Smokey Mountain Small Town.. Big Fun

NOTE: This Campground Shut Down in the early Spring of 2006. Please see Review of Turkey Creek Campground Best Things Nearby:
This is located approx. 6 miles from the Nantahala Outdoor Center. The outdoor center boasts lots of outdoor activities including rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, and hiking. Also, the campground is located on a paved walking trail, about a mile long, that winds along the river. This is especially good for families traveling with children and bikes.

Best Things About the Resort:
The river access is the best thing about this campground. It allows for easy access for kayaking and fishing. If your simply interested in relaxing, it is fun to watch the people come by in their rafts, squealing and sceaming.

Resort Experience:

A Beautiful Setting
The campground is situated on the Nanatahla River, and includes camping on two river islands. The river boasts lots of activity, including rafting, kayaking, and fly fishing. The campground accommodates both tents and RVs, and has clean hot showers. They have a general store that has some groceries, a sub shop, and a pool table.

Tips and Suggestions recommend that in the summer you make a reservation, so that you get a campsite away from the road, and if you want a site on the river, make your reservation early. The store is especially helpful, because the nearest convenience store is 10 miles away. Also, remember that Swain County is dry, so if you want alcoholic beverages, plan ahead.

I really enjoyed our time here. We often camp on vacation and found these facilities to be the best of a private non-chain campground. In fact, I would say they were better than some KOAs we have stayed in.

• Campground Type: Private


• Campsite Type: Tent


• Price Range: $10 - $20


• Cleanliness: Very Good


• Campground Facilities: Excellent


• Recreational Facilities: Excellent


• Campsite Satisfaction: Excellent


• Family Friendliness: Very Good


• Service: Excellent

Yellow Rose Realty (http://yellowroserealty.com) rents several cabin options. We stayed in a three bedroom/two bath near Lake Fontana in between Bryson City and the Nantahala Gorge. We stayed in Creekside Cabin number 615 over Memorial Day Weekend 2006.

The motif was definitely grandma country, including floral couches and kitschy crafts, but had all the amenities of home. We especially liked that the home had a grill and hot tub. The master bed and bath are very large and are located upstairs. The bottom bedrooms consisted of a room with two twins and a room with a double. All the beds were comfortable and had plenty of extra linens. Although the property sits across from a small pond and has a large front porch, there is no view in the summer to speak of. However, it is fairly secluded from your neighbors while still being very accessible to the road.

This house, like many other rentals we looked at in the area, does require you to dispose of your own trash. This is because there is no trash service in the area. While we were getting ready to leave, a man came to clean the hot tub. We remarked at how clean we found everything, and he assured us that the cleaning crew is excellent.

In addition to the hot tub and grill, this house had satellite TV, DVD, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. The realty company was very helpful in arranging a home with the amenities we requested. They also allowed us to add an extra night on to our rental with no hassle.

I would recommend this company to families and to anyone who is going to be staying for more than one night. Cooking our own meals saved a lot of money. Also, the luxury of the added space was really a nice change over the average hotel room.

The Basics: The Nantahala River is located in western North Carolina. The US Forest Service requires that Nantahala River rafters weigh at least 60 pounds, and all the rafting companies strictly adhere to this regulation. These guidelines are in place due to water temperature and child safety regulations. If you have children under the weight limit, there is the option to raft a slower river with much warmer water (the Tuckaseegee) nearby. The water is very cold, and wetsuits would be advised if rafting in the months outside of June, July, and August. The river is excellent for families, church groups, and beginning rafters.
There are numerous outfitters throughout the Nantahala Gorge. We found USA Raft to be the most cost effective. However, there are many to choose from offering different advantages. For example, NOC is at the take-out, which means you only have to ride in the rafting bus once. This is nice since the bus is often very warm and uncomfortable. I took my whole family rafting before my wedding, and we had a blast. Some had never been rafting before, and this was an excellent adventure for everyone in our group (ages 14-68). The trip is a half day of fun Class II-III rapids, culminating at Class III Nantahala Falls.
USA offers guided or non-guided rafts, and offers a safety and basic skills drill to all customers renting equipment. We did it unguided, but some of the people in our group had previous rafting experience. Some of the younger, more adventurous part of our group took inflatable kayaks. These allow you to be closer to the water and really experience the rapids. This is just good old-fashioned fun.

FUN! FUN! FUN! For the Whole Family!!!
The :Great Smoky Mountain offers several different packages and destinations throughout the Smoky Mountains.
There are also several different cars to choose from including and open-air car, an air-conditioned car, and a dining car. I have ridden the train on three separate occasions with three different groups ranging from my grandparents to my niece and nephew, and everyone has had a great time. I think the open-air car is best weather permitting. This car allows you to see more, and you can interact with the people you pass by on the train route. Note that some of the train rides extend through lunch, and lunch must be purchased with a separate ticket or by reservation. I forgot on one occasion, and my grandparents had to live on chips.
They offer theme excursions such as mystery dinner theatre and wine tasting. They offer something for everyone, it is just important to pick the right train. A honeymooning couple probably would not enjoy a trip on the Thomas the Tank Engine train. The sundown dinner train may however be very romantic, especially when the hills are burning with autumnal foliage. The rafting combo is an exceptional value, but does make for a very full day. This can be a great commodity if this is just a weekend getaway, but if you have more time you may want to do the two activities independently of one another.
Overall, this is one activity in the area that should not be missed by anyone. This old-fashioned train ride demonstrates the simpler way of life that is apparent in this part of the country. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.