If someone was to ask you the top three tourist attractions in your neck of the woods, could you limit your answer to so few? I could write an entire book on Tennessee’s must-see places. In fact, I receive a daily article from In Your State: Only in Tennessee with new points of interest every day. I am assuming most every state has this available to them—you just need to search for it.
Most often when we go sightseeing it’s because we have visitors that need chaperones. Neither my husband nor I have one spontaneous bone in our collective bodies. However, we have explored Fall Creek Falls, Machine Falls, parts of the Natchez Trace Trail, and Jack Daniels’ Distillery seven times—very popular with visiting friends and family. That isn’t even the tip of the tourist-attraction-iceberg. If we had the hankering to get out every week, we wouldn’t run out of places to visit.
For this article, I’ve chosen three for your reading pleasure. First and foremost is the Great Smoky Mountains. The year before we relocated to Tennessee, Chris acquired a National Parks Pass. In his eyes, this was a perk of getting older second only to Medicare. He had grand ideas of the places we’d go, and bless his frugal little body, the thought of all the money he’d save made him nearly giddy.
We drove to the eastern side of Tennessee—right on the border of North Carolina, through the madhouse of people visiting 
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, to reach the parking lot of the visitor’s center. What struck us as odd was that there was no one collecting money to park. We’d never even gotten close to entering Yosemite without breaking the bank. Chris pulled out his pass as we stepped up to the service desk and offered it to the ranger.
“We don’t take that,” the ranger said.
Chris’s face fell. “I thought it was good for all national parks.”
The ranger grinned. “Except we don’t charge anyone to visit, so there’s no need for it.”
That made a good day great. After living in California where you had to pay to have a thought, this was a breath of fresh air.
When you stand at the vista of the mountains and gaze upon the Appalachian Mountains and the western border of North Carolina, you will see why this beautiful place is called the Great Smoky Mountains. The blue haze is actually fog created by the numerous trees and shrubs. The mountains’ vegetation scatters blue light from the sky. It’s a magical sight.
But that’s just where the beauty begins. We’ve been there in June before the wild rhododendrons have bloomed and in October when they’ve been spent. We would love to be there when they’re at their peak. Still, the fall colors are stunning, and the weather perfect for exploring one of the 150 trails for 800 miles of hiking pleasure—including 71 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the country for good reason.
If you’re in the area, you should take some time to visit Dollywood. I have to admit I thought it would be hokey. I mean, 
Dollywood? Really? Color me surprised when I discovered it was an unexpected treasure. First off, with all the Disney hype happening these days, you can believe this is truly a wholesome place to bring your kids.
My cousin could be president of the Dolly Parton Fan Club, and she gets season tickets for her family every year since they live within an hour’s drive. Those passes cost much less than one day in “the happiest place on earth.” In fact, one visit to Disneyland is the same as an entire season pass for Dollywood. They also have a fantastic water park, fun rides, entertaining shows, and lots of Dolly Parton history which is more fascinating than one might think. They get more than 2.5 million visitors every year. It’s down-home, good ol’ country fun.
The last place I want to share is one I’ve not been to personally. This place is second to only the White House as the most visited home in the country. Can you guess what it is? If you said, “Graceland,” you’d be right. Rumor has it that this home was once part of a 500-acre farm owned by the S.E. Toof family. In 1957, when Elvis Presley was only 22 years old, he paid just over $100,000 for it. The home, which receives more than 650,000 visitors per year, now sits on a little under fourteen acres in Memphis, Tennessee, which is the western part of the state.
The home is over 17,000 square feet with 23 rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms, a music room, a billiard room, and 
a T.V. room where it’s said Elvis would watch three television sets at the same time. Elvis enlarged the house to include a den with a waterfall, which he called the Jungle Room. In 1976, he then converted it into a music room where he recorded his last two albums before his death in 1977. The second floor of the house, which is where his bedroom is located (and where he died) is not open to guests in respect to the family.
It’s said that before Graceland became a tourist attraction, it cost the estate $500,000 a year in upkeep which drained Lisa Marie’s inheritance considerably. It only made sense to turn a profit in order to keep it going. Who could afford such extravagant living without The King bringing in an income? I would love to see this spectacular home someday. Living a mere four hours a way, I have no excuse not to.
If y’all ever get out to Tennessee, let me know and we’ll set you up with some fun sights. You never know, we might even join you!
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Comments 1
Hello Jennifer, I love this insight into Tennessee. I hope to explore some of them with you one day.