Rocky Top Mountain Coaster

Why go: The ride lasts more than nine minutes and climbs four separate times before releasing you again, so instead of one drop and a walk back to the car you get a long conversation with the mountain.

About Rocky Top Mountain Coaster

Rocky Top Mountain Coaster opened on Thanksgiving Day 2018 and runs across more than twenty acres of wooded hillside on Veterans Boulevard. It is operated by Out In The Woods, LLC, and it is the rare Pigeon Forge attraction with a single site and a single focus rather than a park full of add ons.

What makes the layout unusual is the structure of the ride itself. Most mountain coasters tow you to the top once and let gravity do everything after that. This one alternates, with four separate cable uplifts and four descents linked by tunnels, and the business claims it was the first coaster in the world built that way. The practical effect is a ride that never resolves into a single big drop. It keeps climbing and releasing across the mountain, which is how it stretches past nine minutes.

Riders drive. Two hand levers control the brake, so the same track works for a cautious parent and a teenager with no interest in slowing down, and the top speed is around 30 miles per hour for anyone who leaves the levers alone. Sleds seat two, one behind the other.

The track runs after dark under installed lighting, which the business promotes as a distinct experience rather than an afterthought, and the property has collected Best of Pigeon Forge awards for outdoor attraction and mountain coaster across several recent years.

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Getting to Rocky Top Mountain Coaster

Rocky Top sits on Veterans Boulevard, the road that runs parallel to the Parkway on the Dollywood side of town, roughly a mile from the park entrance. Coming from the Parkway, cut across on Dollywood Lane or Teaster Lane and turn onto Veterans, and the track is visible on the hillside above the road before you reach the entrance. Because it is off the Parkway itself, traffic here moves considerably better than the main strip in summer, which is worth remembering on an evening when the Parkway has locked up.

Why Choose Rocky Top Mountain Coaster

There are several mountain coasters within a few miles of this one, and they mostly compete on speed and drop. Rocky Top competes on length and on control, which makes it the easiest of them to recommend for a group that does not all want the same thing.

• Nine minutes on the track. Most mountain coasters in the area are over in a fraction of that. This one is long enough that the novelty wears off and you actually settle into the ride.
• Four uplifts instead of one. The climbing sections are part of the experience rather than a queue you sit through, and they break the descent into four distinct runs.
• You set the pace. Because braking is entirely in the rider’s hands, a nervous first timer and a thrill seeker can take the same track and both get what they came for.
• Open late every night. Closing at 11:00 PM makes it a genuine after dinner option, and the lit track after dark is a different ride from the same track at noon.
• Runs in weather that closes other attractions. The coaster operates in rain and even snow, stopping only for thunderstorms and heavy rain.
• Combination tickets with nearby attractions. The business sells bundles pairing a ride here with Wild Stallion Mountain Coaster and Rowdy Bear’s, which is useful if you are working through several in a day.

Must Do

There is one track, so the question is not which ride to pick but when and how to take it.

• The Night Ride. The track is lit end to end after dark and the business pushes it hard for good reason. The tunnels and turns read completely differently when you cannot see the whole hillside.
• The Four Uplift Run. Ride it once without touching the brakes to feel the full structure, four climbs and four releases, then ride it again slowly and watch the woods go by.
• The Second Ride. A discounted second ride is sold at the counter, and taking it back to back is the cheapest way to try both a fast run and a slow one.
• Zombie Invasion. The fall event running select dates in September and October, with live actors, military themed sets, strobes, fog and sudden scares along the track. Not the family friendly version of this ride.
• The Park Hopper Combination. A bundled ticket linking this coaster with Wild Stallion and Rowdy Bear’s Snowpark, for anyone planning a full day of it.

What to Expect

The requirements here are more layered than most coasters in town, and the pacing at peak times is worth understanding before you queue.

• Height and age rules are strict. Riders must be at least 3 years old and 38 inches tall to ride at all. Riding alone requires 56 inches. Anyone under 56 inches rides with an adult, and whoever controls the sled must be at least 56 inches and no younger than 16. The published maximum height is 84 inches.
• Weight limits change with the weather. Each sled carries up to 375 pounds in dry conditions and 330 pounds when wet, and two adults may not share a sled in wet conditions at all.
• Riders need physical control. The operator states that participants must be in good health with full upper and lower body strength and control, per the manufacturer’s requirements.
• Pacing is the honest caveat. Because every rider brakes for themselves, a cautious sled ahead of you sets your speed too. At busy times the run can turn into stop and start rather than a clean descent, which suits families better than it suits thrill seekers.
• Waits vary enormously. Off peak you can walk straight on. Around holidays and after dark the queue can stretch considerably, and no wait times are published.
• Weather policy is generous. The coaster runs through rain and snow and closes only for thunderstorms and heavy rain.
• Buy at the counter or through a reseller. The official site has no online checkout, so tickets are bought at the ticket office on arrival or booked in advance through a ticketing partner.
• Parking is free. The lot sits at the entrance and there is no separate parking charge.
• Ride photos are taken. Purchase details are not published on the official site and the linked photo page is currently broken, so ask at the counter if you want them.
• Bring what you need with you. No food service is published on site, and there is no stated policy on loose articles, so pockets and bags are your own responsibility.
• Dress for the hillside. No dress code is published, but the sleds are open and the track is exposed, so a jacket after dark and in shoulder season is sensible.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• Dollywood. The region’s largest theme park, roughly a mile away, with coasters, craftsmen and live music across the season.
• Lost Mine Mountain Coaster. A second coaster on Teaster Lane, close enough to ride both in an afternoon and compare them directly.
• Mountain Monster. A tower of thrill rides on Teaster Lane, including a swing, a drop and a climb with views over the valley.
• Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf. Two jungle themed mini golf courses on the north end of the Parkway with a cave and waterfall built into the layout.

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.