Roller Coasters in Tennessee

Aw, yay! This series has finally come around to my home state – now presenting all the roller coasters in Tennessee. (I even happen to be in East Tennessee while writing this!) Save for one little ol’ roller coaster near Memphis, every last other roller coaster is in the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville area. (And if you’re not familiar, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg are a string of towns stretching east from Knoxville to Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most visited National Park in the country. The whole strip is extremely touristy.)

Given that it’s the Smoky Mountains we’re in over here, almost all of the roller coasters in Tennessee are mountain coasters, save for the shining, glorious, mecca that is Dollywood. Not only does Dollywood have 10 proper roller coasters, but it also has world-class entertainment and the most delicious food of any theme park. In fact, Dollywood won Best Park in 2023’s Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards.

Make sure to check hours and rates before you visit any attraction. Dollywood is closed for the winter and will reopen in March, but many of the mountain coasters operate all year.

As always, you can click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in Tennessee from your own (possibly Tennessee Mountain) home!

Dollywood

First, the one true roller coaster park in Tennessee, Dollywood. The park opened in 1961 as Rebel Railroad and expanded under a few different names until becoming Dollywood in 1986. Since then, country musician, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dolly Parton has more than doubled the size of the park, adding award-winning attractions and shows.

Dollywood’s Roller Coasters

Let’s look at Dolly’s 10 roller coasters in the order they were built. That will give us some sense of the history of the park. The oldest is ye olde Blazing Fury from the park’s Silver Dollar City days in 1978. It’s barely a roller coaster, more of a dark ride (and not even a good one.) Tennessee Tornado from 1999 is next and is still a good ride after all these years. Thunderhead, a laser-cut wooden coaster built in 2004 has long been my favorite ride in the park. 2007’s Mystery Mine really amps up the theming, but I don’t love how stop-and-starty it is. Wild Eagle, which opened in 2012, is a fantastic ride, if too short by half.

The Firechaser Express family coaster from 2014 is fun for all ages with an exciting “explosion show” halfway through the ride. The super energetic Lightning Rod terrain coaster opened to much fanfare in 2016 but has always struggled with its super-fast lift hill. It’s currently being retooled into a regular chain lift. Whistle Punk Chaser is the park’s kiddie coaster, installed in 2017. Dragonflier is a family-style inverted coaster, which opened in 2019 with the park’s latest expansion, Wildwood Grove. And in 2023, Dollywood opened its longest roller coaster, Big Bear Mountain, a thrilling family ride that nearly surrounds the entire Wildwood Grove area.

Dollywood’s Other Rides

Besides roller coasters, Dollywood has a huge range of attractions, everything from big river raft rides to walk-through (or just peek-in) replicas of smoky mountain buildings, like the home where Dolly Parton grew up. There’s even a functional church with Sunday services! (At 11:00 most of the year.) And that’s not counting Craftsman’s Valley with carpenters, blacksmiths, potters, glass and leather workers, or all the live entertainment. You could honestly have a full day at Dollywood and not go on a single ride!

My favorite ride besides the coasters is the Barnstormer, a “screaming swing” style ride with fun pops of airtime at the top of each swing. There are plenty of rides for smaller kids around the park, and even museum-style attractions of Dolly’s life.

Food

And I haven’t even mentioned the food! There are not many theme parks where you can sit down to a full meal of ham, beans, and cornbread, or have a sausage or steak sandwich served straight from a massive skillet. I’m a particular fan of the Grist Mill cinnamon bread (and so is everyone else – go upstairs for a possibly shorter line) and the ribbon potatoes. They also have an apple pie so big, ONE SLICE is as big as a regular pie and will set you back about $20.

Besides all that, there’s more “regular” food like pizza, some pretty good BBQ, fresh pork rinds, even a whole chicken tender restaurant. You’ll still be able to find all the popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, ice cream, and funnel cakes you’ll ever want. A healthier option can be found at the Till & Harvest food hall, with some American & Mexican options.

Admission & Events

Regular adult prices for a 1-day ticket are around $92 these days. A 2-day ticket is $119, and 3 days is $129. Plan on a $10 discount per ticket for children age 4-9, or seniors 62+. Kids under age 4 are free. Season passes start around $164. Parking costs between $22.80-$41 per day, though you can take a city trolly from Patriot Park for $2.50 each way, or $3 for an all-day wristband. (Exact change only.)

Dollywood has a long season, from early March to early January. Festivals line up practically back-to-back all year long, starting with an “I Will Always Love You” music festival, followed by a flower & food festival in the spring, summer bubble and drone shows, a Halloween/harvest fall festival, and into Christmas time through the end of the year. Live shows all year are excellent, but at Christmas, they are especially fantastical.

The Dollywood Resort also includes a water park, two large hotels, and some affiliated cabins. None are directly attached to each other, but there is complementary transportation between locations.

Mountain Coasters in Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge

I’m going to deal with all these mountain coasters in one go – there are so many to choose from! I will handle these roughly in the order they opened and offer my opinions on the ones I’ve ridden. Note that they usually operate year-round, in the rain & the snow. I almost like the long, leisurely uphill portion as I do the thrilling downhill part. Make sure to ride at night for an extra thrill!

The biggest downside is that per ride, they’re pretty pricey. If you figure you can visit a whole amusement park for $60-100 and ride however many rides they have, just riding one mountain coaster once is usually around $15-20. If you want to ride more than once or compare several different coasters, it can add up quickly. At least parking is usually free.

Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster

The first mountain coaster built in this area is the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster in 2013. This ride has been my favorite for a long time, mostly because it had the longest track and you can go really fast by the time you reach the bottom. They claim to have the “longest downhill ride in the United States.” (Though I don’t see how that can be true – the longest mountain coaster in the US is the Cliffside Mountain Coaster in Lake Placid, which runs next to an old bobsled track. I’ve ridden that one but it’s not as exciting as the SMAC.)

Rides cost $18 per person, with discounts for military and children. You can re-ride on the same day for another $10. I see ticket offers on Groupon fairly regularly for this one. Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster is in Pigeon Forge on Wears Valley Road, so you’ll have to leave the Parkway for it. Parking is free.

Moonshine Mountain Coaster

The Moonshine Mountain Coaster was built in 2014 as the Gatlinburg Mountain Coaster. I rode it back then and wasn’t too impressed. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just so short compared to the SMAC above. According to the video, it looks like the lighting at night is fun.

Tickets cost $17 per ride and look out for a $2 off coupon in your printed brochures around town. Right now, you can ONLY buy an all-day wristband for $30, which I think is a little rude. Parking is free, a rarity on the strip in Gatlinburg.

Goats on the Roof

Goats on the Roof is a bit like all of Pigeon Forge concentrated down into one location. It’s mostly an everything-hillbilly country store, plus fudge and ice cream, plus mini-golf, gem mining, and a mountain coaster. All topped by some very fat goats on the roof that you can feed via a conveyor belt system.

The Goat Coaster out back is pretty decent and only $12, making it the best bargain in town. It’s a little longer than Moonshine in Gatlinburg but not nearly as long as the neighboring Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster. Parking is free.

Ober Mountain

Ober Mountain (used to be called Ober Gatlinburg) at the end of the parkway before you enter the National Park was really the first in the alpine-slide game, with those early fiberglass slides that you ride down in a cart (and often fell out of.) Now, they have the Tennessee Flyer, a modern mountain coaster from 2015 with steel rails that your cart is locked onto. Ober Mountain’s version feels a little more homemade than the rest of them. It’s at a much higher elevation and is part of a suite of attractions on top of the area’s only ski resort. (The snow is also almost always homemade.) Note that the Tennessee Flyer is closed when they’re making the snow, so call ahead to make sure about your dates.

Tickets

Instead of just getting a ticket for the coaster, here you have to buy a wristband for $49. This includes unlimited rides on all the open attractions: the aerial tramway from the base to the mountaintop park, the Tennessee Flyer, a small wild animal habitat, ice skating, something called ice bumper cars, a chairlift, a small carousel, a family snow play area, and a climbing wall. Everything is inside or behind a deliciously ’70s-era shopping mall. (At least I hope they haven’t updated it!) You can just ride the tram for $29, or if you’re age 60+, you can get everything for $39.

In the summer, it looks like they also operate the old fiberglass Alpine Slides plus a few other warm-weather attractions. Snow tubing during the winter and summer tubing costs extra. You’ll also have to pay $20 to park for whatever you do here. You can either park in a lot at the base of the tram, or drive up winding ski mountain road to park in a smaller lot at the top, but you’ll have to pay at either lot.

Ripley’s Mountain Coaster

Ripley’s Mountain Coaster in Gatlinburg opened as Rowdy Bear Mountain in 2017, but since then has been bought by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not folks, who operate several attractions in Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge, including the local aquarium, a haunted house, a mirror maze, etc. I rode this one and liked it much better than the Moonshine Mountain Coaster down the street. It’s in a long, but tighter plot of land and has to make some interesting angles. There used to be a glider that you could hang from when it was operated by Rowdy Bear, but that seems to have disappeared.

Tickets cost $25 for two rides or $30 for three, there doesn’t seem to be a price for just riding it once. And of course, you can bundle this attraction with almost any number of other Ripley’s attractions, up to $110 for a go on everything. Attractions are all over the strip, so parking is catch-as-catch-can, probably paid. If you do a combo ticket, you can park at the aquarium for $10 all day, then walk or take the trolly to just about everything else.

Rocky Top Mountain Coaster

Rocky Top Mountain Coaster is another long one – almost as long as Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster, though it bills itself as the “longest coaster in Tennessee.” This one might be using “longest” as in how long it takes to ride, because instead of one long uphill and one long downhill, this coaster switches back and forth with four separate lift hills followed by separate chunks of downhill ride. It could be interesting, but it seems to lack the speed I enjoy. You can find Rocky Top Mountain Coaster on Veteran’s Blvd on your way to Dollywood.

Tickets cost $18, with $9 re-rides. Youth tickets for ages 7-12 are $14, though you must be 56 inches tall to ride alone. Make sure to look on Groupon for discounts – they often show up there.

Anakeesta

Anakeesta solved the problem of where to fit a new attraction in downtown Gatlinburg by rising above it all. Literally, they built 600 feet above the city on top of the mountain and called it “the place of high ground” in Cherokee. You reach the attractions via a “Chondola,” a chair lift/gondola hybrid or a “Ridge Rambler” bus ride. Once you’re up there, there are shops, paths, gardens, overlooks, a high lookout tower, a treetop walk, a challenge/ropes course, and treehouse-themed play areas for kids. There are a few spots to eat, including one with a huge deck with a great view.

As far as attractions go, besides the gardens and the views, they have two mountain coasters, the unique single-rail Rail Runner and the new Hellbender. (Both start with the fast part, then the long ride back up after.) There is also a three-stage dueling zip line for the daring, gem mining for the kids, and currently, a nighttime event called Astra Lumina.

Admission

The biggest problem with Anakeesta is the price. General admission just to get to the top and walk around is $35 for adults, $23 for ages 4-11, and $28 for 60+. (When I did this in 2018, it took about an hour to see everything.) Everything else is extra. To ride the coasters costs $17 for a coaster pass, which gives you one ride on each (or two rides on one, if you so choose.) The zip lines are a $60 add-on, gem mining is a $10 fee, and the Astra Lumina light show is $16 extra.

So if you only want to ride the mountain coasters, that’s $52 minimum. If you wanted to do everything at Anakeesta in a day, that’s around $130! If you’re a TN resident, they are offering an annual pass for $38 which includes one ride on each mountain coaster and 20% discounts on the zipline, Astra Lumina, and all food and shopping, plus a buddy pass. The catch is that you have to claim it in person between Jan 1-March 3. A non-resident annual pass costs $70 and doesn’t include the coaster passes.

Also, keep in mind that you’ll have to pay for parking. The lot at the base of the Chondola is $20 for the day, but there’s cheaper parking elsewhere, including the $10 garage behind the aquarium around the corner.

The best analog to Anakeesta is Ober Mountain. But while Ober Mountain has a kind of trashy charm, Anakeesta just feels like a money grab. Or, at least as much of one as everything else on the strip. It’s definitely nicer, however, and it does offer a breather from the busy strip.

Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Snowpark

The main attraction at Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Snowpark is a snow tubing hill that uses real snow in the winter and rubber mats in the summer. But they also feature the weird Avalance Snow Coaster, a two-person, side-by-side powered coaster where you control the speed. It’s like a little go-kart on a track. And there’s also the Ski Lift Shootout Coaster, which sounds a lot like Buffalo Hunt in South Dakota, so I can’t get too excited about that.

Otherwise, they’ve got some outdoor axe throwing and a playground. You can find the whole thing in Pigeon Forge, sort of across from the Titanic museum.

Tubing costs $37 for 90 minutes of sliding and needs to be reserved in advance online. To ride the coasters, it’s a pick-3 option for one ride each on the coasters, plus axe throwing, or if you don’t want to chuck an axe, you can choose an extra ride on one of the coasters instead. The pick-3 option costs $27 (and doesn’t need a reservation.) Parking is free.

Skyland Ranch

One of the newer offerings in the area is an Anakeesta-lite situation called Skyland Ranch in Sevierville. A chairlift (or bus) takes you about 350 feet up to a small ranch with small animals, shopping, and a nice overlook. There’s a cafe, a food truck park, and a focus on live entertainment and special events. A petting zoo is included, but a hayride with more opportunities for animal interactions costs roughly $10 extra.

Skyland Ranch is also home to the Wild Stallion mountain coaster, arguably the longest in the area at around 6600 feet. It’s not all downhill, though, it’s split in half, with two lift hills and two downhill portions. Kind of like two different mountain coasters back to back.

And the nicest thing about it is that you can buy a ticket just for the coaster without paying for general admission to the rest. You can get combo tickets, of course – several different kinds. For just the Wild Stallion, it costs $19. For just Skyland Ranch, it’s $22. A $34 combo ticket allows three days of access to Skyland Ranch plus a ride on the coaster. There are other options to add on the hayride and/or the event du jour or even rides at the affiliated Rowdy Bear Snowpark (see above.) Right now, you can get a $34 ticket, good Mon-Wed for 3 days at Skyland Ranch, 2 rides on the Wild Stallion, and a meal in the cafe to use in February.

Wilderness at the Smokies

Another new ride is the indoor suspended Rocky Top Glider inside the Wilderness at the Smokies resort in Sevierville. This sprawling complex features hotel rooms, an indoor waterpark, two outdoor water parks, and other indoor arcade-like amusements, like a ropes course, laser maze, mini-golf, etc.

All attractions are priced separately. The Rocky Top Glider is $12, or you can ride as part of a $100 mega fun pass for unlimited rides on everything (in the arcade area.) There are all kinds of dining options inside and parking is free. (I can’t find a video of the ride, but here’s what it’s like.)

Lost Mine Mountain Coaster

The newest mountain coaster in the area is the Lost Mine Mountain Coaster, on Teaster Lane near The Island. It’s another long one, but like the Rocky Top Mountain Coaster, it’s chopped up into four uphill and four downhill sections. But unlike any other mountain coaster, it’s themed! There’s a fun “bears with an illegal honey distillery” theme going on and on the coaster, you zip by a town with a cemetery, a mine tunnel with a runaway cart, and lots of silly-looking bears. The other half of Lost Mine is a similarly-themed mini-golf course.

Rides on the coaster cost $18 for adults, $14 for kids 8-12, and $8 for ages 3-7. (Must be at least 38″ to ride and 54″ to ride alone.) A round of mini golf costs $18 for adults and $14 for kids under 12. And both together is $28 for adults, $24 for 8-12, and $18 for 3-7.

Two “Real” Roller Coasters in Pigeon Forge

There are two more roller coasters in Pigeon Forge – the only two that aren’t mountain coasters! They’re both on the small side and good for families. The first is the Spinning Parrots at The Island, a shopping and dining complex around a fun fountain set to music. There are a few amusements set up in the center, mostly for smaller kids, but also a huge Ferris wheel, a Soarin’-style attraction, mirror maze, laser tag, and an escape room. The coaster costs $6 to ride & parking is free.

The second coaster is the Speedway Coaster at NASCAR SpeedPark in Sevierville, a go-carter’s paradise with eight separate tracks, two of which are just for little kids. There are a few other amusement rides, mostly for smaller kids, plus mini-golf, an arcade, bumper boats, and more. A new ride called “Victory Burnout” is a little more thrilling and will spin you head over feet with a joystick you control. It looks like the only way to ride the coaster is with a $35 wristband for the whole park. To ride Victory Burnout is an $8 upgrade to your wristband or $12 on its own.

And One Near Memphis

There’s one last roller coaster in Tennessee and the only one not near Gatlinburg! The Incredible Pizza Company family fun center in Cordova near Memphis has the Incredible Spinning Coaster, one of those spinning figure-8 models. (The linked video isn’t from Memphis, but it’s the same company, same idea.) You can just ride the coaster for $7.50, or buy a pass for all the rides, plus food for your crew.

Honorable Mention: Opryland USA

When I was growing up, there was a theme park in Nashville called Opryland USA with six roller coasters at the time of its closure in 1997. Chaos, Hangman, Screamin’ Delta Demon, Wabash Cannonball, Rock n’ Roller Coaster, and the Mini Rock n’ Roller were scattered around music-themed lands. Two of the coasters were relocated – Hangman is now Kong at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California, and my favorite at the time, the Rock N’ Roller Coaster, is now the Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Great Escape in New York.

After Opryland USA closed, it was replaced by the Opry Mills Mall, which is a bit of sensory overload to me. But it and the Opryland Hotel next door are fun to walk around.

Water Parks in Tennessee

Again, most of the water parks in Tennessee are in and around the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area, but there is one notable exception in Nashville and two smaller city-run parks.

• Splash Country is Dollywood’s Pigeon Forge water park with 14 slides, including one water coaster called RiverRush. There are also 3 kids’ areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool. Daily tickets aren’t on sale yet for 2024, but in 2023, they were around $55 for adults. Combo tickets with Dollywood are of course available and parking is an additional $25.
• Wilderness of the Smokies in Sevierville features indoor and outdoor water parks in their main section, plus a smaller outdoor water park at the part attached to a convention center. (And the whole thing seems to be attached to the Sevierville Golf Club.) Inside, you have 5 slides, including one water coaster, a kids’ splash tower, wave pool, a large indoor/outdoor spa, a FlowRider surf simulator, and a new lazy river with a kaleidoscopic tunnel. Outside has 3 more slides, lazy river, wave pool, and kid’s area, and the smaller parks has 2 more slides, an activity pool, and two areas for kids. Day passes cover all three (making that 10 slides total!) and range in cost from $39-$79, depending on the date. Obviously, weekends are more expensive. But parking is free!
• Soaky Mountain Waterpark right across the street has 11 slides, including two water coasters – the Avalaunch and The Edge new dueling ride. There are 4 kids’ areas, a lazy river with big waves, a wave pool, an activity pool with inflatables, a FlowRider surf simulator, and a quiet pool. Regular daily admission is $50, plus about $15 for parking. Right now, they’re selling a 2-pack for $70.

• Nashville Shores on Percy Priest Lake features 10 slides, 3 kids’ areas, a lazy river, wave pool, activity pool, quiet lagoon pool, plus a beach on the lake and fun on inflatables. Daily admission costs $55 and under, though there is an after-4 ticket for $33. Parking is an extra $15, or $12 online.
• Wild Bear Falls at the Westgate Resort in Gatlinburg in an indoor water park with 2 slides, 2 kids’ areas, a nice lazy river, an indoor/outdoor sauna, and a separate hot tub. Admission costs $30 for one day, or up to $85 for 5 days. (And unlike the Wilderness of the Smokies Resort, water park admission is not included with your stay.) Parking is free.

• Wave Country in Nashville is a multiple park that’s mostly a wave pool, but it looks like there are 5 slides as well. Admission is $12 and under.
• The Wetlands Water Park in Jonesborough (east of Knoxville) is another municipal pool with 3 slides, a lazy river, and several spray features. Tickets cost $12 and under, and you’ll have to rent your tube for $5, though you get $1 back when you return it.

Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this year? Let me know in the comments below!