Bryson City, NC local activities
and attractions
Welcome
to Swain County, North Carolina – home of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, the Cherokee Indian Reservation and the charming
mountain town of Bryson City. We’re your base camp for adventure,
your link to a rich culture, your passage to the Great Smokies –
the oldest mountains in the world. Unlike other mountain communities,
nearly half of Swain County is in the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park. In fact, our borders embrace almost 500 square miles of protected
federal land and wilderness areas, four whitewater rivers, Fontana
Lake and Clingman’s Dome, the highest mountain top in the Great
Smokies.
Winter,
spring, summer or fall, we’re the place to be when you want
to enjoy the outdoors. Southern hospitality comes naturally here.
And for a small mountain town, Bryson City has amazing variety.
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Nothing
cools you off like rafting or kayaking through a deep mountain gorge
on a rushing whitewater river. Everything you need is right here.
“All Aboard” at Bryson City Depot. Take an old-fashioned
railroad excursion through the beautiful Nantahala Gorge.
Spend
the morning rafting down the Nantahala River. Never rafted before?
No problem. The Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and many other outfitters
offer fully guided tours as well as guide assisted tours for the
more experienced rafters.
There
are hundreds of miles of blazed and wilderness trails for hikers,
bikers and horseback riders. Detailed maps are available at our
visitor center.
Fill
your creel from miles of mountain streams generously stocked with
brown, rainbow and the elusive native brook trout. Our lakes are
swimming with bream, bass, walleye and crappie just waiting to take
your bait. Canoes, rowboats, pontoon boats, ski boats, houseboats,
fishing boats and even inner tubes all have plenty of room to roam
across Fontana, our 30-mile lake.
Play
across mountaintops at our 18-hole, par 72 Smoky Mountain Golf Club.
Find out what Great Smoky Mountains golf is all about. Native American
history and culture come alive at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian,
Oconaluftee Indian Village, and “Unto These Hills,” the
outdoor drama that portrays the poignant story of the Cherokee Nation.
For
over 100 years we’ve been welcoming travelers and vacationers
to the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains. Discover our
pioneering past as you explore this unique World Heritage Site.
National historic landmarks and mountain traditions abound.
The
only place on Earth with over 1,400 flowering plants, 140 types
of trees, and more than 300 species of animals, birds and fish.
The
Road to Nowhere and Waterfall Trails in the Great Smoky Mountains
The
Road to Nowhere — With so much to see and do in the Bryson
City area, it is hard to imagine a day when you might have nowhere
to go. But should that happen, there is always the Road to Nowhere,
a scenic mountain highway that takes you eight miles into the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and ends at the mouth of a tunnel.
On the map, it is called Lakeview Drive, but to the citizens of
Swain County it is The Road to Nowhere — A Broken Promise.
The
Great Smoky Mountains National Park's half-million acres are equally
divided between Tennessee and North Carolina. And with roughly forty
percent of the Park in Swain County, Bryson City is the ideal spot
for a relaxing Smoky Mountain vacation — away from the more
carnival atmosphere of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
Even
though the GSMNP is the nation's most-visited national park, most
visitors only experience a small portion of the Park. The most popular
areas are along US 441 between Gatlinburg and Cherokee and Cades
Cove. But there's a lot more to see and do, particularly in North
Carolina's half of the Park.
Deep Creek — Less than two miles from downtown Bryson City,
the Deep Creek recreational area of the Park offers activities for
the entire family, including camping, hiking, trout fishing and
the area's best whitewater tubing. From this entrance hikers can
access the many backcountry trails that wind through the Park, or
take a leisurely stroll along the creek bank and picnic by the water's
edge. Deep Creek is probably best known for its three waterfalls
— Juneywhank, Toms Branch and Indian Creek Falls. All are just
a short walk from the parking area.
Just
a tank away – The Smoky Mountains of North Carolina are only
1 hour west of Asheville, just 3 hours from Atlanta and Charlotte,
and 2 hours from Greenville, Knoxville & Chattanooga. Located
in the northwest region of the state, we are just a short drive
from Tennessee and Georgia. Only a day drive from other States east
of the Mississippi River. Contact Us if you need more assistance
while you are on the road.
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