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

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.

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!

I've been going tubing with Cherokee Rapids on the Oconaluftee River for years and it never…read moredisappoints. The process is easy: they bus you a couple of miles upstream and you float back down to their spot on the river. The trip usually takes 1 to 2 hours depending on the water flow. The river is beautiful and the float is a great balance of peaceful drifting and fun. Most of it is calm and relaxing, but there are a few stretches of mini-rapids that make things more exciting. There's also a swimming hole and a rope swing along the way that make the trip even better. What I like most about Cherokee Rapids is the flexibility. Unlike the other company in the area, you don't have to be back at a set time to catch a bus. You can take your time, enjoy the float, and finish at their riverside landing as long as it's before 5 pm. The staff is friendly, the setup is convenient, and the overall experience is excellent. I definitely recommend Cherokee Rapids if you want a mix of relaxation, adventure, and great service.

The staff was super helpful and wonderful at responding to any test questions you may have. The…read moreriver is super clean but not as full as we would have liked. We took my great niece age 9 for her first adventure. We all enjoyed and would definitely go again !!

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.

Highly recommended for groups with all ages. Took my 4 year old and my parents on a guided trip. It…read morewas a great time and my daughter loved it. She had fun on the rapids and was pretty entertained throughout. Our guide, Dave, was great and so was the rest of the staff. We will definitely be coming back!

Smoky Mountain River Adventures offers great rafting and ducky trips - and you can chose to have a…read moreguide or guide yourself. The staff and guides are hard to beat, as are the owners. The rock jumping mid way through the trip is a lot of fun. The Tuckaseegee River is a relatively warm river for WNC so it's great for swimming in the summer as well. It's a beautiful river that has lush and green flora and fauna all around. Being able to 'chose your own adventure (raft or ducky/guided or non-guided) is a definite bonus.

My first time attending the famous school Rafting Trip. This place is amazing. The customer service…read morewith the owner Will, Aspen and the rest of the staff was heart warming. They assisted the students with their life savers. They took their time explaining what to do and not to do while rafting and carrying the raft to the river. The students were excited to get here and go to the river. Now I am not the one to go on the river but the kids said it was EPIC!!! When you are in the area, check them out you will not be disappointed.

Everything. We thoroughly enjoyed our guided tour with Jari this is our third visit to Nantahala'…read moreRafting and we will do it again in the future.

Our party of eight, ages 13-50, was crazy enough to go tubing on a cloudy day in 60 degree weather…read more On other tubing adventures I've gone on you really didn't get wet. This was not one of those tubing trips! There were lots of rapids and we were soaked -- so much fun! Definitely more exciting than any other river I've tubed. Also, the Oconaluftee is so clean and clear. You should know that it is cash only. Driver drops you off and gives you instructions on where to get out of the river to be picked up. Life jackets were optional and we didn't wear them but probably should have. Daughter's boyfriend lost his tube at some point and she got pretty beat up by the rocks trying to retrieve it and get it back to him. Overall so much fun but my teeth were chattering by the end. Would definitely redo in warmer weather!

Great experience tubing with SMT! The owner's brother entertained us to and from the drop…read moreoff/pickup. The ride can get a little rocky and you will get wet! Be sure to wear water shoes so you can walk on the rocks when necessary!