The holidays are wrapping up, the trees are coming down, and family is heading home after a busy season of holiday parties, too much food, and plenty of memories. But now it’s time to swing in to the new year and make new memories! New Year’s Eve is almost here, and if you haven’t planned your night already (or if you’re already planning to head to the Smokies), we have the best plans for YOU.
Make this New Year’s Eve one to remember while celebrating it in the Great Smoky Mountains! Glittering lights will surround you and the echoes of the holiday season will still be in the air as you say goodbye to 2022 and hello to a brand-new 2023!
Whether you’ll be at the base of the Gatlinburg Space Needle for some busy countdown fun, cozied up in a cabin with your closest friends, or rocking out at The Island in downtown Pigeon Forge, this New Year’s Eve celebration is sure to be one to remember. Start the new year off right, with the beauty of the Smokies as your backdrop. Here are a few great ways to spend New Year’s Eve in the Smoky Mountains!
Gatlinburg’s Midnight Ball Drop
Snag your New Year’s midnight kiss under the starry, light-filled skies above the Gatlinburg Space Needle for the most magical moment of this year and a romantic or fun way to begin the next! At the intersection of Parkway and Historic Nature Trail, thousands of Smoky Mountain visitors gather around the Gatlinburg Space Needle for an exciting New Year’s Eve party with a live DJ and platinum country music artist Beau Braswell and Cassidy Diana.
This year’s celebration will be kicked off by Masterpiece Band ATL, featuring vocalists, trumpets, guitars, and more. Enjoy hip-hop, soul, jazz, pop, rock, and disco starting at 10 PM to get the celebration started! Have a blast as the ball lowers and a stunning fireworks display lights up the sky behind this 400-foot wonder.
Just be sure to arrive early to get a great spot and avoid traffic. Airport Road from Parkway to Cloverleaf Lane will close at 10:30 PM, and part of the Parkway between Reagan Drive and LeConte Street will be closed as well.
The Island in Pigeon Forge New Year’s Eve Celebration
With FREE admission and FREE parking, The Island in Pigeon Forge is a perfect affordable, family-friendly New Year’s Eve party. For the 2022 NYE celebration at The Island, Stephen Goff and the Royals Band will get the party started. The main act will be BlackHawk, with their performance also being simulcast on WIVK 107.7 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Island will be open to guests from 10 AM – midnight on New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2022), so you can come celebrate and have fun all day before the big event that night. Send 2022 off with a bang – and start 2023 in a fun and exciting way – at The Island in Pigeon Forge!
New Year’s Eve Concert at the Hard Rock Café
Skip the larger crowds and end 2022 with live music, good food, and drinks from the bar at the Hard Rock Café New Year’s Eve celebration in Pigeon Forge! This is a great option if you don’t have kids and want to enjoy more of an adult setting for a New Year’s Eve party. Local artists Tuatha Dea will be serenading the crowd while you mix and mingle with other Smoky Mountain visitors who are less excited about fireworks and more excited for live music and drinks! The celebration will begin at 9 PM and go through midnight!
Awesome Cabin Party
Whether you are vacationing with the family or with a large group, Cabins for YOU can supply you with the right size cabin for your own private, hassle-free New Year’s Eve party! Don’t worry about driving home in the crowds following the fireworks show; just book one of our cabins with mountain views near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and enjoy the show from a distance and only a few steps from the comfort of your bedroom.
Enjoy cocktails and beer from the wet bar as the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop plays on the large flatscreen TV of your cabin’s game room. Easily set up an impressive snack bar along the spacious counter in the kitchen for guests to visit while mingling and celebrating another great year with good friends.
Celebrate the end of one year and the start of another in the Smoky Mountains with fireworks, balloons, and millions of holiday lights! Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are undoubtedly some of the most incredibly beautiful settings to create memories during New Year’s Eve 2022!