We eagerly await your arrival and the opportunity to share our culture with you. There are many things to do in Cherokee. Attend the breathtaking outdoor Mountainside Theatre for a performance of “Unto These Hills…a retelling” with the whole family, for an under the stars night to remember.
Visit the Museum with its new expansion research wing ready in August 2009, buy a handmade piece of history at the arts and crafts cooperative Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual Inc., experience a working Oconalufee Village with blowgun demonstrations, mask carvings and more – including the new “Hands-On Cherokee” experiential learning classes.

At the entrance to both the Great Smoky National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherokee is nestled in just the right spot.

Between 8-10 million people visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year, making it the most visited national park in the country.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker's paradise with over 800 miles of maintained trails ranging from short leg-stretchers to strenuous treks that may require backcountry camping. But hiking is not the only reason for visiting the Smokies. Car camping, fishing, picnicking, wildlife viewing and auto touring are popular activities.
Most visitors come to the Smokies hoping to see a bear. Some 1,500 bears live in the park. From the big animals like bears, deer, and elk, down to microscopic organisms, the Smokies have the most biological diversity of any area in the world's temperate zone. The park is a sanctuary for a magnificent array of animal and plant life, all of which is protected for future generations to enjoy.

Fontana Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Little Tennessee River. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the early 1940s to accommodate the skyrocketing electricity demands in the Tennessee Valley at the height of World War II. Fontana Dam is 2,365 feet long and 480 feet high, Fontana is the tallest dam in the Eastern United States, and at the time of its construction, it was the fourth tallest dam in the world. The dam impounds the 10,230-acre Fontana Lake, which spreads across a scenic stretch of the Little Tennessee along the southwestern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Appalachian Trail crosses the top of the dam. 480 feet high, making it the tallest dam in the Eastern United States.

All aboard for rail adventure! The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad takes you through a remote corner of western North Carolina into river gorges, across fertile valleys and through tunnels carved out of mountains.
Enjoy the warm summer breezes and crisp fall air while you take in the panoramic views from your open car featuring long padded outward facing seats.
Nantahala Gorge Excursion is a four hour westbound excursion carries you forty-four miles to the Nantahala Gorge and back again. Travel the Little Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers across Fontana Lake and into the magic of the Nantahala Gorge. There is a one hour layover at the take out point to the Nantahala River for sightseeing, a picnic lunch by the river and just plain relaxing.

Completed in 1895, George Vanderbilt's 250-room French château is a real life wonder. Enjoy a self-guided visit of Biltmore House that unveils a fresh look at how people lived and worked in America’s largest home. Also, explore the acres of beautiful gardens and grounds, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, during your visit. Stroll acres of formal and informal gardens designed by America's foremost landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. From the formal beauty of the Italian Garden to the breathtaking presence of ancient trees in America's first managed forests, Biltmore's lush landscape is a living tribute to Olmsted's genius. Our horticultural experts continually work to preserve the original vision for the gardens and grounds, including our All America Rose Garden featuring more than 250 varieties.

Deep in the mountains of the Smoky Mountains lies a 3800-acre tract of the most beautiful forest in America, unmarred and undefiled by the hand of man. On July 30, 1936, the area was dedicated to the Poet, Joyce Kilmer as a living memorial.

Because of its relative isolation until recent years, the wooded area had remained untouched by the woodman's axe. Huge poplars, some 20 feet in circumference, tower 125 feet or more toward the sky. Giant red oaks, magnificent hemlocks, and many other varieties of trees stand as proud neighbors to the mammoth poplars.

Enjoy the well maintained trails of the Joyce Kilmer forest along streams and old growth trees of this spectacular forest.