Though I have been to Maine almost every year of my life, I had never been to Acadia National Park until summer 2025. This often surprised people, and felt like a gap that needed be filled in my Maine resume. Last year, we decided to rectify the situation, and in August, we made it happen. I’d love to share some photos and a few details on what we did, if you’d like to see!
Like many national parks, Acadia takes a bit of work to reach. We flew into Portland (Breeze has a direct flight from Raleigh!), rented an SUV, and drove an hour and a half north to spend a few days with my family on our island in the Midcoast region. And we weren’t alone! It was a delight to travel with family friends and get to introduce them to our beloved place.
Day One
After a few days in the Midcoast, we drove 2.5 hours further north to reach Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia. We arrived in time for a late lunch at the appropriately-named Lunch Bar Harbor. It’s on the Village Green (one of two central hubs in Bar Harbor — the other is the waterfront) and it was tough to find parking even on a Tuesday afternoon. This made us thankful we’d rented bikes for the week, meaning this was one of the only times we’d need to find parking downtown. We ate our paninis and grilled cheeses on the green, picked up a few cookies from The Sweet Bite to bring on our hike, and hopped back in the cars to head to the park.
John had mapped out our hikes in advance, and Tuesday afternoon’s was the Gorham Mountain/Cadillac Cliffs loop. As usual, he did a fantastic job, selecting a hike that had a great view at the top and was challenging but not too taxing for the kids (five of them, who ranged in age from four to nine). Everyone enjoyed navigating the iron rings, crawling through rock tunnels, and bouldering up the mountainside.
Though we were a bit short on water (since we had partially emptied our bottles at lunch) the cookies were a great reward at the top, as was the beautiful view of Sand Beach. In total our loop was 1.7 miles.
Once back at the bottom, we piled into our cars and drove about 15 minutes out of the park and back into town to check into our rental home. After considering several options all over Mount Desert Island, we opted for this one, and we were very pleased with it! In addition to the floor plan, aesthetic, and amenities (a goodie basket of local treats, s’mores supplies, a foosball table and so many toys in the garage, and the best host guidebook I’ve seen in years), we loved that it’s owned by MDI natives who teach at the high school on the island.
Bethany and I quickly made a grocery list and drove a minute or two into town to pick up supplies for the week at Hannaford’s. Dinner our first night was at Abel’s Lobster, a picturesque spot on Somes Sound (the only fjord on the East Coast!) with an incredible sunset view.
We waited about 45 minutes for a table (they don’t take reservations), but there’s plenty to look at while you wait. We wandered down to the marina next door, played a bit of corn hole, and got drinks at the bar. Once we sat down the food was delicious.
In addition to its three bedrooms, our rental had a yurt, and that’s where the kids slept. Though it was a tiny bit nerve-wracking (it was located about hundred feet from the house with no way to lock it) the kids were excited to sleep in such adventurous surroundings. It also meant the adults were free to chat, play games, and move freely about the house in the evenings without worrying about waking anyone up, which was a real gift!
Day Two
The only small downside to our rental? It was at the top of a steep hill, which meant every bike ride to and from town — including our first one on Wednesday morning to pick up our bikes — ended with a final push of exertion. We just told the kids they were earning their ice cream :)
We rented bikes from Acadia Outfitters, which was fine, but the guide book said Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop was hands-down the best bike rental option and because they didn’t steer us wrong otherwise I’d choose them if we could do it over.
After stowing the bikes and breakfast at home we drove out to hike the South Bubble. I had heard horror stories about Acadia hike parking while planning this trip, but this was one of the only, or perhaps only, times we had to wait for a parking spot. (It was a small lot, for one of the park’s most popular hikes, and we waited about 20 minutes.)
This hike was just fine but probably the least interesting for our crew, which tracks with my grand theory of hiking with kids: they are so much more likely to complain on an easier-but-boring trail than they are on a harder, more interesting trail. Though more challenging hikes might seem intimidating, we find that they’re almost always the better pick for our crew.
Something else I’ve realized over the years: I’m not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of edges, especially when it comes to kids. While I was never worried about edges on the Gorham Mountain hike, South Bubble made me quite nervous at times.
This all sounds kind of negative, but it was a lovely hike and fun to spot our next destination while still up on high: Jordan Pond House! We were not able to make a reservation in advance (they only release a few for each day) so we waited about 30 minutes for a table — but again, there was plenty to do, and the kids enjoyed poking around at the edge of the pond until our number was called.
We sat on the lawn for lunch and had a picturesque view on a bluebird day. We ordered a few of their famous popovers to split (so yummy); I ordered the chicken pot pie, which is also served over a popover. I loved the whole experience, but if you have a kid who’s nervous around bees (as we do) just know that they come out in droves when the jam arrives with the popovers. They have a whole jam protocol in place and no one got stung, but just something good to know.
One more random note: the bathrooms at Jordon Pond House, a park property, were not great. This was kind of surprising, because it’s otherwise a nice spot, and the bathrooms everywhere else we went in the park were fine.
After wrapping up lunch, we drove over to Cadillac Mountain for our 3pm reservation. (Timed entry is $6 and slots open 48 hours in advance.) We spent an hour and a half at the top: taking in the view, clambering over the rocks, looking at the ranger’s interactive activities, chatting, and picking and eating a LOT of huckleberries. Fun fact: Cadillac is the highest peak within 50 miles of the East Coast all the way until you reach Brazil!
That night we opted to eat an earlier dinner at home (spaghetti and meatballs in the backyard, yum) then biked downtown for ice cream at Jordan Pond Ice Cream & Fudge Shop. This was at the other green center of Bar Harbor, the one on the waterfront, and it was a good five degrees colder than at our rental. We were sad we forgot our sweatshirts! (We visited in late July/early August and had impeccable weather — sunny skies and mid-70s temps with just one grayer day.)
While at the waterfront we spotted the restaurant, Geddy’s, where we had a reservation for our final night’s dinner. My heart sunk a bit when I saw it, because while I’m sure it is perfectly lovely, it looked a little more touristy than I had anticipated. Put a pin in that, we’ll revisit :)
Day Three
Thursday was Shep’s birthday! We ate breakfast at the house then headed to the park to start our day at Anemone Cave. Like a few other attractions in Acadia, this one needed to be timed to the tide, as you can’t enter the cave if the tide is too high. (We used this site to check the tides in advance.)
Not only did we hit the tide right, but we hit the crowds right, too — when we arrived, there was only one other family present, but by the time we left there were about 40 people inside.
When it got more crowded we walked along the coast to explore the tide pools, which the kids loved. In addition to the eponymous anemones we saw an urchin, periwinkles, hermit crabs, regular crabs, and — after MUCH dedicated searching by John — a beautiful palm-sized sea star.
From there we drove a few minutes along the park loop to Sand Beach. By this time it was spitting a bit – not your ideal beach day – but we made the most of it, dipping our toes in, throwing the football, and exploring the lagoon behind the dunes. We also ate the picnic lunch we had packed back at the house. To be fair, we might not have swum much more even if it had been sunny — the ocean temp was about 53 degrees during our visit — so we didn’t mind having a cloudy day.
After an hour and a half or so we returned our beach supplies to the cars and set out on foot for Thunder Hole — a 10-minute walk along the coast. Thunder Hole is another of Acadia’s more-famous destinations, but John had wisely warned us to keep our expectations low (which, as all EFM readers know, is a major key to life happiness!). He was right to do so, because even though we arrived in the ideal mid-tide range, it was a calm day at sea and the Hole was not particularly thunder-y.
We had left this afternoon open in our schedule. After realizing it was our best chance to take the bikes on the carriage roads, we zipped back to the house, repacked, and zoomed down the hill to meet the free Island Explorer bus at 3:15pm. We had the bus to ourselves and riding on a mini coach bus was an exciting novelty to the kids :)
We opted to ride around Eagle Lake, a 6-mile loop. Though we saw plenty of e-bikes, we were all on manual bikes — the big kids on their own, our friends’ five-year-old on a tagalong and Annie (4) in a trailer. There were some hills as we pedaled through the peaceful, misty Maine forests, but the kids conducted themselves valiantly and we made the 4:30pm bus home with time to spare.
Dinner that night was at Side Street Cafe (we rode our bikes downtown) and we were grateful we made a reservation. We all enjoyed our food and the kids really enjoyed the complimentary air-dry clay handed out with the menus, which did a bang-up job at keeping them occupied. We ended the night with birthday cake back at the house, and I think Shep felt celebrated even though he had to blow out three hastily-lit matches instead of birthday candles :)
Day Four
Friday, our last full day, dawned bright, warm, and crisp once again. We biked downtown to Jordan’s Restaurant, drawn in by the blueberry pancakes on the sign out front. While the blueberry pancakes themselves were a bit underwhelming, the blueberry muffins were particularly delicious and the classic diner vibe was a delight.
From there, we pedaled down a side street to the sandbar to Bar Island. This was our final destination that required timing the tide, as the sand bar only opens for the hour and a half around low tide (and they won’t let you forget it, with dire signage warning you to be back across to the mainland at the appropriate time lest you be stranded and require a $150 water taxi rescue). We moseyed our way across, stopped to stack several rock cairns on the far side, then walked up to the summit for a view of downtown.
Once safely back across the sandbar, we split up: June and the moms headed to the Village Green for a tiny bit of shopping (Window Panes was easily our favorite store!) while the dads took the other kids to Sherman’s in search of keychains. We met up to return our bikes then walked back to the house to have a clear-the-fridge lunch.
Up until now our day had gone pretty much as we had planned it, but in the afternoon we veered from our itinerary and it was 1000% the right decision. Isn’t that a good feeling?! We ended up canceling our kayak rental as well as our 5:15 Geddy’s reservation, and instead, we were able to do our planned final hike — Beech Cliffs — at a more leisurely pace AND have time to take a dip in Echo Lake at the end.
Beech Cliffs was a perfect final hike, a real crowdpleaser with four ladders to climb and a gorgeous view of Echo Lake and the far islands at the top.
Swimming in Echo Lake was a delight, too — much warmer than expected (about 75 degrees!) and just so fun to swim in the shadow of a mountain.
After changing back into clothes in the parking lot, we drove straight to our new dinner spot, plucked from the pages of our rental hosts’ guidebook: Sweet Pea’s Farm Kitchen. We were charmed from the minute we stepped foot on property: there were high-bush blueberries to graze on while we waited for our table, a fire pit to gather around, rolling green paths for the kids to run and chase each other, and a sumptuous garden filled with tomatoes, leafy greens, sunflowers, dahlias, and so many other beautiful things.
This dinner lives on as a perfect evening in my memory: good friends, delicious food (wood-fired pizza and jewel-like salads!), a soft sunset, and fun conversation recapping our highs and lows from the trip. 10/10 would recommend if you ever find yourself in Acadia.
Because we couldn’t help ourselves, we ended the evening with one last scoop of ice cream at Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream – our favorite of the shops we tried (of which there are many in MDI).
Day Five
After packing up and checking out of our rental, we made a last-minute decision to visit the Bass Harbor Head Light Station before going our separate ways. It was a bit out of the way, but an easy path down to the water once we got there and worth taking the scenic route out of town.
And there you have it, friends! As an honorary Mainer, I am SO glad I can finally say I’ve been to Acadia, and would heartily commend it to any reader looking for a New England adventure. Happy to answer any questions in the comments, as always!
Though John was joking when he talked about ordering up the “perfect weather package,” you could have fooled me – the weather for our time on Hilton Head Island was practically perfect in every way: mid- to high-70s during the day, sunshine and blue skies, a cool sea breeze blowing in off the ocean, and low humidity. Bliss!
The part of our spring break we actually could control – the itinerary – was pretty good, too :) I’d love to tell you about it, and share a few photos, too, if you’d like to see.
We chose to make the drive on Monday morning, meaning that we had the whole weekend before we left to pack, prepare, relax, and look forward with anticipation, a beginning that seemed positively luxurious. Listening to The Wild Robot audiobook (which we did for free through Spotify Premium) made the five-hour drive go by in a snap – it was equally engaging for the 3-, 6-, and 9-year-old riders as well as the grown-up ones. Plenty of audiobooks have not held all three of our kids’ attention, but this one was a winner all around.
With a lunch stop (at Lowcountry Produce, an old favorite!), we arrived on the island around 4pm and drove straight to pick up our rental bikes. (We had planned to bring our own, but a craaaazy situation the week before we left – getting gas from a station that had its diesel and regular unleaded tanks swapped, meaning we filled up with diesel (!!!) – left our car in the shop and us driving a rental van to South Carolina). We had enough time to unpack, explore the house, and make a quick trip to the beach before a storm blew in and rain began to pour.
As usual, John did a fantastic job finding our rental house. It’s always tricky to situate yourself in a place you’ve never been, especially on an island as large as Hilton Head, but we’re happy with where we landed – about a 10-minute bike ride from Coligny Plaza (a central cluster of shops and restaurants) and just 88 steps (as promised in the listing!) from a stretch of wide, pristine, nearly empty beach.
The house itself wasn’t fancy, but it was a family’s dream – as far as we could tell, lovingly stocked by a pair of grandparents. There were sand toys for the beach and pool toys for the heated pool; a beach wagon, towels, and chairs; a stool to reach the bathroom sink; and books, toys, and stuffies in the double-over-double bunk room. The only negative, in my view, was that the pool was not fenced, and so I was on low-key alert at all times, and we had to keep the kids on a tighter leash than usual in terms of being outside without us. You can find the Airbnb listing for “Beach Nest” here or book directly with the owners, Rick and Denise, for a discount here. (No kickback to me – they just had a little card with the info in the house and I thought I’d pass it along!)
The rain tapered off as we pulled up to Fat Baby’s Pizza. It’s a casual, family-friendly spot, and we were seated right away when we walked in at 6:30. They serve enormous slices of thin crust (though not New York-style) pizza. The kids gobbled up the pizza and were entranced by the screens at each table that displayed the colored placemats of past pint-size diners. They studiously bent over their own coloring sheets, scanning them just before we left – and were delighted when they showed up on the screen, too!
We stopped at Publix on the way home for some drinks and a few beach snacks, then tucked everyone into bed.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast at home, we loaded up the wagon and headed straight over the dunes to the beach. While the water was a bit too cold for full-on swimming, the kids had a grand time skipping through the waves, building sandcastles, and throwing the frisbee. We fully availed ourselves of the house’s beach supplies, adding only our trusty Shibumi, the pride of North Carolina.
We walked back to the house after a few hours, showered off, and then rode our bikes the short trip to The Sandbar, just down the road at Coligny Plaza. (That’s the bike path, below.) Though not directly on the ocean, it had the feel of a beachside shack, and we ordered accordingly: fish tacos for me, a sausage, peppers, and onions sub for John, and various fried things for the children.
After lunch, we decided to venture across the road to Lowcountry Celebration Park, a sparkling gem of HHI. And rightly so – it’s a very cool playground with a pirate ship climbing apparatus at its center and water elements and boardwalks (with gators!) all around. The playground was nearly empty when we were there in the early afternoon; John and I happily swung on a bench swing, watching our kids play and listening to the HHI Symphony rehearsing in the amphitheater for a performance that night.
After an hour or so, we biked back to the house via the beach, changed clothes, and switched into the van to drive to Harbourtown, a marina and shopping hub nestled in Sea Pines.
Sea Pines is a giant, beautiful resort community that takes up a quarter or so of Hilton Head. We were thrilled to find a surprise Sea Pines pass waiting for us at our rental, but were prepared to pay the $9 per day entrance fee. (If you go, know that the fee must be paid in cash.)
We gazed around, exclaiming, as we drove through the live oaks, taupe-and-green Lowcountry homes, and alligator-filled lagoons that make up Sea Pines. Then, with a bit of time before our dinner reservation, we did the tourist thing and climbed the Harbourtown Lighthouse. There’s a beautiful view at the top and some fun Coast Guard history as you climb the steps. It’s a quick attraction and we still had time to admire the ships in the marina and play at the playground under the oaks before our 6pm reservation at Quarterdeck.
Though Quarterdeck was one of our fancier dinners, we found it to be quite family-friendly: the tables are situated around a bar, so the noise level was pretty high, and the atmosphere was upscale casual. The kids’ entrees also came with a side option of roasted vegetables, which, being the mean parents we are, we made all three order. (One ate all of them, one ate half, and one ate almost none, which we considered a success.) Back at the house, we cuddled up to watch the first half of The Wild Robot movie.
Wednesday was another beautiful morning, and we started with breakfast at Watusi Cafe. It was a bit hard to tell what we were in for from the internet, but what we found was an upscale setting with a decidedly warm and friendly feel. Our waitress, Bernie, was a huge part of that and it was a delight to chat with her. The food was delicious, too… even though Shep looked like he had rolled in chocolate chips after finishing his loaded pancakes.
From there, we drove out to the west side of the island to meet our captain for an 11am dolphin tour, booked through Dolphin Discoveries.
We had originally planned to rent kayaks and explore the marsh that way, but couldn’t figure out the proper combination of family members and boats to make that work at our kids’ ages. So, we splurged for the more expensive private boat tour, and were very glad we did. We loved our captain, saw tons of dolphins just a few feet from our boat, learned more about the area and its waterways, and skipped the frustration that inevitably would have resulted from two adults trying to paddle three small children in the hot sun with nary a dolphin in sight.
Back on land, we hopped in the car and made a brief visit to the Coastal Discovery Museum. I would not necessarily recommend it if you’re planning your own vacation – we wanted to visit because it was nearby and I had been there for a Southern Weddings photo shoot many years ago and wanted to show a specific arching tree branch to the family, but it’s a tiny operation and not much of an attraction.
But from there, we drove about ten minutes to Fish Haul Beach Park, which I would recommend. It’s a quiet beach with tide pools, muddy flats, sandbars, and rocky outcroppings, perfect for exploring – which we did! We even managed not to lose any shoes in the mud :)
After an hour or so of exploring, we headed back to the house and the kids finally (their words) got to cannonball into the backyard pool. I loaded up a plate with snacks – slices of Croc Bite cheddar cheese, circles of salami, crackers, grapes, baby carrots, and pickled green beans – and we devoured it in between games of Marco Polo. Eventually, John hauled himself out and fired up the grill to cook a few hot dogs, which we ate poolside.
With the sun low in the sky, we showered off, hopped on our bikes, and rode on the beach to Coligny Plaza for ice cream cones at The Frozen Moo.
Thursday we had another quick breakfast at home, then drove back to Sea Pines to hike the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Where the Coastal Discovery Museum’s trails were a bit underwhelming, the Sea Pines ones were glorious, with boardwalks twisting through green swamps, spindly waterbirds, a wildflower meadow dotted with bright blooms, and alligators lurking in lagoons. We explored for about an hour and it was well worth our time.
Lunch was at Truffles Cafe in Sea Pines, where we had made an emphatically unnecessary reservation – there were maybe two other tables occupied in the restaurant. This was probably our worst meal choice of the week, not because the food was bad – it was not! – but because the atmosphere wasn’t really matched to what we were looking for. It was more of a ladies-who-lunch vibe, and would have been a better pick for a fancier dinner. Just not really what we needed for a quick lunch after hiking!
We headed back to the house, changed into our suits and sunscreen, and trotted out to the beach for two hours or so for more sandcastles, wading, and kicking the ball around. Then it was back to the pool for another two hours of Marco Polo, tag, and cannonball contests. The pool was small, but just big enough for our family of five to happily play, and plenty warm thanks to the heater.
Then it was time for showers (is there anything better than showering before dinner after a day outside at the beach or pool?) and a short drive out to Hudson’s, a Hilton Head institution for over 50 years. 90% of their seafood comes from local waters, including from their own boat and processing facility right next door. They don’t take reservations, but our 45-minute wait for an outdoor table on the docks (our longest of the week) was well worth it. The kids loved watching the terns wheel and dive and the crabs scuttle in the tanks, awaiting their fate.
Our original plan was to mini golf after dinner, but with the wait we ended our meal later than we expected, so we headed home to watch the second half of The Wild Robot and shifted mini golf to the next day, our final night.
We had left the itinerary for Friday, our final day, mostly open. We ended up repeating several favorites from earlier in the week: a bike ride for breakfast at Watusi Cafe and playing at Celebration Park, then time at the beach followed by playing at the pool and charcuterie snacks back at the house.
We had an early dinner reservation at Coast in Sea Pines, and it was the perfect way to end our vacation – I’d highly recommend placing it as a capstone to your trip, if you can swing it. Coast is a beautiful oceanfront restaurant, and we had made an outdoor reservation. There was live music, golden late-afternoon light, and yummy food: just one of those meals when you look around at your beautiful family and beautiful surroundings and soak in how grateful you are. We walked out to the beach after dinner, then mini golfed at Pirate’s Island, as promised.
(A note to the kind readers who gave me HHI recommendations, many of whom mentioned Gregg Russell’s Harbourtown concerts: we had planned to go to his Friday night concert, but a sign was posted earlier in the week to say it was canceled! Next time, I suppose :))
As always, thank you for letting me share! I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about Hilton Head in the comments!
It seems funny to return to a sunny summer adventure here at the end of the year, but I couldn’t let our biannual family trip to Northern Michigan pass without a mention on EFM! As always, we loved our time visiting with extended family (there were 35 of us in total!) and exploring the picturesque towns and lakes of the North.
In its original form, this post was supposed to include not only photos from our trip but my answers to your questions about organizing extended family vacations and reunions. I’d been plugging away at the draft for weeks (you had such good – and so many! – questions!) and was about 3/4 done… but alas, it’s just a few days before Christmas and time to get this post up. I’ve tabled the longer discussion for the new year and look forward to revisiting it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy a peek at our time in one of our favorite places in the world!
(I’ve written many times before about Northern Michigan with more detail, but don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions about where we are or what we’re doing!)
I took almost the exact same photo (on the right) a few years ago – same girls, just reading longer books now :)
In the midst of all the kayaking, fishing, dune jumping, ice cream eating, card games, family meals, and s’mores we took a few family photos, and they are a treasure. I’ll use one to wish you all a very merry Christmas, peaceful time with the ones you love, and a few moments to celebrate the birth of a most special tiny baby – Emmanuel, God with us. I’ll be back in a few days with 2024 superlatives and my yearly recap. xo!
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.)
