given a night, but still fun. Don’t forget about Dollywood and the Stampede in Gatlinburg.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited July 2019
Best months
April–May, Sept–Oct
National parks
1 + 14 NPS sites
Fly into
BNA · MEM · TYS · CHA
How long
5 days for the Smokies, a week with the cities
Book ahead
LeConte Lodge · Cades Cove parking tags · Dollywood DreamMore
We’ve done Tennessee a few time over the years. Most recently we did two days in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, based at the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg. We threw in a day at Dollywood and a night at Dolly’s Stampede and had a blast.
On another trip, Graceland in Memphis was the star, with Elvis on the road trip playlist so the kids had some context, and a walk down Beale Street after.
Nashville was a small stopover on our Mammoth Cave trip and a lot of fun at night with all the neon.
Your Tennessee guide
Enjoy exploring Tennessee with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three road trips, and where to stay.
Essential Tennessee
Why we love Tennessee
We think you’ll love it too.
Tennessee is where we’d send a family that wants a little Rocky Top by day and a lot of Honky Tonk at night. The Smokies, Gatlinburg, Dollywood, Graceland, and Nashville are all spots we’ve visited so far. We love the Smoky Mountains, and with the recent passing of Dolly Parton their unofficial ambassador, we may need to go back soon. Keep scrolling for our essential Tennessee list for more recommendations.
Great Smoky Mountains Guide
Two days in the Smokies and we fell for it. Our complete guide covers the views, wildlife, waterfalls, historic buildings, and drives.
Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) Guide
Kuwohi is the highest point in the park. We hiked up to the tower, walked a few minutes of the Appalachian Trail, and spent about an hour there.
Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg Guide
We stayed four nights at the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg. The water slide, the splash pad, and the location made the park and Pigeon Forge easy.
And the rest we’d cross the state for
Cades Cove Guide
Cades Cove is an eleven-mile loop of meadows, historic cabins, and wildlife. Traffic was backed up by the time we finished, so go at opening.
Dollywood Guide
We spent a day at Dollywood, and it was excellent. The wooden coasters run through the trees, and there’s a bald eagle sanctuary too.
Dolly’s Stampede Guide
Dolly’s Stampede is the dinner show in Pigeon Forge, with horses and a four-course meal you eat without silverware (if you want). The kids loved it.
Beale Street Guide
We walked Beale Street after Graceland for the Hard Rock and the neon. It’s best in daylight with kids.
Nashville Guide
We had one night in Nashville, walked Broadway, and took in the honky-tonks from the sidewalk. It’s very doable with kids, and we’ll be back for more.
Chattanooga
Chattanooga has the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway, and Rock City. It’s on our list.
Shiloh National Military Park
Shiloh is a Civil War battlefield near the Mississippi line, with a driving tour. There’s also a walk out to the Indian mounds on the river. Are you looking for more national park sites? See our guide to Tennessee national parks.
Ober Mountain
Ober Mountain is Gatlinburg’s aerial tramway up to a small ski area with an alpine slide and snow tubing. It’s a fun break from the park.
Browse
Find your next adventure in Tennessee
Tell us what you’re planning and we’ll match it up with some great trip ideas.
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The AftT Complete Guide
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Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg – A Smoky Mountain Paradise
Nestled in the southeast corner of the state, Gatlinburg is Tennessee’s gateway to the Smoky Mountains and is buzzing with…
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Visiting Graceland with Kids
For us, road trips east have usually included a stop in Memphis, Tennessee. As many times as we have been…
Routes
Three Tennessee road trip itineraries
One state gives you three very different trips. Choose the Smokies from Gatlinburg, Memphis and the west, or Nashville and Chattanooga. See all the best stops on a map.
Home base
Gatlinburg
Fly into TYS. We stayed four nights at Margaritaville and used it as the base for everything.
Then head to
Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) & Cades Cove
Our Smokies guide covers the tower, the Appalachian Trail, the waterfalls, and how to handle the Cades Cove loop.
Add on
Dollywood & Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge is twenty minutes north. Spend a full day at Dollywood, then go to Dolly’s Stampede for dinner.
Start
Memphis
Memphis is our regular stop on road trips east. Visit Graceland in the morning, then Beale Street and the Hard Rock.
Then head to
Shiloh
Shiloh is two hours east. Drive the battlefield loop and walk to the river at the Indian mounds.
Finish
Nashville
Nashville is two and a half hours northeast. We spent a night downtown and walked Broadway as the honky tonks blared out into the street.
Home base
Nashville
Fly into BNA. See the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Adventure Science Center on day one, and the Opry on day two.
Then head to
Chattanooga
Chattanooga is two hours southeast. Visit the aquarium in the morning, then Lookout Mountain for Ruby Falls and the Incline.
Finish
The Smokies
Two and a half hours northeast to Gatlinburg to finish in the park.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We did the Smokies in late summer. It was warm in the valleys and pleasant up on Kuwohi. Tennessee is humid in summer and mild the rest of the year. Fall color in the park runs from early October at the top to early November in the valleys. Those weekends are the hardest to book in the state.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
April – May
Wildflowers in the Smokies, waterfalls at full flow, and Dollywood open without the summer crowds.
June – August
This is when we went. It’s hot in the cities, pleasant at elevation, and peak season in Gatlinburg. Cades Cove traffic is real, so go at dawn.
September – October
This season brings fall color, cooler hikes, and Dollywood’s harvest festival. October weekends in Gatlinburg book a year ahead.
November – March
It’s quiet in the park and cheap in the cities. Gatlinburg’s winter lights and Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas are worth a trip. Newfound Gap Road closes for snow a few days each winter.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Tennessee adventure
Tennessee is easier when you pick one region. Here’s where we’ve stayed and where we’d stay next.
Smokies trips
Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge
We stayed four nights at Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg. Spacious rooms, a water slide and splash pad, and a location that made the park and Pigeon Forge easy. Gatlinburg is walkable and right at the park gate. Pigeon Forge is cheaper and closer to Dollywood.
- Margaritaville, where we stayed
- Cabins in the hills for a hot tub and a view
- DreamMore for Dollywood early entry
City trips
Nashville & Memphis
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown and could walk to everything. Memphis is still a bargain, and the Guest House at Graceland puts you next door.
- Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown, where we stayed
- The Peabody in Memphis for the ducks
- The Guest House at Graceland
Park trips
In the park
The Smokies have no lodges except LeConte, which you hike to, and campgrounds that fill in summer. Townsend is the quiet side.
- LeConte Lodge if you can hike six miles up
- Townsend for a quieter base near Cades Cove
- Elkmont and Cades Cove campgrounds on recreation.gov
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Tennessee
Have a plan. It’s the busiest park in America with over 11 million visitors a year, and Cades Cove backs up by mid-morning. We did Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) and a bit of the Appalachian Trail in about an hour, and got to Cades Cove early enough to do the loop before the traffic caught up. Two days was enough to really fall for this park. Our complete guide lists the popular views and the less-traveled ones.
Yes, it is. We added Elvis and Paul Simon’s Graceland to the road trip playlist so the kids had some context. The youth version of the iPad tour did the rest. The favorites were the stained glass in the living room, the Jungle Room, the horses, and the car museum. Here’s our visit.
Gatlinburg if you want to walk to the park and the SkyLift. Pigeon Forge if you want a cabin, Dollywood, and cheaper everything. They’re ten minutes apart. We stayed in Gatlinburg at Margaritaville and drove to Dollywood without any trouble.
Fly into TYS (Knoxville) for the Smokies, BNA for Nashville, MEM for Memphis, or CHA for Chattanooga. From Oklahoma, Memphis is a drive and our usual halfway stop heading east.
Yes, you need one for any stop longer than fifteen minutes. Tags are available at visitor centers and online. There’s no entrance fee otherwise.
Ours loved it. It has horses, a show, and a four-course dinner you eat with your hands. We did it the same trip as Dollywood and both were excellent. Book ahead in summer and October.
Map
Essential Tennessee, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
North Carolina with Kids
North Carolina has the other half of the Smokies, over Newfound Gap to Cherokee.
