Best things to do in Bryson City

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The park contains some of the highest mountains in eastern North America, including Clingmans Dome, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between the two states runs northeast to southwest through the center of the park. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Georgia to Maine. With 14.1 million visitors in 2021, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.

The park encompasses 522,419 acres (816.28 sq mi; 211,415.47 ha; 2,114.15 km2), making it one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States. The main park entrances are located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) in the towns of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Cherokee, North Carolina, and also in Townsend, Tennessee. The park is internationally recognized for its mountains, waterfalls, biodiversity, and forests. In addition, the park also preserves multiple historical structures that were part of communities occupied by early European-American settlers of the area.
The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934, and officially dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940. The Great Smoky Mountains was the first national park having land and other costs paid in part with federal funds; previous parks were funded wholly with state money or private funds. The park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1988.
As the most visited national park in the United States, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park anchors a large tourism industry based in Sevier County, Tennessee adjacent to the park. Major attractions include Dollywood, the second-most visited tourist attraction in Tennessee, Ober Gatlinburg, and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. Tourism to the park contributes an estimated $2.5 billion annually into the local economy.

The Smoky Mountain’s #1 Fly Fishing Outfitter and Guide Service!

We offer private, all inclusive, Guided Fly Fishing trips daily out of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Cherokee, and Bryson City. Since 1999 we have guided anglers on some of the most beautiful Trout Streams in all of North Carolina and Tennessee. Discover the majestic streams and mountains with the Smokies’ most experienced Outfitter and Guides.



We have two locations to serve you best, Gatlinburg TN and Bryson City NC.

We guide the following areas, plus a few special ones we don’t advertise;

■The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

■ The Nantahala River

■The Little Tennessee River

■The Tuckasegee River

■WNC Fly Fishing Trail

■Cherokee Fly Fishing Only Trophy waters

■Gatlingburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee

■Bryson City and Cherokee North Carolina

Fly Fishing and Spin Fishing trips for all ages and skill levels

Learn to Fly Fish with the Best Guides in the Smoky Mountains. We offer private all inclusive Wade Trips, Drift Boat Trips, Beginner Classes and instruction. Your choice of Half Day or Full Day Trips. We also offer Hazel Creek Back Country Camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Fly Fishing the Smokies has something for everyone and for every budget. We provide a great day of guided fishing and instruction, along with all necessary gear and equipment, without the price gouge.

Give us a call at (828)488-7665 or visit our website at http://flyfishingthesmokies.net/

Let us help make your trip to the Smokies a memorable one!

Fly Fishing the Smokies is fully insured, licensed, and operates under a special Commercial Use Authorization from the National Park Service

At an elevation of 2,025 m (6,643 ft or 1.25 mi), Clingmans Dome is both the tallest mountain of the Great Smokies and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail. Park your car near the summit and embark on 0.8 km (0.5 mi) walk to the observation tower atop the mountain. Note that while the trail is short and paved, it is very steep. Benches along the way provide a place to rest and catch your breath. The tower's observation platform provides panoramic views of the surrounding area, and handy signs help you identify points of interest. Bring a jacket with you; cold temperatures and rain are common here.

The Swain County Heritage Museum is a mechanism to sustain a living mountain culture and share these traditions with the traveling public. The museum is

a significant southeastern attraction and a jumping off place that will take visitors to every corner of Swain County. They may choose to learn more about a natural feature, Cherokee or Scots Irish heritage, local arts & crafts,old time farming or traditional music. This facility celebrates mountain life and educates visitors, schoolchildren and residents alike about our mountain culture and traditions. Events, displays and activities are throughout the museum to tell the local stories of mountain men and women and feature acclaimed mountaineers like

Horace Kephart, Mark Cathy, William Bartram, and other native mountain icons

(loggers, farmers, and more). The stories and traditions portrayed in the Swain County Heritage Museum will focus on the Scotch-Irish immigration and settlement

and will include: the natural history of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the Cherokee Inhabitation, the Trail of Tears, local Civil War actions, depression-era

mountain life and the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and removal of local people from the park lands. The museum’s permanent exhibits include cabins and demonstrations from each era. Programmatic activities will mirror the interpretive themes and displays and will focus on: rivers and waterways, flora and fauna, archeology, natural science, herbs and native plants, music, language, dance, blacksmithing, wagon making, moonshine making, quilting, agriculture, craft making, basket weaving,

pottery, canning, and storytelling. The goal is to preserve our mountain culture and traditions, and also share them with the visiting public.

Deep within the lush wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountains, Roaring Fork is surrounded with waterfalls, forested hills, and a number of trails to explore. This area, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to frontier cabins and farms. Prone to swelling even after mild rain, the stream's noise echoes loudly through the surroundings. Wander through the Appalachian homesteads in the nearby clearings for a glimpse of an isolated community that survived well into the 20th century. Take a scenic drive along the Motor Nature Trail, a 9.6 km (6 mi) historical road that passes many of the area's major sights.

Traveling up and over the mountains, Newfound Gap Road will take you through fragrant forests of evergreen spruce and pine-oak, offering beautiful vistas along the way. The scenic roadway is the only one that goes through the park's center. Thanks to the visibly placed markers, you can easily locate popular, must-visit sites, such as Clingman's Dome--the park's highest point that provides panoramic views of the Smoky Mountains. If you plan to get out of the car, be prepared for significantly lower temperatures compared to the lowlands and bring a warm jacket.