Dolly Partons Legacy Is Written Across the Smoky Mountains

She was a force of nature, forged from a place with some of the rarest natural phenomena in the universe.

For a girl raised at the tail end of Appalachia—determined to see the world and leave the South in the dust—as an adult, I’ve found myself in Tennessee for much of my career. Especially East Tennessee, home of the Great Smoky Mountains and Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s namesake theme park.

While the music industry mourns a country legend today, Dollywood just lost its “Dreamer-in-Chief.”

Dolly Parton’s legacy—that star power and infinite fountain of wit and talent—can be quantified with many accolades and endeavors, from the more than 100 million records sold worldwide to more than 300 million books gifted to children through her Imagination Library. And that’s no hidden metaphor. She gave three times as much as she sold, especially in Sevier County, where her Pigeon Forge businesses host tourists from around the world.

You can’t reach the Gateway to the Smokies without passing one of Parton’s establishments on the Parkway, from The Stampede to my personal favorite: the quirky, unhinged animatronic fever dream that is Frizzle Chicken Farmhouse Café. Dolly’s impact on tourism in the South is just as important as all the rhinestones. To love Dolly Parton is to love the lore of Appalachia. 

This is a place “of joy and pain,” as Parton wrote in her “bittersweet refrain” of “Heartsong.” It’s a confluence of unique phenomena, like the blue volcanic water vapors that give the Smokies their signature haze—what the Cherokee Indians called Shaconage, or the Place of Blue Smoke.

“The sweetest things in life are always free,” the song continues. “Like the songs the birds would sing, and the sweet new grass of spring, and the sacred blossoms on the dogwood tree.” 

Whether intentional or not, Dolly’s never-ending astonishment at her hometown of Sevierville—rather, her homeland surrounded by nature in the rural holler of Locust Ridge—made her an ambassador for the Smokies in tandem with her rise to fame in entertainment. There is no Dolly Parton album without a reference to the flora and fauna of East Tennessee. The late American poet Mary Oliver had her geese, but Dolly Parton had her eagles. 

Appalachia is quite literally one of the most ancient places on this planet. And the Smokies have some of the richest biodiversity, too. If you really want to see the light of a clear blue morning, visit Look Rock on a sleepy, random Tuesday in September after the kids are back in school and summer’s going down swinging. Or if you’re eager for the sky, witness the sunrise from Mount Le Conte. And while I’m not a religious person, I can only describe the synchronous fireflies of Elkmont as a miracle. 

That bioluminescence is celebrated in Dollywood’s brand-new indoor coaster, NightFlight Expedition, which opened earlier this month. That section of Dollywood, Wildwood Grove, is a love letter to the Smokies, from the projection-mapped Wildwood Tree with digital leaves that turn into butterflies to the Dragonflier, which “mimics the flight of a Smoky Mountain dragonfly.” It’s part of the recent $300 million investment into Dollywood, as the park celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. 

But that’s just one small piece of Dolly’s hospitality portfolio. This decade has been a renaissance for Dolly tourism. Earlier this summer, Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop debuted its flagship location in Cornersville—with more locations promised in the future. And this fall, the brand-new SongTeller Hotel with its Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum will open in Nashville, thereby anchoring the singer’s second hometown with official Dolly attractions. 

There’s also a plane—yes, a plane—in the works. Allegiant’s Flight #925 will take off on Nov. 6, and it includes “a unique Dollywood-themed experience” with “gate celebrations, live entertainment, an in-flight trivia contest, exclusive merchandise, and themed food and drinks.” The flight also unlocks access to an exclusive experience at Dollywood the following day. 

“The greatest privilege of my life has been helping Dolly bring her dreams to life at Dollywood,” said Eugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President, in a press release about the star’s passing. “Dolly’s heart was as vast as the mountains she cherished, and her compassion knew no bounds. She inspired generations to dream boldly and love deeply.” 

She was a little thing (I know because we once shared a chair for a photo), but she walked tall—and it had nothing to do with those platform heels. In 2023, I interviewed Dolly for Fodor’s while covering the opening of Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. I asked what she’d say to six-year-old Dolly if she could invite her to the lodge, and without missing a beat, she said she’s already here. 

“I really think that that little girl has followed me all the days of my life,” she said. “And I’ll always be that little Dolly. Although I’ve become the big Dolly out there in the big world. But that part of me that will never outgrow my home and my roots and my mom and my dad and my brothers and sisters and all those memories I have of them–those are the things that keep me sane. And those are the things that keep me anchored. Those are the things that inspire me to continue to do more.” 

There’s a box, a locked box, inside a glass case at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort & Spa. And inside the box, there’s an unreleased song called “My Place in History.” Dolly recorded it in 2015, and the instructions are for it to be released on her 100th birthday. This song is often framed as her last creative work. Parton turned 80 this January, so we have 20 years to wait for that final song. But her infectious celebration of the beauty of the Smokies—and the beauty in the simplicity of the Smokies—will be just as everlasting.

There are stars in the Southern sky, and no one loved them more.