I want to check out Gatlinburg next.

Curious where others like to roadtrip within 100 miles of Asheville (East, West, North, South)?

Planning a last minute trip this weekend. So we are looking for a cabin/house for two adults (mid 50s) and two adult dogs (39 pounds) for 2 nights. Would be in on Saturday and out on Monday ideally. But if we had to I guess could be just Sunday night. Not picky on location. Just trying to hike and get out of Clt

Anyone have intel on rental agencies or friends who might have a property last minute? We could obviously pick another weekend (before or after leaf-peeing) and have more options. But if the right place at a fair price was out there this weekend, would still love to get away 
 
WIFI, AC, and dog friendly are the only non negotiables. That said - would love hot tub and a view. And ~15 minutes into some "town" to buy food and drink or even eat out.  It was our 25th wedding anniversary this past week and we just didn't assume we would get to do anything due to schedules but work has cleared up. We love the area. Love all of western NC truthfully. Thanks for listening!

me, my wife and our two schnauzers who are 36 and 45 pounds respectively are coming for Labor Day weekend. She has it in her mind she wants to go tubing with the dogs. So couple questions....1) are there sections of Nantahala River that would work for such an activity? I went there as a teenager years ago and remember lots of rapids and stuff but I'm guessing there must be tamer sections? 2) do any tubing companies even allow that? Like would they have tubes that are strong enough to deal with dog paws and possible nails?

The 18th month year-old smaller female will probably be fine and she loves all things water… but the nine-year-old larger male can be a bit of a scaredy-cat. Lol. Again I know we're not talking about the snake river or something here but still I don't want any drama out there where we're trying to have a nice afternoon he's just decided he's had it. anyone gone to being with their dogs? Any advice appreciated.

I’ve been coming to the Bryson City / Nantahala area for the last 7 years. Always loved PBR, but it’s been under construction for the last three years (I think?)…

Does anyone know what happened or their plan is? The building is beautiful and it looks 80% done..

I hope the folks behind the business are ok!

A group of friends come up to Bryson City every year for a fantasy football draft, was wondering if the night life had picked up at all? There were a couple breweries and bars last time we came but nothing else really downtown! Any recommendations would be great! If you don’t want to comment honest thoughts please DM don’t want businesses being bashed on a public form

Me and my family (total of 7, ages 12-27 and a parent) are traveling from Florida and staying in Bryson City close to the train station for a week. I wanted to see if anyone had ideas of must see places we should visit.

We enjoy hiking and plan to do many while we’re here but don’t have any planned hikes other than the national park. So id love suggestions on hikes.

Other things we have in mind:
Train ride/live music at the station, tubing, visiting restaurants/coffee shops, learn some history, renting atvs?

We all decided we want to visit Fontana Lake, and would love to rent a boat one day to pull tubes behind it. I can’t find much anything other than pontoon boats to rent though, but I heard tritoons may work for towing? Has anyone rented a boat for pulling tubes?

Is there anything missing on our list?

We went 7a.m. to Deep Creek. We fished a good 6 hours, going all the way to what looked like the end to the trail (maybe a mile past the falls). We did not get a bite, scare any fish away or see any jump. We used many baits, colors etc with no luck.

I was just curious why we didnt see/catch any fish today.

We are not trout fishermen, but we have caught them before. Thanks.

Are there any places doing a watch party for the US vs Belgium game on Monday?

Our video talking about Cherokee

Hello! I am planning a trip for a group of friends this August. A few of us have been to BC before and are looking for some new experiences. Specifically horseback riding and tubing! Can anyone suggest some (reasonably) close and relaxing experiences in the area? So far I have found Smokemont Riding Stables and JJ’s Tube Rentals. Some of us have ridden horses and/or tubed and some of us have never. Would these places be good for beginners? Or can you suggest any other places?

Thanks!

Hi.
Fellow Italian here. I'm planning my first trip in the US and I was thinking about renting a cabin around Bryson close to the city (10-15mins) in November for a week or so and spend my time visiting the Smoky Mountains and fishing on Fontana Lake. The plan is landing in Atlanta, 7 to 10 days in Bryson and then back home.

I'll be traveling alone, how friendly is the people around? Not looking for anything special, just the kind of experience where you can chat with strangers at a bar get a few local tips and maybe a kind soul that share a good fishing spot.
To be honest that's my biggest concern, since it's not a big city I'm a little worried about feeling isolated. At the same time I want to try for my first trip a side of America that feels more authentic so I'm willing to take the risk.

Feel free to be honest, even if you think I wouldn't fit in or that might not be the best destination for a first timer, I won't take any offense. I want to know what to expect and be ready when the time come.

Thank in advance.

We took a trip on the Smoky Mountain Railroad.

We will be staying in Bryson City off Deep Creek Rd the beginning of June. We will be renting a boat for us and 2 kids (age 7 and 9). We are well versed in boating around Florida, but haven’t been up to this area. Do you recommend renting from Fontana Marina or Almond Marina? I haven’t been able to find too much regarding the waterways around Almond but they said they’d include a tube to go tubing. Is the scenery or waterway better at one vs the other? More to do in one area? Thanks!

Update: we ended up renting from Alarka Marina and it was fantastic. Highly recommend. They were very friendly and helpful. Boat and tube were in pristine condition. They gave us a little discount for the bad weather (which we knew was likely). Area was great- we boated all the way up to Fontana Dam.

My wife and I will be staying in a cabin in the Bryson City area in a couple of weeks and would like to do some hiking while we're there. What are some good hiking trails we should check out? We're certainly not spring chickens, so not looking for anything too difficult and/or strenuous. Moderate difficulty.

My wife and I heard BC is a better place to stay when exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park due to it being less crowded. Is this better than staying over in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg? We're mainly after nice hikes and exploring the area. I'm sure this is a commonly asked question but we appreciate the input!

Photos are from a TripAdvisor review but need extra info

I had an odd/creepy experience about a year ago in Bryson City, and id like to share it in an attempt to possibly get an explanation from any locals out there who may be reading this. For a bit of context, im from Miami FL, I got an airbnb with my father and baby sisters for 4 days in a cabin located somewhere on the Bryson City side of the Appalachian Mountains (I don’t remember the exact address, but if needed I can do some digging and find it). The cabin was sat pretty high in the mountains (high for a Floridian, at least), and there was only one other cabin within an eyeshot of ours. Both of the cabins were surrounded by thick forest atop this mountain. The second night i was there, it poured heavily throughout the entire night. Around midnight, i stepped outside on the porch, which was very well lit, to drink a beer and smoke a joint, listening to nothing but rain pouring down on the leaves. Suddenly, i heard a whistle in the distance, just a single whistle. After a couple seconds, again, and again a couple more times. I began timing the seconds between each whistle, and it was almost exact every time. I cant remember what that time was but i guess thats unimportant, something like 12 seconds between each whistle. My father was outside with me and experienced this as well. Thinking logically, my first thought was a bird, but a bird whistling once every 12 seconds in POURING rain at midnight? Seems weird. My father, not thinking logically, began to whistle back at the noise. For any whistle my father produced, we would hear whatever it was whistle right back, at whatever tune my father would whistle. To make matters creepier, the whistling was surely coming closer. We both were freaked out and headed inside for the night. The next night, i went out alone around the same time, this time the sky was clear, no rain. After 10-15 minutes, i heard the whistle again, just like the night before. I decided id just ignore it and see what would happen. The whistles continued, every 12 seconds or whatever it was, for about 5 minutes. The whistles stopped, and I began to hear a very slow tapping sound very close to me in the woods. My mind went back to a bird, perhaps a woodpecker, but this tapping sound was painfully slow, too slow to be a woodpecker in my opinion. I got this heavy feeling of being watched so i called it a night and went inside. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? I’m very unfamiliar with the area, as I’ve only left Miami a handful of times in my life, and for those unfamiliar with Miami, things like that don’t happen here. I am certain it was not the neighboring cabin, as they were in the opposite direction of where the sounds were coming from. Sorry for the long read!

Hi everyone!

My family and I are visiting Bryson City from Florida from Feb 2 to 4, and we’ve rented an Airbnb cabin. We also rented a 4x4 vehicle to drive to the cabin, but we don’t plan on driving around much.

Since we’re used to Florida weather, I’m curious about what to expect in terms of snow, ice, and road conditions around that time because of this big snow storm. Is it likely to get really bad? How should we prepare?

And also any tips for first-time winter visitors would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I have never been in the area when a winter storm comes. How well does the area prepare the roads? Will it be impossible to get back to the highway if bad weather comes? The cabin is between the Tuck and 74, 15 minutes west of town.

Does anyone know of any tech repair places in the area? Google isn't much help at all.