Best Hikes for Families with Young Children, Toddlers, or Elderly but still Active Travelers:

• Road to Nowhere: 1) Walk through the tunnel at the end and back. 2) Nolands Creek-parking lot just before the bridge. Follow the trail down and to the left towards the lake. It is beautiful year round and easy for kids, but in the winter it is epic when the lake level drops.

• Deep Creek Waterfalls: Juney Whank is a little steep for the toddlers, but Tom Branch Falls and Indian Creek Falls are easily accessible for all ages on a wide road bed trail. We call it the coffee hike and highly recommend getting a coffee from La Dolce Vita and doing a stroll in the early morning.

• Nuwati Trail at 3 Little Bears Retreat: can be muddy in a few spots but has a beautiful creek with rock slide waterfalls, pond, bridges, and a hideaway playground.

• Oconoluftee trail at the Oconoluftee National Park Visitors Center: preserved farm buildings and trail runs alongside the Oconoluftee River. Elk are present most times but especially in the early morning and at dusk in the afternoons.

• Mingus Mill: short hike up to see a historic grist mill

• Newfound Gap: longer hike but easy along part of the Appalachian Trail where North Carolina and Tennessee meet.

• Kuwohi (formerly Clingman’s Dome): this path is steep but paved and most all littles can make it up with short carries and little breaks. It is also stroller accessible. If going in the Summer, try to be there before 9:30am to not sit in traffic for forever.

• Smokemont: there is both a short loop nature trail and a longer trail along the river that are easily managed by littles and can park in the campground.

• If needing a break from shopping in downtown Bryson City, there is Island Park, which has a great loop trail with the Tuckaseegee River going around it.

• Soco Falls: parking is tough at this location, but seeing the falls is only a couple hundred steps and the more adventurous can climb to the bottom.