PIGEON FORGE WINTERFEST
Annual Pigeon Forge Winterfest Celebration
A great time to visit Willow Brook Lodge is during Pigeon Forge Winterfest! Draped in more than 6 million holiday lights, the annual Pigeon Forge Winterfest celebration creates a winter wonderland for locals and guests alike to enjoy. The lights of Winterfest shine bright from early November until February. From winter light displays to captivating holiday shows and so much more, here are just a few of the fun ways you can experience the delightful Pigeon Forge Winterfest Celebration.
Winterfest Wonders of Light Walking Trail
This year, Pigeon Forge Winterfest will be bigger and brighter than ever! When the city-wide festival begins on Nov. 10 with the Winterfest Kickoff, visitors get the first glimpse of the all-new Winterfest Wonders of Light Walking Trail. This amazing walking trail is visible and accessible from your room at Willow Brook Lodge.
In all, more than one million LED lights will be added to the city’s Winterfest displays and programmed to music, with some standing more than 25 feet tall. The 20 new displays will include walk-thru arches, a colorful 52-foot-long caterpillar, larger-than-life flowers, and Old Man Winter. Vibrant snowflakes, shooting stars, snow people, and a 20-foot-tall ice fountain will light the way as deer, bears, frogs, and squirrels—ranging in size from 13 to 19 feet tall—frolic alongside the path while lights that mimic fireflies and butterflies dance in the trees overhead.
One mountain wildlife display features an enchanted forest with seven-foot-tall mushrooms amid a field of dandelions and brightly colored flowers. A second invites visitors to explore a nature scene that is home to various woodland creatures, including a 16-foot-tall turtle, a 13-foot-tall grasshopper, a 17-foot-tall dragonfly, and a 19-foot-tall firefly, and a 16-foot-tall frog, all surrounded by six-, seven- and eight-foot-tall wildflowers.
The Winterfest Wonders of Light Walking Trail spans the Riverwalk from the access point in the city’s Municipal Parking Lot (located at 2936 Teaster Lane between the LeConte Center and The Island in Pigeon Forge) to the approximate intersection of Old Mill Avenue and Butler Street (near the Old Mill Historic Square).
Visitors can access the light displays via the six-mile out-and-back Riverwalk which has several access points, including one at the city’s Patriot Park, the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge by Willow Brook Lodge, the Old Mill and the city’s Municipal Parking Lot, the latter of which also offers free parking for trail guest.
Winterfest Driving Tour of Lights
Christmas at Willow Brook Lodge
The best way to take in the beauty and splendor of all the holiday light displays throughout Pigeon Forge is on the Winterfest Driving Tour of Lights, which begins at the north end of the Parkway. Stay tuned for the 2022 Winterfest Driving Tour Map!
Whether this is your first time to visit Pigeon Forge, or you’re making a return trip, Smoky Mountain Winterfest is the perfect occasion to share special memories with family and friends.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas
Visit Dollywoodto see more than 5 million lights sparkling around you during Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas. The park is filled with holiday music, plenty of rides, and for the first time ever, fireworks that light up the winter night skies. Make Dollywood your family’s Christmas tradition and enjoy award-winning holiday shows, scrumptious cuisine and seasonal shopping.
Winterfest at The Island
The Island Christmas
Another must-see is Winterfest at The Island with thousands of ornaments, millions of lights and over a mile of garland. Guests are treated to three different Christmas trees, including one that stands 40 feet tall and allows guests to walk through. Santa and Mrs. Claus greet guests at their workshop while roving carolers fill the air with Christmas music.
