Winter Hiking Exposes More of The Smokies Than You'll Ever See in The Other Seasons

The Smokies don't have to be green or gold to be beautiful. In the winter, with the leaves off the trees, a walk in the woods will reveal a landscape that you may have not seen on your summer hikes or drives. And if you're lucky, you may even get to see the Smokies under a blanket of snow. When the Deep Creek area is blanketed by snow, the one-mile walk to Indian Creek Falls (above) is quite scenic. However, the likelihood of seeing snow is greater at the higher elevations of the national park. ABC's Good Morning America Features the Deal's Gap 'Dragon' A November "Weekend Adventure" segment on "Good Morning America" featured the Deals Gap "Dragon," a section of Western North Carolina highway that's popular with motorcycle riders. The section of U.S. Hwy. 129 has more than 30 turns per mile. Host Bill Weir drove a North Carolina-made Indian Motorcycle along the famed highway, and interviewed Dale Walksler, curator of the Wheels Through Time motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley, about what makes the mountains such a great place to ride motorcycles. View the segment.   VISIT OUR COMPANION SITE This week's "Postcards From The Smokies features the Bryson City librarian, who's also a maker of hand-crafted musical instruments.     Subscribe to Postcards — Email or RSS feed.     Now optimized for the iPhone.

I-40 & US 64 ROAD DETOUR INFO Two Roads Closed In Western North Carolina Due to a rockslide, Interstate 40 is closed at the Tennessee - North Carolina border. US 64 in the Ocoee Gorge is also closed due to a rockslide. Click here for a map and alternate routes to the North Carolina Smokies. All routes are open as usual from North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Anniversary year The Blue Ridge Parkway Celebrates 75 Years As The Nation's Favorite Backroad The 469-mile-long Parkway began in the 1930s as a Depression-era public works project and was more than a half-century in the making. It was the nation's first, and ultimately longest, rural parkway, connecting Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The anniversary year kicked off in November with special events, including this one in Cherokee. For more info, visit the official 75th anniversary website. Nature's Water Park More Ways To Enjoy Water in the Smokies Nowhere else in the Smokies can you find as many ways to enjoy water as the Bryson City area offers. From mountain cascades and waterfalls to scenic rivers to the mighty Lake Fontana, you can fish, swim, ski, go boating, tubing, rafting and kayaking. More

Things To Do in the Smokies

February and March Events in the Smokies

Ongoing Entertainment - Click here for more info about music and entertainment in Western North Carolina.

Through March Special Tarheel Ticket discounts for North Carolina residents on Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Info

Saturday, February 13 - Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown 11 am ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Visit with Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy costumed characters and create your own Valentines. Evening Sweetheart Gourmet Dinner Train.. 800-872-4681. More info

Saturday, February 20 - Annual Chocolate Cook-Off. Sample the best chocolate in the area. Fundraiser for the Library. More info

Bryson City — Better Known Than You Might Have Thought

Bryson City and the North Carolina Smokies have been connected with numerous books, films and songs. One of our best-known authors was Horace Kephart, whose "Our Southern Highlanders" focused national attention on the Great Smoky Mountains. And much of the "The Fugitive" starring Harrison Ford was filmed in and around Bryson City. More about Bryson City in Books, Film and Music.

Recommended By The National Media

The book "101 Best Outdoor Towns" named Bryson City the nation's third best whitewater paddling town. "If you can't find something exciting to do in Bryson City, you're not breathing," it says.

Paddler Magazine named Bryson City one of the "best paddling towns" in the US.Along with the multiple spots for great paddling, they focus on Tsali mountain bike trails, area adventure races and canoe camping on Fontana Lake.