Tom Branch falls is the tallest waterfall and the easiest to access in the Deep Creek area.
Tsali has 39 miles of trails in a four loop system that wind around the Fontana Lake and through US Forest Service Land.
This historic city offers a hometown experience where your family can watch local craftsmen demonstrate and age-old technique.
Darnell Farms offers many weekend festivals: Strawberry Jam Festival, Tomatoefest and Timberfest plus a Corn Maze depending on the season.
A beautiful disc golf course located on the property of Fontana Village only minutes away from Fontana Dam. The course is 18 holes and is made up of par 3 and par 4 holes that offer players a diverse course of trees and open field to play on. This is a great course to play, […]
The beautiful valley of Shelton Laurel Creek – and the coves, tributaries, and mountains lining it to its North – comprise a remote part of the Pisgah National Forest, known as the Shelton Laurel Backcountry Area.
One of the most compelling outdoor dramas, Unto These Hills, tells the tragic story of how the Cherokee ancestors were forcefully driven out of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Sitting on the banks of Deep Creek, Camp Living Water offers week-long Christian camps and High Trek Adventures for various age groups from 7 to 18.
Asheville, NC – This 18 hole disc golf course is one of the most played courses in Asheville. It features a wide range of obstacles and is pretty difficult as you throw through the woods, over valleys, and down ridges.
The Davidson River watershed is one of the most popular area for outdoor recreation within the Pisgah National Forest.
Deep inside of Humpback Mountain lie the Linville Caverns, North Carolina’s only caverns.
The fresh smell of hops and everything else that goes in to a great craft beer fill the air when you approach doors of the Nantahala Brewery.
Famous for its Catawba Rhododendron gardens with its brilliant purple flowers in spring, the Roan is a wonderful place to visit and hike any time of the year.
Skiing and Snowboarding is a great winter activity here in Western North Carolina.
Located on a historic corner of downtown Bryson City, right next to the old county courthouse, the Cork & Bean has not only good food but a great atmosphere.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,159.1-mile foot trail along the ridge crests and through the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains.
A valley full of historic buildings, wildlife, and beauty, this is a great family destination inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tucked away in the mountains on Western North Carolina is this small town with a unique charm.
A privately owned National Heritage Site, Chimney Rock Park encompasses 1000 acres, including rock formation seen here with a 360 degree view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Black Balsam area includes some of the most spectacular mountain balds in the Southern Appalachians, including Black Balsam Knob, Sam Knob, and Tennent Mountain.
Hayesville in known as “The Best Kept Secret in North Carolina” by Western North Carolina locals, and rightly so.
Charlies Bunion is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, characterized by a large boulder-like protrusion just below the summit on its otherwise-sheer northern face.
This city is set up beautifully along the banks of Lake Lure, offering visitors a great balance between outdoor adventure, rest, and relaxation.
A historic shopping center located downtown Asheville that is famous for its beautifully restored architecture from the 1920s.
The Asheville Art Museum is the single visual arts facility serving Western North Carolina.
A scenic roadway, which travels 469 miles to connect the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Sylva is the closest city to Western Carolina University; and is another great location for exploring the great outdoors.
Do you get a hint of what this place serves from the name? Well, you should because they serve up fried goodness every day of the week.
These trails travel along the shores and hills beside Lake Chatuge, and all trails are open to mountain biking and hiking.
“The Road To Nowhere”, as most local residents call it, is a 6-mile scenic drive into the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where it dead-ends
A beauty worth visiting. A steep cascade drops over a ledge onto an outcrop among boulders before shifting right, and dropping over another, smaller, cascade into a deep and wide pool.
The waterfall is a high, steep slide with an open canopy before veering sideways into some smaller cascades that end under the trees.
Pisgah View Ranch is a Western North Carolina Dude Ranch that offers a horse ranch get a way for Family and Guests.
Cataloochee is a ski area located near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The area has fourteen ski slopes and trails.
The Diner, as locals refer to it has been serving up traditional breakfast dishes and lunch specials to patrons for many years.
This very popular activity is mainly enjoyed in the water of Deep Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
At 5,964 feet above sea level, Grandfather Mountain is the highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range and the only private park in the world.
Western North Carolina is home to some of the most beautiful and exciting single track trails in the Southeast.
Located on a 42-acre Natural Heritage site the center has many species of wildlife, gardens, trails, indoor exhibits and farm animals.
The area around Hot Springs is full of opportunities to get outdoors and have a blast.
The Panthertown Valley is one of those unique places that are well revered by hiking and outdoor enthusiasts, as well as ecologists, in the Southern Appalachian mountains.
A city with something for everyone! Whether you enjoy art and music, the outdoors, eating and shopping local, or all of the above.
Offering up Italian favorites to locals and visitors to Bryson City, NC.
Waterfalls and many cascades are located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Nantahala National Forest, around the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Pisgah National Forest and the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina, including the 411 feet Whitewater Falls which is the tallest series of falls east of the Mississippi.
Thousands of miles of trails can be found to hike in Western North Carolina, whether you find yourself in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or one of the many National Forests. There are tons of trails to choose from that vary in length and difficulty, but no matter which one is for you there […]
Bryson City’s most unique ice cream parlor takes you beck to the old days right when you step foot inside the door.
A small but beautiful waterfall that is located only a few minutes hike form the Deep Creek Parking Area.
13 Acres of aquatic ponds are the home to many varieties of water lilies and lotuses that begin blooming in May and continue blooming into August.
This small town located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is literally a ‘base camp” for anything outdoor related.
The Hazel Creek area inside the Great Smoky Mountains National park is rich with history about Western North Carolina and early Appalachia.
The Nantahala River offers the thrill and excitement of riding river rapids in a raft, canoe or kayak while enjoying the scenic Nantahala National Forest that surrounds it.
This area of the Pisgah National Forest, located along the upper reaches of the Ivy River, has long been known by locals as the Coleman Boundary.
The Cherokee Skate Park is not only a great place to skateboard, bmx, or ride anything with wheels.
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad winds up, down, and around the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
Stand Up Paddling is one of the fastest growing water sports today. It fun, healthy, and can help improve the overall quality of a persons life. Strengthen your core, improve your balance and get to know a part of nature you may be unfamiliar with. Bryson City Outdoors – Come see what all the fuss […]
This falls starts with a short drop, which goes into a very long, gentle slide into a deep pool.
Marked by charming rural character and the scenic beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Mars HIll is a great stop and play location in Western North Carolina.
A unique sandwich shop located in the heart of downtown Bryson City, where a wide variety menu serving up signature deli sandwiches, salad, soups, and more can be found.
Lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina it is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina
This beautiful distinguished city is full of upscale dinning and shopping locations and surrounded by some of the south’s most prestigious golf clubs.
This river has become the centerpoint for a visit to the Grandfather Ranger District
A great small town experience in the heart of the Appalachian mountains.
The Cradle of Forestry in America is a 6,500 acre Historic Site within the Pisgah National Forest.
Located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains atop a plateau, Cashiers is a great spot for the whole family to visit and experience the beauty of Western North Carolina.
The Grove Park Inn is a Beautiful Resort and Spa that attract thousands of visitors every year.
Surrounded by mountains exceeding 6000′ in elevation, the base of the valley is itself over 5000′, which accounts for some of its unique characteristics. A variety of hiking trails wind throughout the valley for your exploration.
A short falls but in a cozy setting, this one is worth a stop if you’re on the main trail.
The Green River Narrows Race happens once a year in November and is probably one of the most exciting kayak races to watch in the southeast.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, established in 1934, covers 520,408 acres of land with heights ranging from 840 feet at Abrams Creek to 6,643 feet at Clingmans Dome.
The Brown Mountain Lights create an uncanny light show that has been described in many ways from being like a glowing ball of fire, to being a bursting skyrocket, or a pale almost white light.
This a location full of decadent and delightful desserts that are bursting with unique and interesting flavors.
The Cherokee Indian Museum contains a unique collection of original artifacts used by the Cherokee Indians many years ago.
This falls is not high, but it’s absolutely beautiful and accessible via a fairly easy hike.
Mouse Creek Falls pours into the larger Big Creek, which is one of the clearest and most pristine waterways in the Park.
Enjoy a soaring and gliding experience naturally fueled by a gradual elevation change at Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tours.
Bridal Veil Falls is unique in that you can drive behind them. US Hwy. 64 used to pass behind the falls until it was rerouted in front of the falls for safety.
At 4629 feet elevation, this grassy summit is not the highest mountain around, but it is considered by some to be the “crown jewel of the Appalachian Trail”.
North Carolina’s longest trail, the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail, is an ambitious project to provide a foot path linking the Mountains in the West to the Coastal Plain in the East.
A collection of over 250 rare antique American Motorcycles and Automobiles.
This excellent loop, designated a National Recreation Trail, climbs to the top of Whiteside Mountain, with its spectacular 700′ high cliff walls lofting the hiker for amazing views.
List of cemeteries that are located on the north Shore of Fontana Lake and the surrounding area which were eventually taken over by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service after the Tennessee Valley Authority built the Fontana Dam. Bradshaw Cemetery: On Possum Hollow Branch on Hazel Creek. Hickory Bottom Branch on Possum Hollow. On […]
The North Carolina Bartram Trail, blazed in yellow, crosses over some of the most scenic mountains of the state.
A family Theme Park and Zoo, Santa’s Land is an enchanted Christmas theme park everyone will love.
Nestled in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, across from a mountain where God revealed a vision, lie the world’s largest set of the Ten Commandments.
This impressive, multi-streamed cascade has a roadside view, but accessing it can be dangerous. US Hwy. 64 has cliffs on both sides and is narrow and curvy here.
Saddle up for some of the most beautiful horseback ridding that you have ever done!
Fly Fishing is a popular past time in Western North Carolina. With an immense amount of mountain streams in the area you are sure to be able to find some fish somewhere.
