This place is on my handy dandy map of caverns and a bucket list item…read more Water levels were unusually low while we were here. I think I'd like to come back when they are higher, as some of the under water lights were at eye level and may have caused temporary blindness. Just kidding, but they were very bright. Our tour guide was Elijah and I think he did a good job of keeping the group together. There were at least 10 kids under 10, and several toddlers. Often we couldn't hear what was being said over the kids, so if you really want to hear what's going on, maybe come on a weekday while school is in session. At $100 for 3 people, this was kind of pricey, but worth it to me. There are so many things to see, and the history and artifacts are fascinating. I can now say I've been on a boat, in a cave, on an underground lake. Pretty cool in my opinion. The sweet shop was closed while we were there, but the glass blowing shop was open. They had a ton of interesting figures for sale, big and small. Definitely check this place out!

It's awesome to go underground & take a boat ride. Very Tolkien-esque…read more No, actually the history & "discovery" (rediscovery) are all very interesting. Viewing the old stills & imagining times past. Albino bass are creepy & sad. Reminds me of The Descent creature, but hey, a cool adaptation /observation. My favorite aspects were the wonderment & the crystals in the gift shop.

We have visited winery and Vineyard twice the latest being yesterday for their crush fest both…read moretimes nothing but highly professional people wonderful at the serving counters the was just great getting to stomp grapes beautiful food trucks beautiful vendors will definitely return Joe and Nancy Pace Murphy NC

Yonah Mountain Winery…read more We stayed a night thru Harvest Host. Spectacular grounds! Beautiful winery set up. Plenty of seating with sails for shade, as well as wood and stone cover. We enjoyed the Pinot Noir with a cheese and salami and crackers charcuterie. We also had music . Beautiful afternoon! We also bought a wine bottle candle which was a little different ; the bottle was cut sideways. The grounds for RVs was set up nicely with an oval circle for easy in and out. We were the only ones there! Wow! Our dogs were able to run around and enjoy off leash. That's always a plus! The only thing was that the grass was not cut , but we made it work. We did hear a large pack of coyotes in the middle of the night. Epic!

An amazing and unforgettable experience - perhaps the crowning jewel of our entire trip. Olivia was…read morea knowledgeable and personable guide. I loved hearing about how the cave was discovered by little kids - brothers - who spent their childhoods playing in it, and how they later grew up to save enough money to buy it outright and keep it in the family thereafter (and it's still privately owned by the family to this day!) At the start, we were a bit concerned about the amount of walking - and in particular, the steps. Our youngest is at the age where he wants to be independent, but he needs extra time to manage stairs (and some of those passages were narrow and steep enough to where we didn't feel comfortable carrying him) but we needn't have worried. Our large group had some adults who needed extra time with stairs, as well as people who took full advantage of our pace to snap more photos (and I've been on another cave tour where we were rushed through and unable to take many photos at all); nobody seemed to mind. I was also worried about not bringing a sweater, as the cave is 58 degrees year round, but it's a little bit of a workout which keeps you warm. If you have any health issues like a heart condition or anything affecting the function of your lungs it might be too intense (I'm just fat, and it was mildly strenuous: just when your heart starts to pound and you're breath is coming in faster you've reached your next destination and you return to resting state - this happens a couple times.) The cave is like being on another planet. We snapped some amazing photos. When it was time to return to the world above, my kids were sad that it was over.

If you're heading to Townsend. Tuckaleechee Caverns is a must-do…read more This place is absolutely worth the visit. Pricing is reasonable, and the experience is unforgettable. We had Kash as our tour guide and he was fantastic, energetic, kind, and amazing with kids. He kept everyone engaged, answered every question, and clearly knows the caverns inside and out. Even in a large group, you could still hear him clearly throughout the walk. The tour runs about 1.5 hours and covers over a mile underground. Be ready for stairs, lots of them (around 87 steep steps on the way out), and this is not wheelchair or stroller accessible. The cave floor is wet, so good shoes are a must. You'll also duck in a few spots, but not constantly. The views are unreal: a waterfall, a stream, stalactites, stalagmites, and massive natural columns you get to see up close while learning the history behind them. It stays cool inside, but you'll warm up from all the walking. It's well organized even when multiple groups are passing each other, and everything flows smoothly. The gift shop is also a win: well stocked, fair prices, and they accept cards. Bottom line: if you love nature, caves, geology, or just want a unique family experience, this is 100% worth your time.

We were out day tripping and decided to do something we haven't done in years and we went mining at…read morethe Consolidate Gold Mine. We can't say enough about how friendly and helpful everyone was on our visit. We want to give a shoutout to Tyler for checking on us while we were mining for hidden treasure and helping us identify what we found. We saved exploring the mine for our next trip here bringing the grandkids. Great family friendly atmosphere.

A very cool and educational experience! It was very interesting to go down into the mine and learn…read morehow they did things way back then. Our guide Chandler was very informative and made the tour fun. Gold panning afterwards was also fun to do! An overall fun activity to do when in the area.

My classmates and I had a wonderful time from beginning to the sad end of having to go home. We…read morewere a large group of 36 people so we got a good deal for the middle package which was about 1.5 hr ride down the river. The instructors, from my experience and what I heard, were super animated and energetic! They made the experience for us first timers, a breeze and fun. There's a photographer who follows you along the way in which you can purchase all the photos at the end for $45. Given the quality of the photos, I feel as though it's a very fair price especially as we ended up with almost 40 pictures to look through. Overall, I had a perfect first white water rafting experience. There's bathrooms, showers, and changing rooms on site if you want to freshen up for the long car ride home. All the staff members were great especially our guide, Justin!! I would love love to come again and do the longer 6 hour ride in the near future. Highly recommend this company!

Best rafting experience I've ever had! I highly recommend asking to have James as your guide! This…read morerafting experience was epic! Back to Florida I go. I'll see you next year James!

Saw a black bear at the top of a tree here that held up traffic for a bit, but the staff was quick…read moreto come clear everyone out. A beautiful scenic 11-mile loop. Driving took us about 2 hours, maybe less. It could also take more if you stop a lot to see everything. We only made one stop at one of the churches. We also saw more wild turkeys. The loop is closed on Wednesday for cars so they can open it for walkers and bicycles.

11 mile, one way drive with jaw dropping scenery and some old homes and churches along the way. We…read moresaw some horses and deer, but unfortunately no bears. We arrived around 6am on a Saturday, and while there were other cars around, we had no problem finding parking and there were no traffic jams. We finished up around 9am. The visitor center and mill are located about halfway through the drive. It opens at 9am though, so if you get an early start like we did, it probably won't be open. Definitely get the map for $1.25 so you know what you're looking at. On Wednesdays, they close the loop to cars and it's only accessible to pedestrians and bikes.

Wow is all I can say. The Farmhouse Inn is awesome. I am so happy I picked this place to stay…read more Laura, Kyle and even Roger were awesome hosts, and I could not have enjoyed my stay there anymore than I did. Beautiful inside and out and very clean and homey. I felt so welcome from the minute I walked in the door and never have I stayed anywhere in all my life traveling where I enjoyed myself immensely. Everything about the Inn is wonderful and beautiful. Felt like home. My room was so very cozy and comfortable and was always so clean, peaceful and quiet. Laura is an awesome cook and prepared breakfast everyday for us and even accommodated my "gluten intolerance" problem and made sure that I did not have anything with gluten in it. I really enjoyed the fact that she hung around and shared stories with us during breakfast. Both Laura and Kyle were always so gracious and very kind. I really didn't want to leave. My first time to Tellico Plains and I will never stay anywhere else but the Farmhouse Inn when I visit Tellico Plains. I also really enjoyed the game room that was over the garage. Kyle has such an awesome collection of memorabilia. The front porch patio was so relaxing and enjoyable. Very beautiful and peaceful. Thank you so much Laura and Kyle. Can't wait to come back in September for another memorable vacation. Best wishes to you both and to Roger. Loved that cat.

Top Ten B&B! Never mind the cute, clean and quiet rooms; the comfy bed; the "parlor" with TV,…read morebooks, tourist info; or the wide porch perfect for an evening cocktail. The five stars go straight to the hosts, Laura and Kyle, (and their sidekicks, Ellie and Sidney), who are friendly, gracious and there to anticipate your every need and answer all your questions. Extra stars for location...the Farmhouse Inn is perfect for exploring all the area has to offer. Walk to historic downtown Tellico Plains; drive the skyway; hike up to Whig Meadow on the Benton MacKaye Trail. I'll call the Farmhouse Inn first any time I'm in the area.

Pretty easy trail that goes up almost the entire way. Took us about two hours or so roundtrip…read more Overall a beautiful and peaceful hike with amazing mountain views.

Today was our second time back to Alum Cave Trail, and we did the 2.3 miles to Alum Cave Bluff and…read morethen turned back, for a total of 4.6 miles. You can go on for a total of five miles to reach Mt. Leconte, but since the weather was turning and it was starting to rain we cut our hike short. Like others, I suggest getting to this trail head early, as at 7:30 am half the parking lot was full!! We love this trail in particular for its endless water features, lots of scenic spots to take pictures, unique bridges, and the breathtaking view from the top. Even with the bad weather today, it was something spectacular watching the fog lift above the golden trees. If you haven't been, this trail is definitely worth your time and attention. You will want to wear some sturdy walking shoes for this one and maybe even bring a walking stick!!

We chose the Nantahala Gorge Excursion. We opted for one of…read morethe open air cars and it was in the back, right in front of the caboose. It's a hefty walk from the parking lot to the train cars (in the back), but totally doable and they have golf carts for anyone that needs a lift. On our ride we were checked on every so often by a worker, but mostly left to ourselves. It did rain several times but even in the open air car, it wasn't a problem at all. We stayed dry! There was live entertainment that came by for a bit and the lady sang and played guitar. The strangest part was the nearly hour layover at Nantahala Outdoor Center. We saw some cool photo ops if they weren't sopping wet, and plenty of picnic tables. There's a food truck and food on board you can purchase. We snacked during this time from the food truck, but if we had to do it again, I would've packed a lunch and we would've ate at that stop. The sights are beautiful and the four hours passes rather quickly. It's definitely something to do at least once!

I thought this would be a fun way to see some of the land around the Great Smoky Mountains NP, and…read moreit was. I bought tickets that included a lunch and unlimited sodas in one of the covered carriages. This was lucky as it rained, but we were dry inside. However, our train car was freezing, and they did not see the need to make things more comfortable.. I highly recommend a jacket, even if it is warm outside as many people in our train car were incredibly cold. For our meals, we chose one chicken and one beef meal. It is a four hour train ride so it was nice to have something to eat, but if I were to go again, I would see if there is an option to sit in a train car where you could bring your own food. I recommend taking a pass on their meals. The guide was attentive to filling our drinks and would tell interesting stories as we traveled. We stopped midway for about 30-40 minutes at a spot on the river where the kayakers can practice, then we hopped back on the train and returned to the start. It was a very pleasant day.

Hardman Farm was a nice walk from my hotel. There is a gift shop however, they do not allow pets…read moreand walking I had my dog with me. So that was disappointing that I couldn't go in and explore. we could walk around the grounds and explore the barns and areas of the farm. There are some fantastic views. The main house is gorgeous. The barns are cool. I liked seeing the dairy barn. The land is one of my dreams. The walk back to the hotel was just as nice under the shade of trees following the river.

Stopped in on a whim and just caught a guided tour heading out...so glad we did. Faye was our tour…read moreguide and she moved at a good pace and had some interesting history to share. The house is preserved to it's original state as much as they could (they've added electric lighting, etc) and there's lots of art and personal items to check out. Great way to spend an hour or two if in the area on a nice day. You will walk outside for a good portion of the tour so dress appropriately! There is a lovely gift shop that I'll keep in mind if I'm ever in the area and need a little present or hostess gift :)