Dollywood's Light The Way 5k

There is nothing quite like Dollywood at Christmas. Experience a nighttime run in the nation’s most beautiful holiday park during the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival by registering for the 13th annual Light the Way 5K! This year’s event will take place on Friday, November 13 beginning at 11 p.m. We are excited to announce that this year’s race is being facilitated by the Knoxville Track Club (ktc.org). KTC will chip-time the event and work with the event team to provide runners with the best experience possible.

In 2024, the event course was re-certified to provide the best race experience. It will start in a different location for a more streamlined course route that will eliminate runners having to make a second loop on park.  More than half of the course for this year's race will be off-park, first utilizing Dollywood's tram road and then concluding the race through Dollywood's 6 million Christmas lights. The course will be cleared of all participants at 12:30 am. If you are not sure that you can complete the 5K in 90 minutes without stopping , we highly recommend that you register for the 1-mile Fun Walk.

Light the Way 5K aims to provide runners with an unforgettable race. The 2026 race course will take participants throughout Dollywood and their over 6 million Christmas lights!  NO STROLLERS ALLOWED!!!

Each participant in the 2026 Light the Way 5K will receive a commemorative medal at the finish line. Awards will be presented to the top three overall finishers as well as the top three finishers for men and women respectively.  Awards will not be mailed. You must be present to receive your award.

Participation in the Light the Way 5K is limited to 2,000 runners and online registration is encouraged. The registration fee is $50 until June 1 and $55 beginning June 2 until November 13.