The reward of the spider lilies after (easy) paddling is so amazing. It is even prettier in person…read morethan in pictures, and going through the lily maze in the water puts you right up close. It's the best way to experience this short-lived phenomenon. Our group was small, the crew members were informative, helpful, and very friendly. The trip was very well-organized and worth every penny. I would definitely recommend this trip with NCOA.

As an experienced paddler, I expected professionalism from a kayaking provider for the Rocky Shoals…read morespider lilies. I booked in March, received an automated confirmation then had to email the company three days prior to the end of May trip for an updated confirmation bc our trip day coincided with a festival. It was then our group received confirmations three days prior to our trip. - Our group of 10 included novice kayakers & no instruction was given to them. Several struggled on the River. - Incorrect information about the lilies was given on the trip. At least have educated guides! - Our lead guide left us so we had no idea which way to maneuver through the lilies. My friend & I assisted two paddlers who said they were uneasy. After leaving a poor review on the business's FB to alert novices this is probably not the best outfit to take you kayaking, I received snarky responses from the owner (including a phone call), called a bully for posting my accurate account of the trip & then bullied by the owner's friends for my negative review. With that, I say AVOID THIS BUSINESS!! They are unprofessional. An organization is only as good as it's leader & it's no wonder this is a trash operation.

Excellent experience here. The staff were super friendly and explained how to do snow tubing and…read morethe safety practices. Love the conveyor belt that takes you back up to the top of the hills; that made the experience so much easier to do. There is a nice fire pit outside to warm up between snow tubing runs. Two hours was the perfect time to book for a leisurely but fun tubing pace. Would recommend bringing waterproof gloves and sunglasses for the snow glare. Otherwise, have fun here. At the end of the session, when you return your tube, you get some marshmallows to roast in the fire pit. Loved this place and had so much fun!

Today was our third visit to Zip and Slip including a visit in 2018 and 2019! We have always had a…read moregreat time with family and friends of all ages. We took our toddler today for the first time and she absolutely loved it. Making a reservation online was simple and easy. It wasn't too crowded and we went at least 10 times in an hour- as many times as we could make it back up the magic carpet. There are restrooms on site, a little shack serving hot cocoa and doling out marshmallows to roast once you're done tubing. The slope isn't too steep, but it's a fun activity for anyone (especially these Floridians).

Such a fun place to go! I took my brother for some bonding and fun for him, he's constantly working…read moreso hard so I forced him to take a day for fun. They have sweet, easy zip lines and fun rope ladders, all very safe I might add. I have been on some serious ones in Mexico ( I'll get to those later ) We had a fun afternoon, made a new Facebook friend and enjoyed seeing my brother laugh and smile.

They were open until four and it was 2pm and the door was locked and no one was there, it could've…read morebeen a family emergency or something.

Loved it!! Beautiful falls and swim hole. I can't wait to be back. Water shoes for when you get…read moredown to the water hole are recommended. It's a nice hike with lots of roots in the way so you need to be careful. But definitely worth it!

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce UPPER CREEK FALLS to Yelp!…read more If you are a hiker and lover of waterfalls, then you just might want to spend an entire weekend in the Newland, NC area. The mountains surrounding this area are a treasure trove of sights and sound for your soul to behold. Amongst them is the highly popular Upper Creek Falls. Now let me be honest, you're gonna burn some calories on this trail so don't let the short 1.5 miles round trip distance fool you! There is SIGNIFICANT elevation gain that will surely bring a little heavy breathing to your lips and sweat to your brow. However, the payoff is tremendous. **** The creek consists of multiple waterfalls, cascades and swimming holes, but the largest waterfall requires venturing to one of the lowest points on the trail to fully view. It will require detouring off the main yellow blazed trail and mountain-goating it down a steep side trail, then back up to the main trail before continuing the loop back to the parking area. According to ALLTRAILS, the loop starts at an elevation of around 3,215 feet and drops as low as 2,790 feet for a gain of approx. 425 feet in 3/4's of a mile. My personal trail tracker logged 436 feet of gain. The lowest point of the trail leads to a wonderfully exposed area of stone that almost acts as a raceway for the creek. The topography is such that you can walk on an island of stone that splits the creek in two for a short distant before rejoining and continuing its descent. I can only imagine how many more waterfalls are below this point as the creek continues its slide down the mountain another 460 feet over the following mile according to topography maps. *** FEATURES 1) There are two trailheads, but each links to the other. The trailhead on the left side of the parking area behind the information board leads first to the top of the main waterfall before crossing the creek and descending towards the base. You can get some terrifying pics on the dry stone near the crest, but don't drift too close to the edge! 2) Once you cross the creek, look to the left to spot a faint trail leading back up the mountain. Follow it and you will be rewarded with a gorgeous 15 foot waterfall. Here locals us the fall as a slide, complete with a rope to help you get back up to the top of this ultra-smooth cascade. 3) There is a fairly deep pool of water here and opposite of the climbing rope is a tire swing to launch into the pool. 4) Continue down the trail until you see side trails leading to the base of the largest waterfall. WARNING: The side trail is steep, but worth it to view the larger fall in its entirety. 5) As you continue down the trail it will once again cross the creek. This crossing is most likely tricky in high water and probably not advisable. It was only at average flow when I visited and I still got my feet wet doing my best jump. It is here you will discover another small pool of water and a large area to camp out on the stone outcrop. Even though this is the lowest point on the trail, it is actually an overlook of the mountains below. Very open and majestic. 6) Once across the lowest creek crossing, the trail switchbacks up the mountain OR you can find the shortcut trail that goes straight up the center! But fair warning, it's a leg burner! This portion of the loop will return to the parking lot on the opposite side of the upper creek trail. In total I logged 1.5 miles after visiting the sliding falls, main falls and lower raceway/overlook. *** FINAL THOUGHTS Upper Creek Falls in my opinion is 5+ stars despite its difficulty because of the multiple points of interest along the loop. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this waterfall to avid hikers! While I personally would have thought it to be too much for kids and elderly... we saw SEVERAL older couples in the area above the main falls as well as a school bus load of 6 to 12-year-olds trekking along the lower falls trail well ahead of their parents. There was also a very large family of about 20 members (all age ranges) picnicking at the lower overlook, so I guess its safe to say its doable for all ages and skill levels. If you have any energy left, to the northeast are: - Grandfather Mountain - Big Lost Cove Cliffs - Harper Creek Falls - Gragg Prong Falls - Huntfish Falls And to the southwest are: - Linville Falls & Linville Caverns ENJOY! 2021 / 116

Love this campground!! I enjoyed spending the last 4 months there. It has been an enjoyable…read moreexperience for my grandchildren. They have enjoyed all the weekend activities that are provided by Steele Creek staff. very friendly staff. Very clean. Friendly campers have made this an enjoyable summer! Already planning for next year!! Janelle McDougal

I feel I need to share about this place to offer a more fair and balanced view than another…read morereviewer. Once a year in the summer, my husband's family meets at Steele Creek Campground for a day of swimming, eating, and family togetherness. My father-in-law has been coming here since he was young, and my husband and his brothers and sisters came here a lot during their childhood. It's nestled in the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains and the temperature is perfect during the hot southern summers. The creek water is mountain cold! The park is very clean, although the smaller restrooms near the creek desperately need updating. The pool isn't quite so cold, so the kids like to switch back and forth between that and the creek. There's a big, winding tube slide built into the mountain, which does cost extra. There are two diving boards on the deep part of the creek, and also a putt putt course that looks well kept. This place has a wonderful family atmosphere. The families laugh together and people make friends. My family has not camped here, but we have strolled through the camping areas to check it out. There are a lot of RVs, lots of pop up campers, and a few tents. Lots of kids with bicycles. I grew up camping - mostly at Table Rock - and my siblings and I loved riding our bikes through the campgrounds. And in a park like this you can feel comfortable letting them. Basically, if you want WILDERNESS camping, you're not going to find it at a *campground* in the summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Duh! Giving a 1 star review over seeing RVs and children riding bikes and men without shirts on is unfair and rather...well, snobby and prima donna-ish...for lack of a better word. Steele Creek is a wonderful campground if you know anything about campgrounds and know what to expect in-season.

This place is a fun way to spend a few hours. The tubes have bottoms so your butt stays dry-ish…read more They say not to bring a phone or anything you don't want to get wet, but I was mostly dry except for my feet and the water I splashed in from the paddle. If you wanted to take a phone, don't get a fancy dry bag; use a ziplock bag. This is not white water rafting. The trip took just a little less than 2 hours. The business was affected by the hurricane, so they need your business.

Me and my absolute boys I met 3 days ago went on this tubing excursion and my life will never be…read morethe same. This bro soak had everything: bros, tubes, beers, water, rocks, thrills (small rapids), and more. On the way there, I suggested we stop for sunscreen. I took a considerable amount of shit for this (looking at you, Lance - thanks for driving though). Lance brought me to a CVS and I got 3 sunscreens: spray, cream, face. I lent the spray to Eddy and never saw it again. The cream was confiscated at the airport for being too large. I still have the face one and wear it everyday to remember my absolute boys whomst I love. Most people besides me got insane sunburn, I remain smug about this to this day. Anyway, the tubing was great. I would consider it a team building activity. On the way to the water, the handle on the cooler I was carrying got detached and the beers/ice went everywhere but nobody made fun of me. This meant a lot to me because most would consider me to be on the sensitive side and I felt like an absolute loser AT FIRST until I realized that my boys accept me no matter what. So we got on the water, tied up, floated, listened to music. It was truly v Zen. We laughed, cried, sang. We were at the mercy of The River; I believe it deemed us worthy. The river/spiritual guides say that the graffiti bridge marks 30-40 minutes left. This is not true. The water basically stopped moving so it was like an hour plus. We all got separated but reunited on shore and got sick tacos from White Duck Taco. Neil and I got like coconut margs and they slapped. One thought I had is that it's kinda weird that they sell dry bags and other tubing related necessities at the finish line and not where you drop off your car. Like we got to the end and I see this shop and I'm like damn I wish we could've purchased this stuff BEFORE my adventure. That's my only gripe. I will take my other friends here and test their resolve. I don't believe they have what it takes, but now I know to let The River be the one to judge

Great little park, especially in the summertime! Splash pad is fun! Lots of swings (including baby…read more& disabled). Large playground + toddler playground, both with black rubber mulch (gets hot!). Bathrooms and water fountains. Lots of shade- benches under trees and picnic tables under small pavilions. All fenced in.

Great park in Morganton! What I like:…read more All fenced in. Plenty of water fountains. A couple of shaded pavilions with seating. Some trees that provide shade around some spots of the playground. Lots of parking. What I didn't like. We had planned to use the splash pad there but it didn't work. I didn't see any signs saying it was not working. It looked like it hadn't been on all summer and I'm not sure if it's because of the drought ( A lot of splash pads are still on since it's recycled water but some are not operating regardless). Also didn't like a couple of the slides which I think were metal? Very very hot on summer days. But overall, a wonderful playground where kids and parents can relax. *update* checked the morganton.gov website which confirms splash pad is off due to drought. Ok .. wish there was some signage about this at the park. Will come back next year.

Guides Matt and Jason gave my two boys and me a first class fishing experience. They worked hard…read moreto get us in all of the right holes on the Catawba River, which allowed us to catch more than 50 trout on our trip. They skillfully taught technique, patiently fixed tangles, and brought a great Western Carolina mountain vibe to the whole experience. I'll gladly fish with The Catawba Angler next time I'm in town. A+ experience.

Catawba angler guide Matt Evans took my brother and me on half day trip floating the French Broad…read morenear Ashland. Matt was the consummate guide. He knew the river well and got us onto a bunch of 'honey holes' where the fish were hungry. I am not an experienced angler but Matt was very patient. This was no small accomplishment given all the mistakes made. He set us up with just the right lures, quickly handing us alternative rods already set up when the conditions changed. I caught more fish with Mike than in my last 10 outings combined. This is a life-long memory. We'll be back!