Travel Guide to Bryson City and the Great Smoky Mountains

Discover what’s great about Bryson City, NC, a peaceful mountain town bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with unique shops, galleries, lodging and restaurants.

Surrounding our small town, there’s a rich vacation paradise — rafting and kayaking on the Nantahala River, boating and fishing on Fontana Lake, scenic railroad excursions, world class trout streams and mountain biking on the famous Tsali trails. We have creeks for tubing, trails for hiking and horseback riding, and beautiful waterfalls. We’re home to the Cherokee Indian Reservation and the North Carolina half of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

And we’re close by — just an hour west of Asheville and three hours north of Atlanta. Take a virtual tour of Bryson City and the surrounding outdoor playground we call home.

Our small town embraces the Christmas spirit with beautiful decorations including 200,000 Christmas lights that enhance stores, bridges and lamp poles, and the town’s 50-foot Christmas tree. Browse our galleries and shops for one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts, ride The Polar Express, and enjoy our crisp mountain air and holiday joy!

Check out our special Holidays page.