Dolly Parton is an American icon. The singer, songwriter, businesswoman, actress, and humanitarian is known for her country music, but so much more than that. Dolly has been entertaining audiences since the 19760s. She’s won 11 Grammy Awards and 50 nominations, ten Country Music Association Awards and she’s one of only seven other female artists to earn the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award.
Dolly is in the Country Music Hall of fame, having written thousands of songs.
If you love Dolly as much as so many do and you want to plan a trip where you can pay homage to this legendary star, the following are some ideas.
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a family-friendly destination in the Ozarks, and there’s a genuine appreciation for live entertainment and music, especially in the gospel and country genres.
In Branson, take a visit to Dolly Parton’s Stampede. It’s a top-selling dinner show, lasting around two hours. It’s appropriate for all age groups, and it runs most days of the week.
There are live buffalo, horse riders, and a country-style meal.
The display features a competition between two sides of the theater and a four-course meal.
The arena is 35,000 square feet, and the whole show is patriotic and high-energy.
Nashville, TN
Nashville, Tennessee, is the home of country music, and there are quite a few landmarks in the city tied to the Queen of Country Music herself.
Recently Dolly rejected plans for a statue of her to be built in Nashville, but there are plenty of landmarks, nonetheless.
The Graduate Nashville is a quirky stylish boutique hotel and they unveiled the 9 to 5 Suite. The suite is inspired by the glitz and glam of Dolly with disco ball ceilings, pink feathers and shag carpeting. There’s a California waterbed and a living room with a sleeper sofa.
Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, you can visit White Limozeen, the Graduate Hote’s rooftop bar.
The bar is named after Parton’s album and the title song from 1989, about a country girl who lives the Hollywood lifestyle.
The Nashville bar is pink, white, and gold, with crushed velvet chairs and crystal chandeliers.
There’s a combination of indoor and outdoor space, and if you’re outside, you’ll see the centerpiece, which is a chickenwire bust of Dolly.
The rest of the hotel is significantly inspired by country music artists, and it’s uniquely designed and worth a stop if you’re ever in Nashville.
Also in Nashville is the Music City Walk of Fame, where Parton received a star in 2009.
Tootsie’s World Famous Orchid Lounge is a Nashville venue where Parton performed early on, and she performed on stage at the Ryman Auditorium for decades.
Printer’s Alley is a nightlife district in Nashville. Parton moved to the city the day after graduating high school and started singing on the stages of the clubs in Printer’s Alley.
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Pigeon Forge is Dolly country. This is close to where the legendary singer and songwriter was born, and you’ll see her name on plenty of the biggest attractions in this tourist town, which is near Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.
Dolly Parton was born in a one-room cabin on the Little Pigeon River, which is technically in Pittman Center, Tennessee. Her father worked as a sharecropper, and then he owned his own farm. Her mother took care of her 12 children.
Parton said a lot of her musical talents came from her mother, who constantly entertained her children with the folklore of the Smoky Mountains and ballads.
Parton attended Sevier County High School, graduating in 1964.
Now, Pigeon Forge, just a few minutes from her childhood home, is where you’ll find her theme park, Dollywood, and the adjoining waterpark, Splash Country.
Dollywood is a fun, family-friendly theme park where you can ride roller coasters or visit Chasing Rainbows, which is a Dolly Parton Museum that’s interactive. There’s even a replica of her childhood home.
Along with the park being an ode to Dolly, it’s also about Appalachian history and culture in general. For example, you’ll find southern fare like sweet tea and ham and beans, and there’s live entertainment with country and gospel roots, so much like Dolly’s own music.
You might even be lucky enough to see her around the park, which she is known to frequent.
The DreamMore is a relatively new resort close to Dollywood and envelops you in even more Dolly. The DreamMore Resort and Spa is a stunning property in a cove at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains.
The DreamMore was recently named as one of the top hotels in the south and one of the best family resorts by Travel & Leisure. USA Today called it one of the top ten theme park hotels.
Dolly’s companies are working on another resort, the HeartSong Lodge & resort, described as a “reimagined lodge.”
Rugby, Tennessee
Rugby is a tiny town between Knoxville and Crossville, TN, that Dolly says she loves visiting.
This Victorian town was established in the 1880s in the forests of the Cumberland Plateau. British author Thomas Hughes helped create the community, and it did flourish as a colony for a while. There was a Gothic church, a public library, a schoolhouse and boarding houses. It attracted visitors from around the country.
Rugby’s experiment was covered in the New York Times, and it was a juxtaposition to the poverty of the surrounding Appalachian towns.
Historic preservationists have worked to save what they can of the town. In an interview with Southern Living, Dolly once said that Rugby is one of her favorite things about Tennessee. It’s been on the National Register for Historic Places since 1972.
Finally, Dolly also told Southern Living that she and her husband have a camper and like to take off around the state of Tennessee when they get a chance, so maybe you can check out some landmarks on a road trip.
