A fall weekend trip to Bryson City

I have a discouraging number of half-finished posts in the queue, including at least one other travelogue (our summer trip to Michigan!)… but also no hesitations about bumping this one to the top.

In my last post, I wrote that we’d canceled our trip to Lake Lure in the wake of Hurricane Helene and wouldn’t be traveling to the North Carolina mountains this fall. The whole family was torn up about this, but John especially so. Once the storm passed, he stewed over what to do for days: travel to the Lake Lure Airbnb and use it as a base to volunteer with a local organization, leaving the kids with family or friends? Cancel the Airbnb and head to the Virginia mountains? Stay home entirely?

While we felt called to volunteer, our original rental was without power and water. And though we love the Virginia mountains, it felt wrong to bail on our beloved NC in her time of need. As the days passed after the storm, the messaging out of Western North Carolina became more nuanced: yes, some areas were devastated and not ready to receive visitors, though they coveted our aid (and would for a long time). Other areas, however, were open and ready for business – and, in many cases, desperate for it. Fall tourism dollars are incredibly important to these towns, and the blanket messaging of “don’t travel to WNC” had really hurt them.

So, following NC’s travel advisory, we rerouted our trip to Bryson City. We had wanted to visit for years, but had stopped short of Bryson City, in the far western reaches of the state, in favor of the more accessible mountain towns of Boone, Blowing Rock, or Asheville. With those off the table, we happily drove a tad farther – a little less than five hours from the Triangle – to our destination.

It was a delightful weekend. The weather was perfect, and we logged some gorgeous hikes, ate good food, and rested and relaxed together. We also got to support some mountain businesses that were extremely grateful for our presence, and though we are no saviors, we were grateful to get to be a tiny part of bringing hope in a bleak time.

To my fellow NC folks, or those in surrounding states: consider a fall or winter trip to the mountains if you can. NC’s tourism site is regularly updated with an interactive map of areas that are ready to receive you, as well as lots of other helpful information. If our trip is any indication, it will be a blessing to them and even more so a blessing to you.

Ready for a little Bryson City travelogue? Let’s do it!

FRIDAY

Our goal was to leave our home at 8:30am, but if you know us at all you are not surprised to hear we left at 9 o’clock on the dot. Time was of the essence because we planned to eat lunch at Haywood Smokehouse in Dillsboro which, at over four hours away, would have tested the bounds of our young travelers’ stomachs even if we had arrived perfectly on time. Still, we endured the drive pleasantly enough with the help of lots of snacks and a third or fourth listen through of On the Night Train, the audio mystery our kids can’t quit.

Our drive was clear, but as we got toward the mountains, we passed tons of downed trees along the roadside. Once, we saw an evergreen farm whose trees were marked with a mud line about four feet up their branches.

We arrived in Dillsboro, a very cute and very tiny downtown, around 1:30. There’s about one block of commerce, but it was plenty for our purposes: we had lunch at the Smokehouse (where the kids discovered they all loved Brunswick Stew) then poked around in the shops near the railroad depot. The Fox’s Burrow was our favorite (we snagged lots of Christmas gifts!), but it was sobering to see the floor and about one foot of wall stripped back to plywood because of the flooding.

From the shops we crossed the railroad tracks to the river itself, and it was beautiful – clear and running swiftly. We walked along the edge for a bit before doubling back to our car and continuing on the last half hour to Bryson City itself.

We arrived at our rental around 4 and the kids’ usual flurry of excitement over exploring a new house kicked in. They raced up and down the stairs and then out the back door where a capacious porch swing and wide, shallow creek waited. I helped John bring our bags inside then curled up with a blanket and my book – this one, loved it so much and now I want to call everyone honey – on the swing. I read for an hour or so while John napped and the kids pretended to be puppies and spies.

Around 6:30 we gathered ourselves, added another layer (it was chilly!), and headed out for dinner in town, about five minutes away. We put our name in at Anthony’s then explored the railway depot and a few shops while we waited. A local legend, Anthony’s reminded me of all the traditional Italian restaurants in all the little towns I’ve ever visited :) We ended the evening with our first of many trips to The Chocolate Shoppe for truffles, squares of toffee, and rock candy sticks, which we ate on our rental’s comfy sectional as we watched Cinderella.

SATURDAY

We woke to another crisp mountain morning on Saturday. We dressed for hiking and drove into town for breakfast at La Dolce Vita, which had yummy bagel sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and more.

After breakfast, we drove across the boundary line into Great Smoky Mountains National Park – the most-visited national park and one we had yet to experience! We parked and set off on the Deep Creek Loop Trail, opting for the 2.5 mile configuration in consideration of little legs. We saw deer, crossed wooden bridges, admired changing leaves, and paused for a snack by one of several waterfalls before looping back to our car about two hours later.

After a quick lunch at High Test Deli (YUM) and a hot chocolate from La Dolce Vita, it was time to board the train!

We had reserved open-air tickets on the 2pm Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Nantahala Gorge excursion. Our family had an entire bench to ourselves, with plenty of room to sit, stand, stretch out, and move around. The train whistle sounded and we pulled out of Bryson City at about 2:20, traveling through kudzu forest, past Appalachian homes, and across a trestle bridge over Fontana Lake before arriving at the Nantahala Outdoors Center around 4:45pm.

We had about an hour at the center before boarding the train for the journey home – enough time to grab a snack and watch a practice session of a US national junior team canoe slalom racer! Very cool. Then it was back on the train for a glowy sunset steam back into the Bryson City depot, arriving around 7pm. We snagged a quick dinner at The Rice Wagon, a food truck permanently parked at the Mountain Layers Brewery in downtown, and more treats at The Chocolate Shoppe before heading home for a dip in our hot tub.

SUNDAY

We got off to a slower start on Sunday morning – a perk for the kids of most family trips like this is getting to watch a few episodes of a show while mom and dad wake up – and rolled into Bryson City Bakery around 10:30.

Wow. All the pastries are made in store and are giant and delicious. We went with a few more traditional options but drooled over the cases of apple galettes, peanut butter pie stuffed croissants, s’mores cruffins, maple pecan twists, vanilla bean morning buns, and white chocolate scones with blackberry glaze. While John stood in line, I wandered over to the adjacent general store, MRKT on the Square, and picked up a few more gifts for Christmas from their selection of kitchen goods, toys, and art supplies.

We wrapped up breakfast, hopped in the car, and drove about 30 minutes to Mingo Falls. Though we didn’t have a chance to stop at any of the historical or educational sites along the way, it was neat to see the Cherokee syllabary on signs as we passed through. And of course, Mingo Falls is well worth the trip on its own – it’s a short but steep .3 mile hike to a stunningly tall waterfall. Steps are built into the hillside to make it a bit easier. The big kids bounded up like goats while John and I hoofed it up behind them, Annie on John’s shoulders for part of the time. We hung out at the top for a good half hour and let the kids explore before heading back down.

We continued our circumnavigation of the Smokies and entered the national park again, driving 45 minutes to reach Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingman’s Dome, and the highest point in Tennessee, in the Smokies, and on the Appalachian Trail). The drive was gorgeous: similar in feel to the Blue Ridge Parkway, with curving roads that hug the mountainside and expansive vistas dotted with blazing foliage.

After finding a parking spot (tough on a beautiful fall day!), we set off on the Forney Ridge Trail around 2pm. AllTrails describes it as having a “captivating forest atmosphere,” and I couldn’t agree more.

We trotted along mossy stone steps, across wooden beam walkways, and through sunlit-filled pine forests to reach Andrews Bald about two miles and one hour later.

John selected this hike especially for me, as I’m always pestering him about visiting balds – unique mountains in the Southern Appalachians that are topped with treeless, grassy meadows instead of rocks or trees and thus boast incredible views. Andrews Bald did not disappoint: it was glorious to sprawl on the grass and snack on apples, peanut butter crackers, peanut m&ms, and mini Chomps before turning around.

But we weren’t done yet!! Two miles later we made it back to the parking lot and were all ready to sit down – but we were at the start of the Kuwohi Observation Tower trail, and we (or at least the parents, ha) wanted to make it to the top. Like Mingo Falls, we were in for another short, steep hike – this time, .5 miles each way and 337 feet of elevation gain. It’s a paved trail, but man, it was a rough add-on after the afternoon’s hike.

But also worth it! We hoofed it up the trail, the kids trailing comically behind us, and eventually made it to the top to enjoy the 360-degree views.

But only for a few minutes :) Back in the car and looking at the clock, we debated whether the timing was too tight to go back and change before our dinner reservation, but agreed that if we could be in and out of the house in ten minutes we could arrive within the grace period. Cut to the five of us sprinting and giggling through the house to get out of our hiking clothes and into mountain dinner appropriate attire as fast as possible :)

Our reservation was at the Fryemont Inn’s dining room, and it was a trip. Think summer camp dining hall, think big stone fireplace, think 100+ year old history. All dinners include the soup of the day (BLT soup on the day we visited!), a mixed green salad, the entree of your choice, three family-style side dishes, and dessert. (Plus soda for the kids, a thrill!) Was it the most delicious, creative food I’ve ever eaten in my life? It was not. But it was homey and memorable and a perfect way to cap off a mountain-y day.

MONDAY

We slept in, then packed up the house and drove to brunch at Mountain Perks, which had delicious bagel sandwiches and the kindest staff.

After browsing a few more shops, we ended our time in Bryson City with a visit to Darnell Farms. Nestled right against the Tuckasegee River, it had swings, a giant hollowed-out tree, knobbly pumpkins, a farm shop, and a hay maze to explore.

And that, my friends, is our trip to Bryson City! While BC is a bit rougher around the edges than some other mountain towns we’ve visited, it is so lovable and we were so grateful to get to visit it – and our beloved mountains – in this unusual fall.

If you’re planning a trip to Bryson City, I hope this recap was helpful! Any questions, I’m happy to answer – just leave them in the comments! (And if you’d like to see this weekend in motion, I had fun making this little video.)

Past North Carolina mountain trips:
Boone (2023)
Highlands (2022)
Black Mountain (2021)