Smoky Mountain Attractions and Activities

W elcome to Things to do in the Smoky Mountains, a website designed to help you explore all the popular Smoky Mountain destinations — the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the rich cultural heritage of Western North Carolina.

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Of course the area’s biggest attraction is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As you enter the Park in Cherokee NC, stop at the Visitor Center for maps, books and helpful advice from the rangers. The Center also has indoor exhibits telling the story of the heritage of the area and creation of the Park, as well as an outdoor Mountain Farm Museum. Just up the road you will find Mingus Mill, with it's water-driven grinding stone that still makes stone-ground cornmeal.

Although The Chalet Inn is located on the quiet side of the Park, it is only a one-hour scenic drive thru the Park to Gatlinburg. Many guests who enjoy an extended stay at The Chalet Inn take a day trip to find bargains in the factory stores of Pigeon Forge or enjoy Dollywood.

Whitewater rafting draws thousands to the Nantahala and Tuckaseegee rivers each year, as does whitewater tubing on Deep Creek in the National Park near Bryson City.

There’s antiquing and shopping in Bryson City, Waynesville, Sylva and Dillsboro, a quaint village of over 50 shops, including working artists studios and local crafts. Stecoah Valley Center has a unique crafts gallery and is also a great venue for live music in the summer. Be sure to ask us for a map to the many antique shops scattered throughout the area.

Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley is home to the world's premier collection of rare American motorcycles, memorabilia and a distinct array of unique “one off” American automobiles.

The Biltmore Estate with its gardens and winery is just an hour away, in nearby Asheville.

If you enjoy driving mountain roads, there's the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Cherohala Skyway. And at Deals Gap, the Tail of the Dragon gives sports car and motorcycle enthusiasts 318 curves in eleven miles.

At the nearby Cherokee Indian Reservation, you can learn all about the Cherokee Trail of Tears by seeing the Unto These Hills outdoor drama and the Oconaluftee Indian Village. Visit Harrah's Cherokee Casino. Stop by the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad offers scenic excursions into the Nantahala Gorge departing from Bryson City, plus an excursion to Dillsboro, and for adults, the Carolina Shine Moonshine Experience. And in Bryson City, Smoky Mountain Trains model trail museum has one of the South's largest Lionel layouts with more than a mile of track.

Fontana Lake, with the highest dam east of the Rockies, is great for boating and still water fishing.

And for trout fishing, there are dozens of mountain streams and fly fishing guide services just a short drive from the inn.

Smoky Mountain Country Club and Sequoyah National Golf Club are two challenging and scenic mountain golf courses just minutes from the inn.

The area is famous for trails, including a portion of the Appalachian Trail, Tom Creek Falls, Mt. LeConte & Alum Cave Trail and the mountain bike trails at Tsali, Roy Taylor and Panthertown Valley. Many of these trails, and others, are also available for horseback riding.

The area is also known for its rich gem deposits and a number of gem mines are open to the public.

Spectacular natural beauty is everywhere, particularly at the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Gorges State Park , and at Whiteside Mountain and Whitewater Falls — longest vertical drop and tallest waterfalls respectively, in the Eastern USA.