Relaxing (or maybe rowdy) Family Dinner at Rental Cabin - NC Mountains
If you’ve been thinking about a quiet and relaxing vacation in North Carolina, then the Nantahala River area is a good place to get away from it all.
Nantahala is an Indian word roughly translated as “land of the midday sun.” That’s pretty fitting, since the Nantahala Forest is like a big bowl with mountains cupping up around and blocking out direct sun except for the middle of the day.
The Nantahala Forest is located right below and connected to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the Cherokee Indian reservation. In fact, a small portion of Nantahala is reservation. The Trail of Tears (the route Native Americans were forced to walk when relocated to Oklahoma) cuts through the upper edge of Nantahala.
Nantahala is less well known than other North Carolina outdoor areas and is quieter and less touristy. The boys and I walked trails without seeing any other people and had the lake almost to ourselves when we rented a pontoon boat. The only area where we saw crowds was the whitewater rafting area which runs about 16 miles along truck route 74 between Bryson City and Murphy.
If you really need a break from it all, then the Nantahala Forest area is a wonderful place to stay. There are lots of places to camp including right along the edge of the river. If your idea of roughing it does not include sleeping in a tent, there are a few motels (of course) and also rental cabins. We rented a cabin for the week, and that was an excellent choice. The balcony hung out over the Nantahala River, so we could enjoy the water day or night.
Nantahala is also centrally located. In addition to white water rafting, we also visited Cherokee, Dollywood (in Tennessee), and went to the caves near Telico Plains (TN) and saw the ghosty white fish. Those were easy day trips from the rental cabin. So, we had the best of it all – some action and adventure but a homey place when we called it a day.
Rafting on the Nantahala.
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