What a spectacular hidden gem right outside of the Asheville/Waynesville area. This is such a…read morebeautiful place with amazing views and photo opps. There is a trail that takes you around the full length of the lake, a great way to get in daily steps while sightseeing. It's in the center of a neighborhood with stunning houses. There's a garden along the trail with a variety of flowers and trees. There's a community pool where you can swim daily for a fee, and a place to kayak, canoe, go boating, etc. Great place to take the family, go out with friends, or to spend the day alone in reflection.

The atmosphere is polite & friendly, but communication is not their forte, and a number of our…read morepre-arrival questions were not answered accurately. The lake is lovely and the fireworks were stunning! The Bluegrass Concert was quite good. However, make sure you get an exact quote of everything you will be paying for! The advertised all inclusive $579 "4th of July Package" with many events, attractions and free meals actually cost over $1100! The ad was opaque enough as to seem, in hindsight, deceptive. We did not add anything extra, but the undeclared hidden costs included: occupancy tax, room tax, food tax, ticket tax and daily 18% service fee for the FREE breakfast buffet. Whether the opaqueness was intentional or a major oversight, I cannot say, but buyer beware! FYI: Our room was fine, but was never cleaned in our 4-day stay, which did not bother us, but you may feel otherwise). I inquired ahead of time as to GF options and was assured that the kitchen is sensitive to food issues and offers plenty of GF options. Not true. The free hot breakfast was fine, but had no variety day to day. They ran out of coffee repeatedly (long wait for more), the baked goods looked yummy, but no GF options. The young people working the buffet were the only exception to the otherwise very pleasant staff. They appeared to hate their job. The "Southern B-B-Q" dinner featured hamburgers and limited uninspired sides (no GF). The "picnic lunch" was mediocre, with a very long wait to get a hamburger. A few more bits of info: Parking near the Terrace hotel was woefully inadequate. The elevators broke down at least 3 different times due to "over heating", so climbing stairs to the 6th floor was an issue. The ice machine on our floor remained broken for our entire stay. The weather was beastly hot (obviously not their fault). The extra activites (kayaks, paddle boards, Swan boats) were all for an unadvertized fee. The swimming pool had an occupancy limit and was at capacity, so you had to wait until people left to be able to enter the fenced pool area. The mini golf was free - and was also tiny and in the worst condition of any I have ever seen. The wooden sides of the boxes were literally crumbling apart, and the "green" had large wrinkles and ridges creating an extra challenge. Not surpirsingly, there was no waiting line to play. BTW, our non-lake-view room faced a mass of unkempt bushes and weeds. The "lake view", for which we could have paid extra, had an expansive view of the black flat roof of the level below with the lake in the distance. (Save your money - you can sit in the comfortable lounge and view the lake). Lastly, our 7.5 hour drive took 11 hours both ways (trying each of the only 2 options we had). Few routes will take you to the lake, and damage from Hurricane Helene has significantly impacted travel in that area, so depending on where you live, you may be in for a rough time reaching your destination. If you don't mind the drive, don't care much about food options and quality, and are content to simply sit outside and admire the lake, this may be a good place for you. We will not be back.

This lovely park is at one end of Maggie Valley and was a welcome stop after too much driving…read morethrough the mountains. I found the public restroom in the pavilion to be a more than welcome break. A number of features here including a covered picnic pavilion, the above mentioned restrooms, water fountain, power outlet, picnic tables by the stream and even charcoal grills. The traffic whizzing past was distracting but it was still a very great place to get out of the car for a bit. [Review 1165 of 2024 - 3655 in North Carolina - 22188 overall]

Mount Mitchell State Park is truly an incredible place and a must-visit destination in North…read moreCarolina! Standing at the highest point east of the Mississippi River, the views and mountain scenery are absolutely breathtaking. The drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway is an experience all by itself, with beautiful forests, mountain overlooks, and spectacular scenery along the way. Once you reach the summit, the cool mountain air and incredible views make it well worth the trip. The peaceful atmosphere, beautiful trails, and natural beauty make Mount Mitchell a perfect place to get away, explore, and enjoy the great outdoors. It's one of those places where you can stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and appreciate how amazing nature really is. An unforgettable experience and definitely one of the highlights of the Blue Ridge Mountains! I highly recommend visiting Mount Mitchell State Park--you won't be disappointed!

This has to be the most beautiful State Park I have been to. The highest peak east of the…read moreMississippi offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. It is a short hike from the parking lot to the summit. The concessions lady was super nice and even had a biscuit for my dog. There are gorgeous hiking trails throughout the area. I will be back for sure.

Pack Square is the heart of downtown Asheville, with an old-town charm surrounded by rows of local…read moreshops, taverns, antique stores, and historic municipal buildings that bring the community together. It's the old meeting the new of offices and restaurants. It's a wonderful place to stroll with your dog as along cobbles paths or park, grab a slice of pizza, and spend the afternoon browsing the weekend arts and crafts vendors. What's missing is music...preferable from shops or speaks from town square...that would really hit the mark.

Got to stop by and explore a little pop up market! What a fun way to spend our Saturday.read more

My family and I stopped in here while we were in the area looking for different parks and…read moreplaygrounds and things. I didn't really see a playground here per say but we did walk around for a little bit and enjoy the sights and the scenes of the water in the trees around the area so over all this is a pretty nice park to get out and explore and walk

This is a cute little riverfront park that you can walk along with your dog, have a picnic on the…read moreside of the river or under the cover of trees for a nice little afternoon. It also leads to the dog park as well which is a super great one that is separated by dog size. It was so nice to walk along the river with my dog on our way to the dog park and I saw people having a picnic next to the river which was such a cute idea that I wish I had. Go check this park out for sure! Lots of activity there.

Open field, check. Playground, check. Restrooms, no. Clean, no. Luckily we go prepared so we had a…read moretowel and wipes on us to clean off some of the playground equipment before the kids played on them. They were very dirty so I dint know how often its cleaned. But to tale kids to an open field to run around is beautiful. Not having a real restroom nearby was hard with kids around.

We were on a spontaneous trip to the mountains and on the way home we decided to drive through Lake…read moreLure. The leaves were absolutely beautiful and we had to get out and take a closer look. The park to me is beautiful! It's pretty basic with an open field to run around in or have a picnic, a playground, boat landing area, and public bathrooms. It also has some walking trails that we went down and saw some of the prettiest trees filled with fall colors. We had the best time just walking around and taking it all in before heading home.

This is one of many beautiful roadside stops that you can find throughout the state of North…read moreCarolina. It is free and located just off of the main road. This isn't a place you hang out for a long time at unless you do a picnic. Really , it is a great place to admire the vast beauty of nature and take some Instagram worthy pics, then keep it moving. Certainly worth stopping for at least once.

This spot is the first or second that I stumbled upon as I drove along a portion of the Blue Ridge…read moreParkway. So glad it has plenty of parking because the view from here is breathtaking. I'd love to spend a bit of time just observing the way that the sun moves along the mountains, because the way the mountains cast shadows on the trees here is stunning. In fact, at one of these outlooks there may have been a couple doing just that.

We had a blast paddle boarding down the French Broad River. It was the highlight of our trip!…read moreElizabeth is such a joyful human, she brought laughter and fun to our day as well as gave some great recommendations for our travels. We will absolutely be back and will spread the word to our friends about Wai Mauna!

Easy to book, great service, and wonderful views! Took my sister paddle boarding on the 7 mile self…read moreguided trip that passes the Biltmore. Amazing and relaxing day. Very peaceful.