There are three waterfalls at deep Creek and you can access them all with a fairly easy hike. The…read moremost difficult part is in the beginning when you go from the parking lot towards Juney Whank Falls. It's steep, probably a five out of 10 in difficulty but once you get past that, it's mostly easy terrain. If you've ever gone tubing on deep creek, Tom Branch Falls are the one you pass by while in the water. There are a couple benches there where you can sit and relax and look at the falls.

Beautiful place to enjoy the views and get some exercise. We were amazed at all the butterflies…read moreflying around, gorgeous!

Carolina Bound Adventures basically made our trip to North Carolina. They provide any adventure you…read morecan think of. I only wished I could do them all in our vacation! Mark and Dave were our guides for a Jeep Tour and a Canoeing tour. They were both very accommodating and very knowledgeable about the cultural and environmental history of the area. This really was one of my favorite birthday trips I've taken in a while and North Carolina will always have a special place in my heart because of this. I usually try to travel to different places I've never been to before but I really want to go back to NC! Definitely do not hesitate to book with Carolina Bound Adventures! You will have the best time!

My husband and I went kayaking on Fontana Lake. Great experience from start to finish! Owners…read morewere very friendly, had everything organized, and gave great directions on where to meet up. Kayaks, paddles and vests were all in great shape. Kayaking on the lake was quiet and peaceful. Highly recommend this company if you are looking to kayak or paddleboard!

Cute little park to while away a part of your day. On the river. Awesome bamboo area.read more

We took the perfect afternoon splash in the icy cold river water at Oconaluftee Islands Park. With…read moreeasy access from downtown Cherokee, the park offers shady picnic spots, swimming, tubing, trout fishing, or the pleasant option of simply basking and splashing around with friends and family. It was so easy to get to the river. I even found a scrap of a blue crawdad. Easy parking in the lot or along the park.

This is the third waterfall on the loop at Deep Creek. It's just off to the right of where you go…read morein with your tubes during the summer. Very easy to get to, once you're already up at the top. You can see all three waterfalls and do the loop in about an hour.

Indian Creek Falls is very easy to reach from any of the multiple parking areas, making it perfect…read morefor everyone in the family. It's the 3rd tallest of 3 waterfalls you can easily reach from the same trailhead. It is also just a couple hundred feet upstream from the put-in for the tubes. If you continue past Tom Branch Falls about a quarter of a mile, you will see a bridge crossing Indian Creek. Here the Deep Creek trail intersects with Indian Creek Trail, which leads uphill to Indian Creek Falls. You will encounter a set of stairs just a few hundred feet along the trail that will take you down to view the falls. On the return hike you can break off on another connecting trail that leads to a third waterfall named Juney Whank Falls. You can then continue along the trail and it will loop you back to the parking area. We decided against Juney Whank Falls due to time since we were on a mission to visit a few other places, but we did take time to rent tubes from Smoky Mountain Campground. FAIR WARNING FOR ANY FAMILY RENTING TUBES - Deep Creek can be very fast moving, especially after heavy rains and our crew found it very difficult (the word traumatic was used) to get out of the river. Our 27 year old daughter and her husband as well as our 17 year old son did everything they could to safely get our 8, 7 & 6 year old grandsons to shore safely... even lost two of the tubes in the process. [ THINGS TO KNOW ] WATERFALL HEIGHT Indian Creek - 25' (attractiveness: 6 out of 10) Tom's Branch - 60' (attractiveness: 7 out of 10) ROUNDTRIP HIKE - 1.6 miles to both falls, add a quarter mile for all three falls PARKING - plentiful, but limited near the trailhead RESTROOMS - YES PICNIC AREA - YES TRAIL TO FALLS - flat, wide and all gravel BIKES ALLOWED - YES WARNING: Black bears are sometimes active in this area. Pets are not allowed on this trail. CAMPGROUND 92 individual campsites Each has grills, tables and campfire rings. Hookups & showers are not provided, but flush toilets and drinking water are available. [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] Indian Creek Falls was a great stop along our route from Metro Atlanta to Pigeon Forge, TN. We were so impressed with the Deep Creek campground area that we may return for an overnight stay. There are a number of hiking trails and nearby Bryson City has plenty of restaurants to make a food loving hiker happy! 2022 / 92

We did the tandem kayak and absolutely loved it. The employee who assisted us in getting in the…read morewater set us up for a great day! We took our time paddling down to the waterfall and back. I also reviewed the restaurant nearby where we ate after enjoying the small vendor fair and shopping!

Wonderful weekend at the NOC! Rafting, kayaking, food and beer. Can't beat that…read more Check-in for our adventures was easy and quick, lots of parking and tons of space to walk around. Our rafting guide, Big Joe, was very knowledgeable and friendly. We were in the trailing raft and we did a ton of stuff the others didn't. Great guide! Second day we were kayaking on the lake with our kids and dogs. So much fun paddling around with the pups!

When we arrived everything appeared decent except for there was trash thrown all over the ground in…read moremultiple places. I hate that people don't take the time to clean up after themselves or after their dogs if you know what I mean! I'm also a little bit confused with this $5 day pass that you have to pay when I saw no one the entire time we were there walking around and checking so I'm assuming it's on your honor. My other issue was throwing cans out of the water as I was trying to enjoy it with my family. Now I'm not trying to be a Kyle but it'd be nice to see some enforcement of the fools that don't care about trashing up something so beautiful. Shoot hire me and I'll take care of the litter bugs!

Just had a visit to the Cades Cove Campground in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and am very…read moresad. 4 days of the restrooms not being cleaned. Soap dispensers are gone. It is OK to run a generator for up to 12 hours straight! Then we went on the loop road on our bikes. When and why did they stop making Wednesdays, or part of it,bike only? It was so dangerous for They have replaced this road several times and not added gravel to the shoulder leaving as much as a 6-8" drop off. A bike cannot come up or go down that easily. There are multiple signs that say no stopping use the turn outs, many cars didn't follow this and made traffic even worse. Timed entry? Bike Wednesdays continued? Something needs to be done or someone is gonna get hurt really bad. On a side note many communities have a 3' law. Only pass a bike if you have at least 3' between your side mirrors and the bikes handle bars. I was almost hit with a side mirror. And I wasn't riding slow as I have an e bike. The saddest part is that I have been to 37 federal recreation facilities in the last 9 months and this was by far the worst experience.

Cozy 1830 Cabin old but updated with A/C best little high away for those looking for real peace and…read morequiet.

Located within minutes of Bryson City, whitewater rafting, zip lining and a bunch of stuff I didn't…read moreget to do during my stay, Settlers Mountain provided a great place to come back to every night. Our cabin, the Pinery, offered modern amenities while still placing us away from the sounds of traffic. There were plenty of logs available down a short gravel road next to the office for the fireplace and the outdoor grill when we forgot to buy more charcoal. The beds were comfortable and the kitchen offered everything we needed for meals except the food. It provided a perfect backdrop for us to meet up with old friends for a long weekend!

The host was friendly and pleasant and fun to fish.My wife and daughter enjoyed this experience so…read moremuch that this will be a spot to stop by every time we in this area. It remote and beautiful country

We came at very end of the day.. kinda a last minute decision but very good one. We were only ones…read morehere and they were getting ready to close but let us go fish. It was a pretty fast trip but so much fun. You could see all the fish in clear water by the waterfall! They must have been a bit hungry because as soon as hubby threw his wormy bait in they hit it! We caught 3 5 lb trout! It's not a catch release you keep what you catch and it's a price to fish plus a price per pound for each fish. Maybe a little pricey as we spent just over $40 to bring that fish back to cook for dinner that night but it was very cool experience! If you eat trout and enjoy fishing for them I recommend coming to this cute quiet spot.. a little bit of drive down rural narrow gravel roads but a very nice mountain fish experience. The staff was very welcoming even at end of the day they were not rushing us at all gave us our space to fish and helped clean them when we were done.

Mingus Mill is a very short drive from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. So if you are close by it is…read morecertainly worth a stop to see this gem. Mingus Mill was built in 1886. It is a water powered turbine grist mill that is still operational and in its original location. You can buy corn ground there as well as flour, cornmeal, lye soap and some jams and apple butter. It is cash only. Once you pull into the parking area, it is a short walk to get to the mill. The mill is two stories and you can explore both levels. Restrooms are available at the parking area. If you wish there are some trails you can take to see more of Mingus Creek.

This historic mill appears to have been water powered back in the day. On my visit, the mill had…read moresome technical difficulties and was not running, though apparently it sometimes does. The visitor center promised actual grains for sale ground by this mill, which were not available when I went. Maybe it's a seasonal thing, as I doubt a little mechanical issue could disrupt things that much. Either way, the site is nice to look at even if there isn't as much happening as I'd hoped.