Pigeon Forge · Dollywood · 2026 season

Closest airport to Dollywood: Knoxville, 39 miles.

Fly into TYS and you can be on the Parkway in about an hour. Check your date against Dollywood's posted festival calendar, then plan how much park time you'll have on arrival day.

Can I make it today?2026 season dates

Photo: Sarah Stierch, CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Short answer

The closest airport with airline service to Dollywood is Knoxville McGhee Tyson (TYS): 39.3 miles, about 1h 10m without traffic, with nonstops from 36 cities. Dollywood's 2026 season opened March 13, 2026 and runs through Smoky Mountain Christmas to January 3, 2027. The 2027 season opens March 11, 2027.

Checked October 19, 2026

39.3road miles from TYS to Dollywood.

38.4road miles from TYS to Pigeon Forge.

5Dollywood festivals on the 2026 calendar.

36cities with a nonstop to Knoxville.

Interactive

Land, drive, ride?

Pick your travel date and landing time. The planner shows which festival is on, adds the real drive from TYS, and, if you enter that day's closing time from Dollywood's calendar, how much park time you'd have left.

Land-to-Dollywood plannerTYS drive times: OSRM

Travel dateYour TYS landing time

Driving to

Bags and walk to the counters (your estimate)30 min

Rental car pickup (your estimate)20 min

Traffic and stop buffer (your estimate)20 min

Dollywood closing time on your date From the official park-hours calendar

4:20 p.m.Estimated arrival

The buffers are your own estimates; the sliders start at example values. Drive times are free-flow OSRM figures, and sunset is calculated for the destination's coordinates.

From Dollywood's festival calendar

The 2026 season, festival by festival.

Mar 13 to Apr 12
I Will Always Love You Festival
Apr 18 to Jun 7
Flower & Food Festival
Jun 15 to Aug 2
Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration
Sep 14 to Oct 31
Harvest Festival (with Great Pumpkin LumiNights)
Nov 6 to Jan 3, 2027
Smoky Mountain Christmas
Mar 10 and Mar 11, 2027
2027 season: season passholder preview, then public opening.

Festival dates are from Dollywood's festival page (archived September 20, 2026) and its March 13, 2026 season-opening release; the 2027 opening was announced in October 2026. Daily hours vary, so check the official calendar for your date. Dollywood's Splash Country water park opened its 2026 season on May 16.

Layered blue ridgelines of the Great Smoky Mountains fading into haze, with dark spruce in the foreground

Pigeon Forge

Between the airport and the mountains.

Pigeon Forge sits on US-441 between Sevierville and Gatlinburg, 38.4 miles from TYS. Dollywood is just off the Parkway at 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd., Pigeon Forge.

Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Getting around

The Pigeon Forge trolley.

North and South Parkway$1

Per ride on the Parkway routes. Drivers accept exact fare only.

To Dollywood$2.50

The Dollywood route fare.

All-day pass$3

Children 3 and under ride free.

To Gatlinburg$1

The Gatlinburg Welcome Center route, where you can switch to Gatlinburg's free trolley.

Hours, March to December8 a.m. to midnight

Season starts in early March. January and February: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where routes startPatriot Park

All Pigeon Forge Mass Transit routes begin at Patriot Park.

From the City of Pigeon Forge's mass transit page, checked October 2026.

Nearby

From Pigeon Forge.

14 min driveGatlinburg7 miles up the Spur.

58 min driveCades Cove26.7 miles to the loop.

21 min driveSugarlands10.3 miles to the park's main visitor center.

45 min driveKnoxville34.7 miles to downtown.

Plan more

Questions

What is the closest airport to Dollywood?

Knoxville McGhee Tyson (TYS), 39.3 road miles and about 1h 10m from Dollywood with no traffic (OSRM). The Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport in Sevierville is closer but has no airline flights.

When does Dollywood's 2026 season end?

The 2026 season closes with Smoky Mountain Christmas, which runs Nov 6, 2026 to January 3, 2027, per Dollywood's festival calendar.

When does Dollywood open for 2027?

Dollywood has announced a March 11, 2027 public opening, with a season passholder preview on Mar 10.

When is the Harvest Festival at Dollywood in 2026?

September 14 to October 31, 2026, including Great Pumpkin LumiNights, per Dollywood's festival calendar.

How do I get from Knoxville airport to Pigeon Forge?

Drive: 38.4 miles, about 1h 00m without traffic, through Maryville on US-411 to Sevierville, then US-441 south into Pigeon Forge.

How much is the Pigeon Forge trolley?

The Pigeon Forge Mass Transit trolley charges $1 on the North and South Parkway routes, $2.50 to Dollywood and $3 for an all-day pass. Drivers accept exact fare only; children 3 and under ride free.

Sources