Elk River Falls is an open recreation area. As such it is not developed and the path is not…read moremaintained. Nevertheless the road into the parking lot is safe and easily passable by typical cars SUVs cans or trucks with either two or four wheel drive. There are no rest rooms or food so you must bring your own food and water. The path is firm and slopes upward gently becoming rocky with prominent tree roots. The 65 foot high big falls is spectacular. It is not a straight fall down. Many deaths have occurred as visitors attempt to dive from the top of the falls. Elk falls ranks in the top 3 waterfall related deaths. The rocks surrounding the first pool are beautiful but have a slippery surface. This park recently reopened after extensive restoration following Hurricane Helene. On the first day it opened there was a fatality of a falls jumper. Despite these challenges this park is a great example of the outdoors in nearly natural and breathtaking state.

The falls are closed as of late April 2026. Road is blocked about 2 miles out from town.read more

As far as lake beaches go, it is nice. But let's remember, this is NOT A REAL beach! $52 for a…read morefamily of five which includes a splash pad, shelter house, and...um... a lake. If your 8 year old sees the "water park" (of which the big slide from the pictures no longer exists), extra $10/person. Nice kayaks! Sorry not included. Lifeguards on their phones. I could go on. Want the beach, go to a real one. Should be $3-5 a person

Yes, the scenery is beautiful, but you can get that in Chimney Rock, Black Mountain, etc…read more The water and beach are just gross. There are ducks (and maybe geese) that live at the beach. They crap all over the place. The first 10 feet of sand is basically raked kitty litter, with duck poo instead of cat poo. The water and beach smell like poo. The beach (above the poo line) would be fine without the smell, as the sand is pretty clean and fine. Maybe the rest of the lake is clean, but it's hard to tell from the beach. Eww. The staff is friendly but not assertive enough. We went during COVID restrictions and half the people refused masks inside and none of the staff enforced anything.

We are new to the YMCA family and love it so far…read more Plenty of exercise equipment to choose from, variety of classes available. We enjoy their Line Dancing classes on Thursday's and Saturday's. Hope to try the indoor and outdoor pools. Easy to find off the hwy at the Mountain View Marriott exit. Located across the street and one light down from the hotel. Huge parking lot. One of the perks of joining is the pool and Aquatic Center are included in the price. Everything looks new and is kept very clean. When the medicine ball was falling apart at the seams it was replaced.

I was a member of a Lifetime Fitness in Chicago area for around five years. Lifetime was great but…read morevery costly. We moved to Kingsport area and joined the YMCA. Especially for the money the YMCA is a far better deal, but even at the same cost it is a great deal. The equipment is in great condition, the classes are great, and the walking track upstairs is a real plus. I could not be happier and look forward to many years of exercise to come.