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.
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.
Cherokee Bear Zoo & Exotic Animals is the home of many native Black Bears along with non-native Grizzlies, Lemurs, a Tiger, and a Monkey.
The North Carolina Bartram Trail, blazed in yellow, crosses over some of the most scenic mountains of the state.
This small town located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is literally a ‘base camp” for anything outdoor related.
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.
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.
Rising 6,643 feet above the Great Smoky Mountains, Clingman’s Dome is the highest point along the Appalachian Trail and provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains.
A city filled with a rich history and lasting culture of the Cherokee Indians. This city has much to offer from outdoor activities, cultural arts and crafts, to family entertainment. This popular stop in Western North Carolina is sure not to disappoint.
This is a long slide in two main parts. Only the lower part is visible from the overlook constructed by the park.
This beautiful distinguished city is full of upscale dinning and shopping locations and surrounded by some of the south’s most prestigious golf clubs.
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”.
The Lake is 3,000 feet in elevation and offers to visitors many activities ranging from boating and fishing, to swimming and sightseeing.
With an elevation of 6,593 ft Mount LeConte is the third highest peak in the national park, it is however the tallest peak in Tennessee.
Some of the most beautiful golf courses you will ever play on can be found amongst the mountains and valleys of Western North Carolina.
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 Choo Choo Coffee Company is not just a coffee shop, it offers much more than that to its patrons.
The Spectacular Mingo Falls located in Cherokee, NC are over 120 feet high and are rated one of the most impressive falls in Western North Carolina.
This paved two-lane road climbs to elevations over 5300 feet and extends over 50 miles. In April 1997, the state of North Carolina declared it a Scenic Byway.
The creek can have a decent flow during wet weather, but it spreads out wide across this bumpy rock outcrop, forming lots of little falls over the mini ledges and giving it lots of character.
This very popular activity is mainly enjoyed in the water of Deep Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A mecca for outdoor adventure lovers makes Boone a great place to visit and live.
318 curves in 11 miles is the ultimate thrill ride for many motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts when visiting Western North Carolina.
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.
Sometimes to see the things you want to see in Western North Carolina it requires you to hike for multiple days, and we love it.
Cataloochee is a ski area located near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The area has fourteen ski slopes and trails.
Visiting Weaverville means having a chance for you and your family to experience life at a slower pace.
Located right in between a state and national forest, and surrounded by waterfalls, Brevard is another great city where the outdoors are just minutes away.
Lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina it is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina
A wooden fire tower at the summit provides hikers with amazing 360 degree views of the mountains of western North Carolina.
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.
Enjoy a soaring and gliding experience naturally fueled by a gradual elevation change at Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tours.
There are many pristine lakes that can be enjoyed by boaters, wake-boarders, water skiers, or just lake lovers.
This falls is not high, but it’s absolutely beautiful and accessible via a fairly easy hike.
A small mountain town rich with history and a love for the mountains that surrounded it.
For great family rafting fun enjoy the Class I rapids of the Tuckaseigee River.
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad winds up, down, and around the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina.
The Grove Park Inn is a Beautiful Resort and Spa that attract thousands of visitors every year.
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.
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.
Offering up Italian favorites to locals and visitors to Bryson City, NC.
Western North Carolina is home to some of the most beautiful and exciting single track trails in the Southeast.
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.
Offers trips that encompass everything that’s great about Western North Carolina-hiking, picnicking, swimming, and a thrilling jet boat ride.
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.
The historic town of Hendersonville offers visitors many different recreational activities for the entire family, along with local festivals that will satisfy any apple craving you have ever had.
This historic city offers a hometown experience where your family can watch local craftsmen demonstrate and age-old technique.
The waterfall is a high, steep slide with an open canopy before veering sideways into some smaller cascades that end under the trees.
Sylva is the closest city to Western Carolina University; and is another great location for exploring the great outdoors.
Deep inside of Humpback Mountain lie the Linville Caverns, North Carolina’s only caverns.
A small but beautiful waterfall that is located only a few minutes hike form the Deep Creek Parking 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.
This is one of the most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors a year because of its well-preserved homesteads, scenic vistas, and abundant display of wildlife.
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.
Tsali has 39 miles of trails in a four loop system that wind around the Fontana Lake and through US Forest Service Land.
Skiing and Snowboarding is a great winter activity here in Western North Carolina.
These trails travel along the shores and hills beside Lake Chatuge, and all trails are open to mountain biking and hiking.
Saddle up for some of the most beautiful horseback ridding that you have ever done!
This waterfall is a narrow tumble and cascade into a deep trough, that opens up and spills out into a deep pool – a fantastic swimming hole (if the water isn’t super high).
A community that takes pride in it’s small hometown atmosphere makes Canton a city full of heritage and history.
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.
Do you remember the atmosphere that was portrayed on the show “Cheers”? Well, if you do Mountain Perks is Bryson City’s Cheers.
Mouse Creek Falls pours into the larger Big Creek, which is one of the clearest and most pristine waterways in the Park.
Blowing Rock is an interesting place where folklore and history abound.
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.
Water is one thing there is not a shortage of when you come to the 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 […]
The area around Hot Springs is full of opportunities to get outdoors and have a blast.
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.
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.
A combination of free falls and cascades. This is one of the most photogenic waterfalls around.
The Davidson River watershed is one of the most popular area for outdoor recreation within the Pisgah National Forest.
Bryson City’s most unique ice cream parlor takes you beck to the old days right when you step foot inside the door.
“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 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.
Soco Falls is located on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee Indian Reservation) just beside US Hwy. 19, between Cherokee and Maggie Valley, NC
In Western North Carolina you will be able to find a very calm river or one that is a little more raging, depending on what suits you best.
Wayah Bald provides a beautiful view of Franklin and the surrounding Western North Carolina Mountains.
In this most beautiful, unmarred, and natural setting, that was the uncharted hunting ground of the Cherokee Indians, virgin trees grow more than 100 feet tall and some 20 feet around the base.
Beginning in Highlands, this approximately 61 miles of nationally-recognized byway winds through southern Appalachian hardwood forests, by numerous waterfalls and lakes and through two river gorges.
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.
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.
