Franklin Garden is one of those little downtown surprises that feels like it has more history…read morepacked into it than the small size suggests. The start of the space is the clock tower, which is actually the old cupola from the 1881 Macon County Courthouse that once stood across the street before the current 1970s building replaced it. Seeing it repurposed here gives the garden a sense of continuity, like the town kept a piece of its architectural past instead of letting it disappear. And if you happen to be here right on the hour like we were, the bell still rings, fiving the spot a small-town old-courthouse kind of charm. The garden itself is tidy, easy to walk and makes a nice quick stop while exploring Franklin. It sits right in the middle of things, so you can wander through, take a look at the tower, and be on your way without any hassle. It's the kind of place that doesn't try too hard but ends up being memorable anyway, especially if you appreciate historic details that have been given a second life. [Round number review 4600 in North Carolina - 505 of 2026 - 25687 overall]

Everything was grand -again in 2025! Our outing club does this adventure as often as possible! The…read morehurricane did not harm this region much at all. The crew at endless rivers gave us a great day on the water. Neal our guide was skilled and fun! Thank you from high point nc. Lynette

They deserve all 5 stars for a great trip down the river. Everyone we dealt with was warm and…read morewelcoming. This was not our first time down the Nantahala, we did it the first time with a much larger company. Decided to try this mom and pop type and the experience was way more tailored to our group. We didn't have to wait for buses to fill up as we were the only raft. Our guide was Neal and he was awesome! Very experienced and a great personality. Would highly recommend this outfit. They even took pictures at no additional cost! The wetsuits and jackets were also comped!

Great place for kids of all ages! The animals are well taken care of and the couple who run this…read moreare so nice. Had a great experience with our 4 year old granddaughter and her parents. Adorable bunnies, great pig named Winnie and donkey named Winston! You can feed the animals and children can have a pony ride around the farm on Elsa. Charming place and well worth your time!

Having spent most of my adult life fly-fishing with guides around the globe, I can highly recommend…read moreusing Tom Hopkins as a guide to fishing the waters of western North Carolina. I had the privilege of employing Tom as a guide during early spring in March of 2015. He is one of the best guide that I have ever used. He is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced guide who can put you on fish that you would never know existed. Tom is a professional who truly enjoys the many pleasures of fly-fishing. He can be very instructive without being intrusive. His enthusiasm is contagious. I would also recommend that you stay with Tom and his wife Carol in their guest cottage near Franklin, NC. As you would expect from this hospitable couple, their home is beautiful and accommodating. Ron

I found the aquarium and fly fishing museum through a search for dog friendly and kid friendly…read moreactivities in Bryson City. We walked from the main street to the facilities within five minutes. There were scavenger hunts for the kids, sidewalk chalk to draw on the sidewalk outside, plus picnic tables and bathrooms. You don't have to pay anything to go into either place, but a donation is kindly recommended. There was one volunteer working the front door, who gave us information about both places and said if we had any questions to ask her. There were plenty of fish, salamanders, and frogs to look at, and my son loved seeing the fish. The dog was curious about the fish and the tanks, and it was nice to be able to bring him inside with us. The museum has a lot of information about fly fishing, where to do it in the area, and famous fishermen. Overall, it was a nice activity to do that was free, kid friendly, and dog friendly.

This is a great small aquarium worth a visit! The animal husbandry was great and the employees were…read morewelcoming. It took us about 10 minutes to enjoy the whole thing.

Great place! All kinds of stuff to do. Definitely a teenagers dream. Pastors are great.read more

I went to this camp a couple of times in middle school with my youth group. It's a very adventurous…read moreChristian camp that affords a lot of freedom. The staff was always nice and energetic. This is no luxury camp, but if you are looking to play in the mud and partake in paintball, swings, a zipline, and other high energy activities, snowbird is the place for you.

This gym is under new ownership and they're doing everything right. Whether you're into fitness,…read moreheavy lifting, or classes, they have all of it. It's not a huge space but you will find what you need. And the owner is very friendly. Unfortunately, I messed up when I worked out here. I have been lifting heavy for over a year, and of all things, I get an umbilical hernia from Russian Twists. If you're not familiar with them, there is no heavy weight required. It just puts strain on your abdomen if you go too hard. I was using a medicine ball and at a high rate of speed. So, I messed up. The current plan is to pretend I don't know about the umbilical hernia when working out. This is an easy hernia to fix but still a few thousand. Dang it! My point is that I go with energies and the universe. I can't go back here since I messed up here. But it is indeed a great gym and I definitely recommend it! I just threw in a personal experience/story.

Excellent gym! I was in town for the night and needed a place to workout. There is most anything…read moreyou could need. Easy access and clean facilities. Will be back!

Took my grandson and he loved it. The owner and Richard were amazing. My grandson still talks…read moreabout his visit here. We will do it again!!

Took a trip to Franklin, NC for a little mountain getaway. Gem mining in this area was listed…read moreeverywhere as a top attraction, therefore there were a lot of options with different pricing structures. We settled on Sheffield Mine as it's one of the oldest Ruby Mines still in operation in the Cowee Valley and overall, it felt like the best of what we were looking for. Really enjoyed that they call big rubies "honkers." For a flat $20 admission you got 3 decent sized buckets for some good old sluicing. You can pick native buckets (local specialty gems like rubies) or rainbow (various gems) buckets to clean and find stones. This was a nice and COVID safe outdoor activity. You will get dirty so don't wear anything nice and best to take off your jewelry before. Water was a bit cold on your hands' overtime, which I'm sure is season-dependent. Most people were wearing masks, even outdoors which I appreciated. To mine three buckers took around 2-3 hours. So, a good value for the money. I didn't find many rubies, but one of my friends found one of a decent size. I got a lot of cool looking stones from the rainbow buckets, which was good enough for me. The guide was very knowledgeable about gems and also very entertaining. He was giving us a lighthearted hard time (as I didn't know what I was doing) made the event even more fun.