Mingus Mill is a very short drive from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. So if you are close by it is…read morecertainly worth a stop to see this gem. Mingus Mill was built in 1886. It is a water powered turbine grist mill that is still operational and in its original location. You can buy corn ground there as well as flour, cornmeal, lye soap and some jams and apple butter. It is cash only. Once you pull into the parking area, it is a short walk to get to the mill. The mill is two stories and you can explore both levels. Restrooms are available at the parking area. If you wish there are some trails you can take to see more of Mingus Creek.

We heard they did tours so we stopped. There was no tours, not sure if they no longer offer them or…read moremaybe just stopped at a bad time. You can still see the outside of the mill which is very cool!

Awesome trail! Came here on a Saturday around 10:30AM, road leading up to it was a bit narrow but…read morenot too bad. Parking area had a few cars but still had space to park. Hike wasn't too steep, had a few river crossings but all manageable. Trail has snow in some parts but pretty packed, gets a bit slippery at the top but all fine with just good hiking shoes with grip (I forgot my hiking poles and don't have crampons / spikes). Waterfall was super pretty, lots of water. Great hike, would recommend!

The trailhead is difficult to find and off the beaten path. Come early, parking area only holds…read moreabout 8-10 cars. This one is for hikers seeking a trail that doesn't see much traffic. It's very secluded. Trail is well marked. The trail starts rather easy, then gets progressively more difficult. It's a strenuous 8+ miles round trip. Not good for anyone out of shape, not safe for young kids. Must wear hiking boots. Uneven terrain, some climbing required. Make sure you have about 8 hours of daylight left before starting the hike. Very beautiful path, lots of very old, very large trees. You'll hear nothing but the trees and the creek. Incredibly peaceful environment. The falls at the end of the path are beautiful. Dare to put your toes into the cold mountain water. Be sure to bring lots of water, rations, and rain gear. Bring basic First Aid.

I was quite excited to stop in and drove by several times during my vacation, but kept missing…read moretheir hours of operation. Basically, the answer is to go early and not wait until the afternoon. I was hunting down some vintage cooking gear like cast iron and other assorted items that they just made better back in the day. There was a lot of promise, but very little delivery. I didn't see anything I was looking for. They had a lot of variety of the same items and they all looked in good shape I suppose. The prices though were clearly not a bargain. In fact, of the things I was looking for and know the competitive pricing on, I found nothing of value. The cast iron cookware was all abused or no name, or newer stuff and the pricing, while seemingly reasonable, were much too high for what you get in my opinion. If you have the time and want to be entertained and don't have something specific that you are looking for, this may be the place for you, but bring a credit card because you aren't picking up anything on pocket change.

First let me say that I frequent these places anytime were on vacation! What a great find! The…read moreowner was in and as nice as can be! We looked around for a solid hour. Yes lots of the same thing by all different years models etc I thought that was awesome! With a ton of variety!!! At check out we got to talkin w the owner about it all, he's very knowledgable! And idk what that other reviewer was speaking about pricing being high, came to find out the owner there has no over head which explained the pricing being so good (IMHO) huge wagon wheels for $75 sorry but that ain't high! Old 40's bottles from $3.99. Just a ton of everything! Go explore & enjoy! We sure did!!

Newfound Gap is a natural gap between the east and west sides of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Gap…read morewas important to early settlers on the region traveling across the mountains. From the Newfound overlook, we could see Gatlinburg, TN to the northwest and Cherokee, NC to the east. A sign at the site marks the line between Tennessee and North Carolina and is a fun photo stop. The Overlook is a MUST visit in the Park. Parking is inadequate, we circled the lot several times before finding a spot. Parking passes are required for parking in the National Park and can be purchased from kiosks at the Overlook. Plaques along the walkways are somewhat faded and difficult to read, but tell the story of the mountains and their inhabitants. A rock structure, half paid for by John D. Rockefeller, honors his late wife, Laura Spellman Rockefeller. We climbed the rock structure and enjoyed photo opts and breathtaking views of the mountains. Unfortunately, the structure is not wheelchair accessible. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Overlook. Trail support volunteers were onsite to assist hikers. There are a set of restrooms at the overlook. There are no other amenities at the site.

Nice views of great smoky mountains. Nice stop on the way to Cherokee from Sugarlands.read more

When I first visited Maggie Valley thirteen years ago, it was winter. My father had just let his…read moregirlfriend pick out the business that we would own, and, thus, our fate. Thanks a lot, poor visoneer. I remember having bad pizza and trying to be hopeful that there had to be more action than a Burger King and Walmart. Maggie itself was wholesome and hibernating. I still say that Maggie, the town sweetheart, had a colorful nightlife on the side in that there valley. (The present Maggie mascot walks the streets, waving sweetly.) I moved outside of Maggie the following summer. Life plodded on. I worked at the family business. Defying rumors, the petting zoo never reopened. "Ghost Town in the Sky" would open for a month or two, only to be beleaguered by a poltergeist who always caused the main attraction- the roller coaster- to cease producing fun. "Carolina Nights", dinner theatre for seniors, eventually closed and caused a Carolina Blight. No, really, cause Maggie was not the same after that happened. The Eaglenest, a concert hall, was built but failed to soar. The lack of alcohol and Walton-level of fun killed it. The pizza place stopped tossing and closed. Bakeries would pop up from time to time, only to burn out. At least two motels burned out and down to the relief of the owners who then drove away from Maggie in new RVs. I was glad when Joey's got a new owner. The old one had an inflated ego with prices to match. When my grandmother with Alzheimer's walked down the street naked, an outraged citizen called the cops. Nope, brain diseases are not allowed in Maggie. My grandmother was shipped off, never to be free again. So, now the fun part. As I have stated before, when my father died, his wife, T., and her alcoholic brothers who lived (!) at our business threatened my husband, F., at our business within a week of my dad's death. We never returned to our business, and it quickly succumbed under their influence. Neighboring businesses started to complain about drug use and trash. I contacted the health department, but they did not care that the things living at my business had by choice stopped using running water. That is a public health hazard. One neighboring business joined forces with my ex-stepmother by buying stolen business property off of her after F. had asked them to stay away from her. When F. confronted the man that he had spoken to, the cops were called. F. said that the cop put his gloves on. F. was told not to go to our business again. He checked it daily. He was doing more for Maggie than the police were. And without gloves. The police stated that they could do nothing about the property theft. What the...huh? Isn't that your job?! We had also asked for a police escort to the inside of the business so that we could access the safe that was in my ex-stepmother's living quarters. We told them that my brother and I owned more shares of the business than T. They would not provide us with an escort. F. decided to go to the town manager, Mr. Clark. We went to the town center building. We got separated. I went up to the office window to ask for help. The phone rang. The woman that worked the desk looked at me, ignored me, and picked up the phone instead. How rude. I walked away and looked at photos of Maggie, who in her older days was no Ava Gardner. I found F. by wandering the weird halls. (The building has several ill-placed additions.) Our meeting with Mr. Clark seemed promising. F. asked Mr. Clark if he could evict T. and co. from our business premises. He said that he would contact people, and that it had been done once before, when addicts had resided in front of "Wheels Thru Time", the central cog of Maggie. We told him about the accumulating trash, and how we were not sure if we had enough business funds for to be picked up promptly. Oddly enough, Mr. Clark said that Maggie Valley would remove the dumpster, and F. had to tell him that that could be viewed as theft. Mr. Clark's rude secretary appeared and announced that Mr. Clark had a meeting. We left. My kid and I went to a playground that was built for listless toddlers. It is behind the town center building. I suddenly saw Mr. Clark on his cell phone outside, done with his "meeting" within seven minutes of us leaving. Yep, that's what you get when you try to be positive. Self-important announcers and fake meetings because real ones require too much effort. In the end, no one helped. We reached out to numerous entities to no avail. A naked woman walking down the street caused more concern than drug addicts living at a local business. Maggie is still there, despite one cop stating that it was dying. A dollar store was added. Gift shops are the main breed. Frankie's is doing great. Mini trucks are still truckin' at a yearly event, along with leather and cycles. Spirits- the drinking kind- have ben added to add new spirit. There are new sidewalks, but I will never walk down them and into the sunset.

What a great little town in western NC just outside of Cherokee. It is quiet and laid back with…read moregreat views of the Great Smoky Mountains. They have some nice shops and restaurants around and of course Ghost Town in the Sky. It is very close to Soco falls and like I said it is not far from Cherokee. It is a great place to spend a couple days with lot of places to explore.

I'm not big on being squashed in a crowd or having to fight my way to a food booth for a small…read moreportion of food, so we decided to go this year as soon as they opened on Sat. morning. We were able to walk up and down the street and check out all the vendors had to offer, and then we made our way to the booths we wanted to try, some with no lines. This way, we were able to try far more food than in years past. Granted, after being there a little over an hour the crowd was starting to close in, but at that point we had had our fill of the food, at least. I really appreciate that the festival seemed more family friendly this year since we had our grandson with us. The baby changing station and rocking chairs were a great idea. We noticed that alcohol sales are cut off relatively early, and this gives the restaurants the opportunity to take over when the festival closes. All of this, I'm sure, will continue to improve the reputation of FFG going forward.

Having lived near downtown Greenville for 5 years now, Fall for Greenville has always been just an…read moreannoyance to me...3 days of detours when trying to go to the grocery store, traffic snarls where there should be none. Finally this year, I decided to throw myself into the fray to see what all the excitement was about. As it turns out, it is actually worth the effort. Great food, great music, surprisingly well organized for an event with that many people. I'm a bit of an introvert, so I have very short limits on being able to push through crowds. Most of the booth lines were managed well enough that I never waited more than 4 minutes, and once I got my tickets and a beer, I worked my way to one of the concert stages and had plenty of elbow room to stand and enjoy some live music. I checked out 2 stages and 3 artists. Each was very different- from folk to rock to country-and all were really good bands. The beer garden had a nice selection of local beers represented, and the Main Street showed off some of what is making Greenville a place that out of town foodies should put on their radar. Will I go back next year? Heck ya!

Having been to the Chihuly museum in Seattle, I was so happy to see this monument erected at the…read moreend of my swamp rabbit trail walk. Walking up on it, it seemed like a huge rose-colored Rock sugar sucker. The base is surrounded with flowers and benches to sit near by. It's simple yet beautiful. The little ladies walking by had to stop and touch the glass. It's inviting. I love little artistic surprises that show up in cities and towns as you walk around. Greenville has so many wonderful qualities all over town. I've enjoyed my short visit and look forward to next time.

We saw this on a map while walking in the park and knew we had to check it out. A little…read moreunderwhelming in person but still very cool!

This is a very nice, walkable, historic city that has lots to offer. There are plenty of eateries,…read morehotels, and bars. There's a beautiful, scenic river that runs through it with waterfalls and an amazing pedestrian bridge that offers some great pictures! The town is very walkable, with plenty of crosswalks... in fact, it's easier to walk it than drive it because of all the lights. Definitely would return!

Well worth the visit! Very quaint with activities for all types of people. Isn't a huge city, it…read morecan all be explored in one day.

Beautiful afternoon. Enjoying the views and good company. We were on an adventure to see the Blue…read moreGhost Fireflies in Brevard.

Hard to get a table unless you are a guest. Food is a average, but priced for tourists. You are…read morepaying for the view (which is amazing!)

The GOOD Beautiful scenic driving and views. Cute tourist…read moreattractions and shops. Cherokee has the casino and museum as some of the biggest attractions here. The masks in the museum were fascinating. I liked the museum and seeing the painted bears around the city. The coin machines to make your personalized imprinted Cherokee coins were a favorite of mine. The BAD & THE SAD: We did see some tweekers getting high in their cars. Lots of trailer parks and abandoned buildings. The people in the town's museum were nice, but the staff seemed quiet and not very friendly & communicative. The casino had its high and lows. Everyone seemed to be more somber in this tourist town that depends on tourists for their income. It was kind of depressing.

I am a big fan of the Cherokee nation and its capital. I must say that I don't always like all…read morethe tacky shops with moccasins and rebel flags (seriously in this day and age), but the museum, culture, people, and the river park are aces. There is a big casino there for those who like that sort of stuff...and you can find boiled peanuts. Food is ...eh...still looking for a great local restaurant but I know one exists...ill find it. I