Not a five star resort, but certainly a five star experience! We parked our little tear drop on…read moreCreekside tent site with water and electric... for $25 for the night!! The owner was lovely and accommodating and offered classic southern hospitality. This was selected for geographic convenience, but will now be a destination on future trips!!

Me and my riding buddy camped here 2 nights while on a motorcycle ride in Nantahala. It is only 7-8…read moremiles from US-19/74, and there is a nicely stocked convenience store about 5 miles away on US28. It is a dry county, so bring your own booze! We took the area in the back where we were the only ones...it is tucked away from the semi-permanent RVs in the front, and has its own toilet. There are some fire pits and we made a fire every evening and again when we woke up. Nice to sit by the fire and warm ourselves given the 45F lows when we were there. Overall a nice campground, with a friendly and helpful owner. He brought us firewood, and even some ice from his home. The bath house was easily the cleanest I have seen anywhere! I will stay here again!

Captain Mark was spectacular! Turns out after meeting him, we realized we went to the same middle &…read morehigh school in Winter Park FL. His boat tour was amazing. He cares deeply about his patrons & their safety which was so impressive to me. He was so knowledgeable and shared interesting information about Lake Glenville & the surrounding Cashiers area! We will be back for another tour next year! Thanks Mark!

What a gorgeous day to be out with Captain Mark on his pontoon boat. Entertaining and informative…read more Lovely scenery and a relaxing afternoon. Not the biggest waterfalls in the area, by far, but this excursion was well worth it!

Great to be able to rent a motorcycle near the Tail and other rides in the area. I would offer…read morethough---get your ducks in a row before you get down to the area (ie, know where you're going with decent directions) because cell service is pretty week, and pulling up a map on Google or Apple is not possible on the Tail and nearby areas. My son and I just "kept going" down 129 and did eventually the site for the bike pickup, but it is just a small building on the south side of the road. The rental process was straigtht forward and his bike (Honda Rebel) worked out just fine. Drop off with leaving the key in the mailbox at the door---easier than a car rental.

We were a bit late picking up our two bikes, but the folks at Wolf were kind and patient. Both…read morebikes ran great (Honda and BMW) with no problems. I would advise not to take the 650 Honda with knobby tires on the dragon but it was great on trails. Nice hassle free way to ride in NC - go for it!

This is my favorite place to stay in the Smokey mountains. We stayed for a week and didn't want to…read moreleave. The service and hospitality was simply wonderful at Simple Life. We will make sure to stay here every year visit the North Carolina mountains and recommend to everyone we know. Awesome time.

Stayed 5 nights while motorcycling in the area. Great little cabin with comfortable bed and a/c…read more Well kept and quiet grounds just a minute from town. Picnic table, grill, chairs and fire pit outside. Clean bathroom and shower right next to the cabin. Ice and firewood available. Excellent host, also a motorcycle rider. Really a perfect spot to end your day after spending time in the area. Looking forward to visiting again.

We stayed the maximum time allowed of two weeks and really enjoyed Gibson Cove. We had a beautiful…read moresite on the water and were able to fish, swim and tie our boat up right in front of our campsite. Every site has a picnic bench, fire pit, water hookups, 30 or 50 amp hookups and pretty level gravel parking areas. WiFi is spotty and towards the end of the campground (second loop) it's pretty much non existent. We have a repeater and tethered off our phones which worked well for us. For campers with trailers or RV's there is one dump site for all, none available at individual sites so if you stay for awhile be aware of this. Some folks called a guy who came in and pumped their black water tank for $25. The camp hosts will have information for you if interested. Public restrooms are old, need some TLC but otherwise they're clean. There is a shower with a curtain. Fun hikes/walks just a quick drive away at Jackrabbit Mountain. Beautiful walk from your campsite across the Chatuge Dam. Mornings when the world is waking up and evenings at sunset are my favorite times to wander over. Beautiful place to relax and regroup. We will be back!

This Visitor's Center is beautiful and clean, and is in a great location…read more The lady at the counter was helpful, and offered a map and brochure to assist us in finding our chosen activities. There is a room full of informative They have coffee and bottled water available at a charge.

This is our first stop on the way home from Gatlinburg. Restrooms are clean, with paper towels, as…read morewell as a blow dryer. There are benches to sit on when you exit, and a lovely gift store next-door. There are still recycling receptacles in the parking lot, and complimentary poop bags for cleaning up after your dog. Past the parking area are places to eat under shaded alcoves.

We went to Franklin, NC, for the 2017 eclipse without knowing where we would camp. Following some…read moresigns from the main road led to this small campground in a pretty little valley, where we were welcomed by the proprietor Dennis. He only charged us $20/night, even though it was eclipse weekend! He also offered us eclipse glasses for $3, if we hadn't brought any. Our spot had a flat area big enough for two tents, a little grassy area, a concrete slab with a picnic table, and an electric outlet. Dennis provided an anodized tub for a fire pit (most spots had fire rings) and had a stock of split firewood bundles at a very reasonable price. The bathrooms were nearby, had showers, and were clean the whole weekend. The campground had a swing set and playground, a nice grassy field, and a small fish pond with ducks to feed. Our seven year old had a great time playing and making friends. It's not big or fancy, but if we are ever back in the area, we know where to camp :)

DEEP CREEK TUBE RENTAL operates out of the general store for Smoky Mountain Campground. It is the…read morelast tube rental opportunity on the right side of Deep Creek Road before it enters into the park. This became our first adventure of a week long vacation as we stopped here during the drive to our destination. We checked with several of the nearby tube rental businesses and decided on this one not only because of their location, but also because they did not charge us to use the life vests required for anyone under 13 years old. Other places either charged an additional fee or wanted a deposit. The staff was friendly and I even had a little sports banter with the owner, who had a God-awful Alabama hat on... Go GA Bulldogs!!! LOL But where they earned 5-stars was because of their honest dealings . We visited two days after heavy rain had swollen the river. While the overall volume was significantly down, it was still fairly swift. This caused a few traumatic moments as three adults had to fish three kids (6,7,8) out of the creek in fast moving current once they reached the take-out point near the bridge. This of course was not the rental companies fault, BUT it would have been useful to know the best places to exit the water. Some sort of map or signage along the creek would have been extremely helpful. Exiting the creek was so difficult by the bridge that safety for the youngest became an alarming issue and two rafts (and a pair of shoes) were lost in the battle between holding on to the kids or holding on to the rafts. At checkout the owners charged us about $55 per raft, but told us they would refund the money IF the rafts were found by the end of the day. They were indeed found and the owners not only texted us the same day, but had the money in our account before weeks end. I TRULY appreciate the honesty because we would have been none the wiser! [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] Aside from the difficulty exiting the creek, they also had a wipeout on a bottleneck rapid further upstream that really traumatized the youngest of our group. I didn't think the poor kid would ever go in water again, but luckily a few hugs and a slice of pizza brought him back from a dark place. So for families with kids single digit in age, I'd recommend putting your rafts in at Tom's Creek Falls when volume is up (and not the one near Indian Creek) which avoids the more challenging area for tubers. In retrospect I would have dropped my crew at the trailhead and driven back to the General Store and waited to help them exit there. It would have given them a longer ride in the river. Still, it did make for a lively story during the remainder of our vacation! It's amazing how little boys go from scared and crying in the moment to superhero's who called on their Aquaman powers when retelling the tale days later! LOL PS - The tube rentals are ALL DAY until closing (7pm). Cost was $8/tube with a dollar off coupon for checking-in on yelp. BE SAFE and enjoy! 2022 / 93