Pigeon Forge, Tennessee fall foliage

Wears Valley and the Foothills Parkway. Wears Valley Road (US 321) runs west from town into Wears Valley, a quiet valley of farms and rolling wooded hills. A short drive along it is the Wears Valley entrance to the western section of the Foothills Parkway, which runs about 16 miles to Walland along the edge of the national park, with overlook after overlook facing layered mountain ridges. Its last stretch, known as the Missing Link, took decades to finish.

Patriot Park and the Riverwalk. In town, Patriot Park sits beside the Little Pigeon River, and its walking path, lined with flags from all 50 states, is framed by fall color. The city’s greenway follows the river through town from there.

The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel. At The Island, the big observation wheel rises high above the Parkway for a bird’s-eye view of the hills around town and the Smokies beyond.

Into the national park. Pigeon Forge is about 5 miles north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through Gatlinburg, Newfound Gap Road climbs through several bands of color toward the crest and the road to Clingmans Dome. Cades Cove, less than 30 miles away, is one of the last parts of the park to turn because of its low elevation.

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city of about 6,300 people in Sevier County, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and one of the main gateways to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It sits along the Little Pigeon River between Sevierville and Gatlinburg. Its name comes from an iron forge built on the river around 1820 and the flocks of passenger pigeons that once gathered on its banks. The Parkway (US 441) through town is lined with theaters, attractions, and restaurants, and Dollywood is at the edge of town.

For lodging, events, and things to do around the Smokies, see PigeonForge.com, a local Smoky Mountains travel guide since 2000.

Still mostly green? Clingmans Dome, TN (16 miles away, higher up) typically peaks about 23 days earlier, and Highlands, NC (55 miles away, higher up) typically peaks about 13 days earlier.

Already past peak? None of the destinations we track within 150 miles of Pigeon Forge typically peaks much later. Lower valleys nearby are your best bet: color tends to hang on about 4 to 5 days longer for every 1,000 feet lower.

The foothills and lower slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains are covered in a rich mix of hardwoods, which is why the color here runs through so many shades. Sourwood and black gum are often the first to go scarlet. Red and sugar maples follow with red and orange, tulip trees and hickories turn yellow and gold, and the oaks hold russet color late, after the maples have dropped.