Dolly Parton's secret California oasis: Unassuming property once owned by country icon hits the market amid her health woes

Dolly Parton's secret wine country oasis can now be yours for just under $2 million. 

At first glance, the triplex sitting on 561 Alisal Rd. seems like an unlikely addition to an A-lister's real estate portfolio. 

Lined by a white picket fence with a miniature windmill greeting visitors, the property is located in the heart of Santa Barbara's desirable wine country, a quiet and romantic area located two hours away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. 

Yet these traits are likely what attracted Parton to it in the first place. 

Parton, 80, snapped up the Solvang property in 2014 and owned it for 10 years before it eventually came into the possession of someone unaware of the home's famous past, according to SF Gate.

Now real estate developer Cris Lapp is preparing to part ways with the home for $1,995,000, a property that has embraced it's connection to Parton. 

Lapp purchased the home in 2022 and has leaned into the Parton connection since learning she was the former owner, setting out to preserve what he believes are the singer's aesthetic touches and adding tributes to the icon. 

'The wacky thing is the listing agent we bought it from didn’t say [what it] was — it came out during all the permits,' he told SF Gate. 

Now the home has become a bit of a shrine to Parton, with Lapp installing a stain glass window of Dolly's name and a sign acknowledging it's A-list connection placed outside. 

'Former Home of Dolly Parton,' a butterfly-adorned sign reads. 'Singer, Actress & American Icon.' 

Lapp has worked hard to maintain Parton's touches in the home as well, including heart stencils that reflect her style. 

It was a home that may have also appealed to her due to it's resemblance to her grandmother's home: 'I heard that it reminded her of her grandmother’s childhood home,' he said.

Wes Leslie of Secret Solvang, an organization which does walking tours through the village, told SF Gate: 'She hung on to it, maybe as an investment property. She had family connected to her, maybe living in it. She knew about Solvang and liked the place.' 

A triplex, the multi-family residence boasts a total of 10 bedrooms and seven baths across it's three different units.

It is now available for $1,995,000, a considerably increase from the $1.3 million Lapp originally paid. 

The home is located nearby Solvang's downtown and contains a miniature windmill - a tribute to the town's Danish heritage - on the front yard. 

The sale comes several months following a difficult year for Parton, whose husband Carl Thomas Dean died at age 82 in 2025.

She also has struggled with health issues that have forced her to cancel an upcoming Las Vegas residency.  

She told fans in May: 'The good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments and I'm improving every day.

'The bad news is, it's gonna take me a little while before I'm up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit "swimmy-headed" as my grandma used to say. 

'And of course, I can't be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels. And you know that I'm going to be wearing them!'

She reminded fans she had long been suffering from kidney stones and assured everyone she was still busy working.  

'I've told you before that I've always had problems with my kidney stones,' she said. 'Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tennessee. 

'But seriously, my immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack  over the past couple of three years, and they're working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those. And hopefully, I'll be up to snuff again soon.'

She said: 'The truth is, I am still working. I still do videos, I still record, I run up and down to Dollywood now and then. And I'm working hard on getting my museum and my hotel open in Nashville later this year. And I am spending a lot of time writing and reworking on my Broadway musical.'  

'That's going to be opening later in New York this fall or early winter,' she said. 

'I am truly sorry that I'm going to miss all of you that had tickets to see me in Las Vegas,' she said. 

She said she has 'great doctors,' saying: 'I'm doing really well and they assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I'm going with that.'

Parton's Las Vegas residency - her first in 32 years - was initially postponed in September due to 'health challenges,' with six shows planned at Caesars Palace later moved before being officially cancelled in May. 

At the time, she reassured fans: 'Don't worry about me quittin' the business because God hasn't said anything about stopping yet,' she said.

'But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you.'

She also missed a Dollywood announcement last year due to her kidney stone complications, telling fans she had an infection and was advised not to travel.

The following month, she swatted away rumors about her death with trademark humor, posting: 'There are just a lot of rumors flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was OK.'

She added: 'I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me. And I ain't done working.'