Goats on the Roof of the Smokies

Why go: A herd of goats grazes the grass roof above the gift shop, and you send their supper up to them by pedaling a bicycle-powered conveyor. A coaster, two mini golf courses, and a gem mining sluice on the same lot turn a quick photo stop into most of an afternoon.

About Goats on the Roof of the Smokies

The roof of the main building is planted in grass, and a small herd of goats spends its days up there grazing, dozing, and peering down at the parking lot. The idea is licensed from Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Door County, Wisconsin, where goats have grazed a sod roof for about four decades. Pigeon Forge borrowed the concept and built an entire attraction around it.

Watching costs nothing. When you want the goats to come to you, buy a can of feed, load it into the goat-cycle, and pedal until the can climbs the conveyor to roof level, where the herd crowds around to meet it. A second-level observation area puts you close to eye level with them for the photo everyone comes here to take.

The rest of the property grew up around that one gimmick. The Goat Coaster drops down the hillside behind the building on a gravity track riders steer themselves. Jurassic Tymes Mini Golf lays two courses out among animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar while you putt. A gem mining sluice runs water over screened trays so you can wash a bucket of gem-rich soil for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Inside, a two-level air-conditioned store carries Amish-made woodcrafts, old-fashioned candy, local and Amish jellies, hot sauces, and hillbilly novelties, with a sweet shop turning out homemade fudge and ice cream at the back.

Getting to Goats on the Roof of the Smokies

The attraction sits on Wears Valley Road roughly a mile off the Parkway, which is far enough to escape the worst of the strip traffic but close enough to reach in a few minutes from almost anywhere in town. Turn off the Parkway onto Wears Valley Road and stay straight; the building is impossible to miss, since the goats are visible from the road and the roofline is the whole point. Parking sits on site at the door.

The business also runs a second store at 2631 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863, on the main strip. That location keeps baby goats and stocks much of the same merchandise, and it opens an hour earlier at 8:00 AM, which makes it an easy first stop on a morning when the Wears Valley lot has not opened yet.

Why Choose Goats on the Roof of the Smokies

Most Pigeon Forge attractions ask for money at the door before you know whether the family will like what is inside. This one does not, and that single difference changes how a visit works.

• No admission gate. Walking in, watching the goats, and browsing the store cost nothing, so a family can stop for ten minutes or stay three hours and pay only for the activities it actually chooses.
• A licensed original rather than a themed build. The grass roof and the herd trace directly back to the Wisconsin restaurant that started the tradition, which is a different thing from a facade put up to sell tickets.
• Four attractions on one lot. Coaster, mini golf, gem mining, and goat feeding sit within a few steps of one another, which is unusual on the Wears Valley side of town where attractions tend to be spread out.
• Rider-controlled speed on the coaster. Hand brakes let a cautious first timer creep down the mountain while a confident driver opens it up, so one track suits a whole family instead of splitting it.
• Open late. The coaster runs until 11:00 PM, which makes this a workable stop after a show or a late dinner, long after most Pigeon Forge attractions have shut for the night.

Must Do

None of these takes long on its own, which is exactly why most visitors end up doing several in one trip.

• The Goat-Cycle. Load a can of feed, pedal the bicycle-powered conveyor, and watch the herd converge on the delivery when it reaches the top. This is the thing people photograph and the reason most cars turn in.
• The Goat Coaster. A 4,875-foot descent, close to a mile of track, running about seven minutes and topping out around 27 to 30 mph. Sleds seat two, so a small rider can go along with an adult at the controls.
• Jurassic Tymes Mini Golf. Two 18-hole courses threaded through towering dinosaurs that move and roar as you play. Take one course or buy through for all 36 holes.
• Gem Mining. Carry a bucket of gem-rich soil to the old-style water sluice and wash it through a screened tray. Rubies, sapphires, and emeralds all turn up, and larger buckets are sold for anyone who wants to keep sifting.
• The Sweet Shop. Homemade fudge and ice cream made on site, which is the standard closing move once the coaster and the golf course are behind you.

What to Expect

This is a walk-up operation with no reservations and no wristband, so the things worth knowing ahead of time are the coaster rules and how much slack to leave for weather.

• Coaster height and age rules. Drivers must be at least 16 years old and between 54 and 84 inches tall. Riders can be as young as 3 and must be at least 38 inches. Sleds carry two people with a combined weight limit of 375 pounds, which drops to 330 pounds in wet weather.
• Weather. The coaster runs rain or shine, but the crew shuts it down when thunder moves in and restarts once the storm passes. Published closing times are approximate and depend on crowd levels and the weather that day.
• A separate line for ride hours. The main store number reaches the shop; the coaster keeps its own line at (865) 366-7337 if you want to confirm ride hours before you drive out.
• Buying works counter by counter. There is no online reservation and no combination pass. Each activity is paid for at its own counter, so a group can split up rather than committing everyone to the same thing.
• Gem mining is open-air but covered. The sluice runs under a roof that keeps both sun and rain off while you work through a bucket, so it holds up as a plan on a hot afternoon or a drizzly one.
• The store is the rain shelter. Two air-conditioned levels of merchandise and the sweet shop give a family somewhere to wait out a shower without leaving the property.
• Mini golf rates step down by age. Children pay less than adults and the youngest players go on at no charge, so a large group is not paying a flat rate per head.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster. The closest neighbor on Wears Valley Road, running a long wooded descent for anyone who wants a second coaster in the same afternoon.
• Board & Brush Pigeon Forge. A studio workshop back toward the Parkway where you build, stain, and take home your own wood sign, and a solid indoor option on a wet day.
• Tennessee Bible Museum. A quiet Wears Valley Road stop with rare printed Bibles and centuries of manuscript history on display.
• Red Skelton Tribute Theater. A tribute show a couple of minutes down the road that pairs naturally with a late coaster run afterward.

Explore More

My Smoky Mountain Guide Pigeon Forge is a great resource for finding things to do and places to eat.

• Pigeon Forge Food & Beverage Guide. Restaurants, dinner shows, breweries, distilleries, and eateries throughout Pigeon Forge, from sit-down meals to grab-and-go stops.
• Pigeon Forge Outdoor Adventure. Mountain coasters, UTV rentals, rafting, helicopter tours, and other ways to experience the Smokies from outdoors.
• Pigeon Forge Attractions. Museums, escape rooms, mini-golf, arcades, and other family-friendly stops across the city.
• Pigeon Forge Entertainment. Dinner shows, live music, comedy, magic, and theater experiences throughout Pigeon Forge.