Brought the kids yesterday. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately too many beer cans and alcohol…read morebottles along the shore and in the water. I wish people knew how to clean up after their self. It was beautiful tho. The water was low but it did get deep pretty quick. The shore was muddy, you could see where the water used to be. It wasn't busy but everyone was nice. Easy access to the water, the picnic area and bathrooms were relatively clean. Will definitely keep coming back til it starts to cool down. A changing area would be convenient and the hike trail was clear. Great place to bring the kids.

It's a beautiful spot for swimming, or to launch your kayak from. Great for picnics and it's very…read moreeasy to access and handicap accessible. The con is the putrid smell from the unclean restrooms and the garbage is overflowing. I went up several times with my grandchildren and truly it was not kept up. Such a shame as it is a popular tourist and local destination.

Good place to visit!…read more Duke Energy worked with the city/state/County? to build this beach/Park. Nice parking spots on both sides of the road. Bathrooms located up in the parking area. A nice ramp down all the way to the water. Seriously, you could wheel a wheelchair all the way into the lake. The sand is very nice. And you can easily swim out to and hold onto the barriers. There's a dock off to one side where you can fish off of. We'll thought out and done pretty well. They even have donated life jackets for kids hanging here at the beach! My reasons for 4 instead of 5 stars: Dogs. The path down to the beach was littered with dog poop. On the path, on the side, everywhere! It was gross and unsanitary. Don't know if dogs are allowed on the beach, but they've turned the park area to crap. The beach is quite small. I do believe too small to support all the parking. The beach is very steep. I know it's the mountains, but if you're going to drain the lake and make a beach, a gentler slope to the beach for the little ones would've been preferable. A larger swim area. Some people just want to swim! Maybe another 10 feet out into the lake for swimming, not just waking.

This is a paved walk that follows the river in Franklin and is about five miles long. The park is…read morebusy with walkers, runners and people wandering about. Lots of places to sit if you want to enjoy the scenery. the path crosses over the river a few times and is easy to reach from town. You can request the bus to drop you off near the path.

How hasn't the Little Tennessee River Greenway been reviewed yet? Nicely kept, convenient, and…read morelovely, so much so that I almost hesitate to let the cat out of the bag. Wish the mileage was a little clearer so will have to come back when I have time to sneak in a longer run. I kid, of course. Go check out the greenway and support the good work of Friends of the Greenway or FROG.

This has been our favourite walk forever. Do not let the couple of bad characters hinder you from…read morethis beautiful hike, because getting to the top is its own reward with sheer beauty. This property was donated to the state park and open to all. Very clean and well-kept trails, dog friendly, and a nice place to rest and relax, including restrooms at the science centre.

I discovered this place through my daughter. She has gone here twice- once through her middle…read moreschool, and once through a local camp. She raved about it, and we finally got a chance to check it out. So happy we did! Purchase Knob was generously donated by the McNeil-Gilmore family to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is 535 acres of land that rises ultimately to 5,086 feet at the knob. In the meadow below the knob, at 4,850 feet, there are two buildings housing offices, a lab, a classroom for fifty students, and housing for up to eight scientists. Views are 180 degrees. You can hit the Cataloochee Divide Trail here, too. A refurbished cabin originally from the 1870s is nearby, which I will get to in a bit. When you get to the park, you will be blocked by a gate with a sign to the left identifying the park. It is open once in a while for scheduled visits/field trip students. It is easy to get your vehicle locked within the park. (People cannot get locked in.) Park your car on the sides of the road. Just walk around the gate if it is locked. Bring water, and a jacket in the spring or fall. The 2.5 mile round trip trail is basically a wide, dirt road that will eventually lead up to the main buildings. It is well maintained. When you get a glimpse of the building at the top, you will also see a grass trail leading upwards. I would take that trail. It is a shortcut. If you like to walk, just keep going, and the road will eventually lead to the building as well. On the way up, you will see many types of wildflowers. We heard (up) and spotted a hawk (down). I got a photo of nightshade, all the while with my body centimeters from a hidden cliff edge. Be careful on grassy edges! The open areas and tree-filled areas were of equal beauty. In early September I saw purples, greens, grays, and yellows, all framed by a clear blue sky graced by fluffy clouds. Your soul will take this in, and it will hold on to it. When we got to the top, we relaxed. We did not go to the knob proper. We used the very clean bathrooms, and laid down in the field right in front of the buildings. There is a water fountain. You are allowed on the deck, but not in the buildings unless you are with a scheduled group. There are picnic tables grouped close together, and bear-proof trashcans and recycling bins. You can check out the outside of the weather station that is a bit away. I would not traipse around the adjacent fields. I saw tagged plants and left that area so that we would not screw up any data. If you decide to go to the actual knob, you have to blaze your own trail. As of two days ago, the footbridge leading to Cataloochee was out. There is a sign warning of that; be careful crossing creeks. Anyway, that trail is easy to find; just look for signs. Check out the bulletin board for lists of the types of birds and butterflies that you can see there. I saw (possibly) a Cloudless skipper. It was fluorescent yellow! My first. To get down to the restored Ferguson cabin, just leave via the "grass carpet" trail. Make an obvious right and hitch your horse, or kids. This right will lead you to the cabin. The Fergusons were the first farmers to have an elevated farm. Their apples are still there. Do not pick anything. Do not get in the boar trap. Do not get near bears. Do not bother the cow spirits. Call to make sure horses are indeed still allowed. Bears and boars can hurt you. We leave all snacks in the car. You never know. Call the general number to see if bear activity is intense before going to this park. Middle school and up teachers, call this number to schedule a visit: 828-926-6251. This park welcomes wimpy and tough hikers mid-March through November. Call if you have a desire to hike in the deep winter. Remember to check out the Purchase Knob WebCam online for weather and views. To get to this park, take Exit 20, stay on 276 South for five miles. Get on Hemphill Road and stay on Hemphill Road for four miles. This review is dedicated to my daughter Sophie, a quick, beautiful trailblazer.

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

Cozy 1830 Cabin old but updated with A/C best little high away for those looking for real peace and…read morequiet.

Located within minutes of Bryson City, whitewater rafting, zip lining and a bunch of stuff I didn't…read moreget to do during my stay, Settlers Mountain provided a great place to come back to every night. Our cabin, the Pinery, offered modern amenities while still placing us away from the sounds of traffic. There were plenty of logs available down a short gravel road next to the office for the fireplace and the outdoor grill when we forgot to buy more charcoal. The beds were comfortable and the kitchen offered everything we needed for meals except the food. It provided a perfect backdrop for us to meet up with old friends for a long weekend!

I will start this off by saying that I grew up in Swain County and was a multiple repeat customer…read moreprior to this. I rented a deck boat from Almond Boat & RV Park for $450 plus fuel. While the boat ran adequately, it was obvious that maintenance and cleanliness were not priorities from the time I cranked the boat. The only gauge that functioned properly was the tachometer. The other gauges either didn't work entirely or only worked part of the time. Considering the price of the rental, I expected all of the boat's instruments to be operational. On top of that, the boat wasn't very clean when I received it. There was black, dried algae underneath the front seat cushions, which clearly indicated the boat hadn't been cleaned in the time leading up to my renting it. If they are going to charge premium rental rates, customers should receive a clean, well-maintained, fully functional boat. At the end of the day, my group had tracked a small amount of dirt into the boat. I rinsed out almost all of it before returning the boat, leaving only a little dirt on the floor. When I pulled in, Jim was already on the boat with a 5-gallon bucket ready to rinse out the boat, indicating he could clean it with that. However, Logan insisted it would require an hour with a pressure washer and charged me an additional $50 cleaning fee. Given that the area in question is only about 4 ft wide (at most) and the boat is maybe 19 ft long, a 1 hour estimate seems to be either a gross overestimation or simply intentionally dishonest to make me concede to the cleaning fee (you decide). After paying over $500 for 8 hours of rental, I find it unreasonable and dishonest to nickel-and-dime customers over a small amount of dirt that is completely predictable when people spend the day at a lake. It's even harder to accept when I know that the boat wasn't clean to begin with. The boat served its purpose, but between the poorly maintained gauges, the questionable initial cleanliness, and the unnecessary cleaning charge, I won't be renting here again. Logan clearly doesn't care about repeat business, and if this is how they treat a local, repeat customer, I can only imagine how they'll treat everyone else. I will now look to the many other marinas on Fontana Lake to give my business to. I suggest you do the same.

Nice place to load and unload your boat on the shore of Fontana Lake. Clean restrooms, nice…read morefriendly staff and pristine clean grounds. I visited here several times this year to go boating and swimming with friends in the warm waters of Fontana.

Yesterday was our second summer rafting the river with this company. The river is perfect for…read morerafting with kids. We had so much fun last summer that we requested the same guide again this summer. Douglas was great! He even played some of his music for us to enjoy afterwards. Thank you for another amazing day!

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!