Travel & Vacation Guide, North Carolina

FROM A SUMMIT MEADOW along a ridgeline, we looked out across the expansive valley that encompasses the 1,000-acre Cataloochee Ranch in Western North Carolina. The fields were still green on this October day, but trees splashed red and gold as far as the eye could see–and that was pretty far. Twenty miles to the southeast, Mount Pisgah’s 5,750-foot peak loomed in the Pisgah National Forest, while a bit to the fight we could see Cold Mountain, the isolated peak that had lent its name to both the novel and the film.

“They scouted us heavily here for the movie,” said Judy B., our guide, and one of about eight family members who still actively participate in the daily operations of the 80-year-old ranch. “We were kind of glad they choose Romania instead.”

Our three horses were tied to nearby trees, the breeze softly rustled the leaves on this bright fall day, and I knew from the sounds of silence exactly what Judy meant. While much has changed the world since the 1800s, and tourism has taken over from farming, ranching, and the timber industry, this area still looks pretty much as it did back then. Directly behind us a split-rail fence marked the southeastern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The woods are as deep as the day that Tom Alexander first saw them as a forest ranger in 1935, and today the ranch that he founded with his wife, “Miss Judy,” still offers the same kind of mountain hospitality, scenic beauty, and soft adventure that guests have been finding here for eight decades. It’s one of the most established family adventure vacation venues in the Western Carolina mountains, featuring trail rides, hiking, trout fishing, and a relaxed family atmosphere, where meals are served family-style inside and outdoors and guests return year after year.

I watched the faces of the kids as they donned their helmets and mounted up for the first of two daily trail rides. Most had smiles as wide as those on the Halloween jack-o-lanterns carved the previous evening, while others seemed raptly intent with the whole prospect of riding off into the hills.

Within a 50-mile radius of Waynesville, North Carolina, the closest major town to Cataloochee Ranch, there is a broad selection of outdoor adventures. Rafts shoot through rapids and canoes glide down rivers. Hiking trails lead to cascading waterfalls and small hands pan for gems in sluice boxes. Throw in camping, mountain biking, trout fishing in wooded streams, swimming in hidden lakes, and a number of manmade attractions and you’ve got an unbeatable Carolina cache of both environmental and commercial entertainment.

Contact: Cataloochee Ranch, 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751; (800) 868-1401; www.cat aloochee-ranch.com.

Here are some other great destinations in the mountains of North Carolina:

BRYSON CITY. In this rugged corner of the state, Bryson City abuts the tallest region of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Clingman’s Dome is the third tallest peak in the eastern U.S. at 6,643 feet. The old-fashioned mountain town straddles the Tuckaseegee River and, while it’s pleasant enough, most people come here for the spectacular scenery and outdoor activities, including kayaking, rafting, camping, hiking, and just driving around.

The town of 1,500 people sits near the eastern perimeter of Fontana Lake, which extends almost 25 miles west to the 480-foot-high Fontana Dam, the tallest in the eastern U.S. It was built in World War II to supply power to nearby Knoxville, Tennessee, where Alcoa had an aluminum plant and the top-secret atomic research plant was esconced at Oak Ridge. The dam and lake are considered top draws here, but when you combine them with Great Smoky Mountain Railway from Bryson City, you have a unique and fun way to explore the lower regions of the Nantahala Gorge. The train has both diesel and steam-powered locomotives, and on one excursion, you can ride to the end of the gorge, then raft back.

Rafting is big here. A number of outfitters located along US Highway 19 west of Bryson City offer whitewater rafting down the Nantahala at various levels for all ages, as well as inflatables for both self-guided and guided trips, mountain biking, rock-climbing, fly fishing, and hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

Contact: Swain County Chamber of Commerce, 16 Everett St., Bryson City, NC 28713; (800) 867-9246; www.greatsmokies.com.

CHEROKEE. Little did the Qualla Cherokee know that one day their geographically isolated home would become a major tourist crossroads. Unlike the rest of the Cherokee, they were not forced off their land in 1838 in the infamous “Trail of Tears” exodus. Today, as the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, they have their tribal headquarters near the western terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the southeastern entrance to the half-million-acre Great Smoky Mountains National Park, America’s most visited park.

Unlike Gatlinburg on the Tennessee side of the park, Cherokee is a relatively sedate community. Nevertheless, downtown Cherokee along US 19 just east of US 441 is densely developed, albeit with an atmosphere reminiscent of the 1950s. Numerous roadside souvenir stands and attractions offer everything from trinkets to locals in tribal headdress.

The best, and by far most interesting, attractions for both adults and kids are about a mile north. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian provides a captivating history of the band, and the Cherokee Historical Association’s 18th century village and outdoor drama is not to be missed. The latter, known as “Unto These Hills,” is a pageant performed by 100 dancers and actors over three stages. It runs nightly, except Sunday, from mid-June to late August.

While a large and luxurious casino run by Harrah’s is also part of the landscape, the real appeal of Cherokee remains the historical aspect of the place as well as various outdoor activities and attractions in the area. There are spectacular drives, hiking trails, and waterfalls.

Contact: Cherokee Visitors Center, P.O. Box 460, Cherokee, NC 28719; call (800) 438-1601; www.cherokee.nc.com.

FRANKLIN. Centuries before Europeans arrived in the area, the Cherokee farmed and hunted in a deep, flat valley that ran between two major ridgelines formed by the Nantahala and Cowee Mountains. Today the area is known as the Little Tennessee Valley, where the county seat of Franklin got its start as a mining town in the 1870s. The gem was corundum, a very hard mineral used as an industrial abrasive, which, when found with certain color-adding trace elements, is known as ruby or sapphire.

They were never found in commercial abundance, but today Franklin is still well known to “rockhounds” as a fine place to muck about old mining areas looking for the occasional gem-quality stone. The nearby Cowee Valley, which is easily accessible by country lanes, is a good place to find them from unsalted sources. Most of the searching is done in sluice boxes using dirt provided from nearby mines, but there are areas where rockhounds are allowed to roam about as well.

The town of Franklin, with its selection of B&Bs, market district, shops, and restaurants, is a good jumping-off place for rugged adventure. The Appalachian Trail runs for 30 miles along the Nantahala ridgeline, making a turn around Standing Indian Basin, a national forest campground and recreation area. Weekenders can do a two-night backpack from the parking area, or pitch a tent along a trout stream for a night or two.

Contact: Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce, 425 Porter St., Franklin, NC 28734; (866) 372-5546; www.franklinchamber.com.

CASHIERS. A hundred years ago, grist mill operators found unlimited hydraulic energy in these North Carolina mountains, but today the main attraction is the flowing force of the water itself. There are said to be 200 waterfalls within a 50-mile radius of Cashiers, a loose-knit town at the intersection of US 64 and NC 107. Dozens of byways branch off the main roads, leading to waterfalls ranging from roaring Whitewater Falls, with a vertical drop of 411 feet, to the rapids-like flow of Sliding Rock Falls off SR 276, with a natural 100-foot slide into a six-foot-deep pool of cold mountain water.

Cashiers is a well-developed crossroads in regional mountain tourism, with a dozen restaurants, cafes, resort lodges, and nearby B&Bs. But one resort here stands out as a top-quality family vacation spot, the venerable High Hampton Inn. Like Cataloochee Ranch, it is run by an extended family with family fun in mind. A 35-acre private lake offers swimming, boating, and fishing for bass, trout, and bream. Fly fishing schools are held daily. On summer evenings, there are hayrides, pajama parties, Mexican fiestas, and cookouts. The Kid’s Club (for ages 3-12) offers daily hikes, nature walks, swimming, games, donkey cart rides, and arts and crafts.

Meals are served buffet-style and everyone dresses up. A huge stone chimney in the inn lobby has four fireplaces. All the rooms and cozy cabins, some with fireplaces, feature mountain-crafted furniture. Parents have as much fun as the kids, perhaps because the High Hampton also has a great golf course.

Contact: Cashiers Travel and Tourism Authority, P.O. Box 238, Cashiers, NC 28717, (828) 743-5941, www.cashiersnc.com; and High Hampton Inn, P.O. Box 338, Cashiers, NC 28717, (800) 334-2551, www.highhamptoninncom.

Bibliography for “Discovering Western North Carolina: outdoor adventures, from rockhounding to rafting, await in the awesome Appalachians”

Jim Kerr “Discovering Western North Carolina: outdoor adventures, from rockhounding to rafting, await in the awesome Appalachians“. Travel America.. FindArticles.com. 19 Dec. 2006.