Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

BRYSON CITY is a CDP (community-designated place) of Cherokee, North Carolina. The two communities share many of the same geographic features and attractions like tubing, rafting, fishing, kayaking, biking, camping, the Nantahala Gorge, Fontana Lake and Dam, and the Road to Nowhere.

Bryson City is a hub for the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad where you can book a sightseeing or dinner tour of western North Carolina. 

During the winter season they have a special Polar Express tour, and you can visit the Train Museum all year long.

Just down the block from the Bryson City Depot, where the tour begins, a bright red rail car is a popular spot for selfies.

We certainly took advantage of the opportunity. 

Bryson City, North Carolina has gained worldwide attention, especially since the Smithsonian gassed it up as number 10 on the Top 20 “Best Small Towns to Visit” 2016 list.

For my first visit to Bryson City, a friend took me on a tour of her old stompin’ grounds.

She showed me the trails in Newfound Gap and where it connects to the Appalachian Trail on the way. This part of the trail is marked for Indian Gap. 

On subsequent trips, my friends and I stopped in Bryson City to take in some local culture, shop, and relax by the water.

This tiny town is surrounded by so many beautiful landmarks and I find myself wanting to return even more after each visit.

Just before Cherokee, you will come to the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Parkway that goes all the way to the Shenandoah National Park.

Downtown is centered around the intersection of Main Street and Everett Street, with the Tuckaseegee River flowing right through it.

You can walk most of the town in just a few hours but keep an eye out for all the quirky statues, embellishments, and memorials. 

A good place to start during your first visit is the Swain County Heritage Museum. 

Ground level is a visitors center, gift/souvenir store, library of local authors, and the old one-room school house.

I have tried twice to get upstairs, but it was closed off already.

Arrive daily before 5 pm to see demos of mountain life and learn some more history of the town.

Outside the museum there is a World War Memorial, and across the street you can visit the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians. 

Kituwah is known as the Mother Town of the Cherokee, a village situated between the city of Cherokee and Bryson City.

It is thought that Cherokee tribes inhabited this land between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago, and the center of the village was where you see the mound. 

During Andrew Jackson’s cruel and horrific Indian Removal Act, nearly 20,000 Cherokee were rounded up and forced westward, or worse.

Varying estimates say between 25-50% of them were killed or died because of what they endured. 

Some survivors returned years later to their homeland, to what is now over 50,000 acres known as the Qualla Boundary.

They first had to purchase this land that the government stole from them as part of a trust.

Kituwah was known to be the most sacred place of all Cherokee territory, where religious ceremonies and rituals took place.

Still, it was just outside the land trust territory, and it was not until 1996 that the Cherokee people were able to regain ownership. 

You can drive through the beautiful Kituwah as you are entering Bryson City from the Cherokee Reservation. 

WHERE TO EAT & DRINK
The Everett Boutique Hotel & Bistro is the town favourite for upscale comfort food and clever cocktails, and it is next door to the museum with plenty of free parking nearby.

You would not guess it, but inside this old brick building is an almost medieval interior with heavy archways and iron candelabras. 

Another surprise came by way of the delicious She Crab Soup that is rarely well-done outside of the Grand Strand. 

Of all the decadent offerings, we really liked the bacon-wrapped and honey-drizzled dates. 

On another trip to Bryson City, in November of 2025, we stopped by the new Tuck & Table for lunch. We agreed that the food was good but way overpriced for such small quantities, and compared to other restaurants. It was their opening day, and I wish them the best of luck. 

Bryson City has two breweries here, the Nantahala Brewing Company and Mountain Layers Brewing Company.

Unlike Cornelius Suttree in Cormac McCarthy’s famous novel, Suttree, we did not swear at the waitresses or get kicked out of any restaurants or bars for raising hell while in Bryson City. We sure did a lot of yelling through all those tunnels, though. 

Nantahala Brewing Company has been in place for over a decade now, first founded in 2009 and in distribution since 2010.

Every beer in their microbrewery is made with water from a protected source in the Smokies. 

They have a taproom, tasting events, live music, and the set-up is quite attractive and glossy. 

We split a barbecue sandwich and sampled several brews before choosing a full pint. It was the high-gravity Devil’s Courthouse Belgian Strong for me. 

Mountain Layers Brewing Company is a two-story bar with a cool rooftop deck. They opened their doors in 2017 and just like Nantahala Brewing, they use water from the Smokies to make each of the beers in their microbrewery. 

An added bonus here is the deck overlooking the town and the Tuckaseegee River. 

We shared a couple flights to try as many as possible. I loved The Helles You Say, a very light Bavarian style lager, the classic Oktoberfest, and the Czech-style Pettit Pilsner best. 

They do not serve food but have rotating food trucks parked outside the beer garden in the back.

We seriously lucked out with one that sells lobster rolls, hot damn. 

Bryson City Outdoors is not a brewery but they serve beer by the pint or as a retail purchase.

BCO also has anything you might need for the great outdoors, given that Bryson City is also known as Western North Carolina’s outdoor sports capital. 

They have a large patio with bike parking, a variety of food trucks, and lots of happy people with happy dogs.

On one particular day they were having a sale on all German / Belgian beers.

I absolutely hate IPAs and they always seem to dominate the market where I live, so I gladly took this opportunity to scoop up some new brands.

You can purchase anything from shoes, clothing, bumper/gear stickers, sunglasses, accessories, body products, backpacks, and even rent kayaks here.

La Dolce Vita serves a decadent Horchata iced latte, and another one that tastes like banana bread. This place is no-frills and rather minimalistic aside from what is on the counter.

The Chocolate Shoppe has every type of sugary confection you could dream of, and against our better judgment we went inside. 

I was trying to practice discipline by selecting only two or three most irresistible pieces when my friend brazenly declared “YOU KNOW WHAT, I AM GOING TO TREAT MYSELF AND YOU SHOULD TOO!”

Being susceptible to such inspired self-care, you can see where that took me:

Both sides of these clean, pedestrian-friendly streets are lined with unique shops and cafes. 

 

The Loose Moose is definitely a favourite, having a mix of home decor and garden trinkets. 

There are some thrift, antique, and second-hand shops as well as your standard jams and jellies from local crafters. 

Nantahala Outdoor Center, the USA’s largest national outdoor recreation company, rafting and kayaking, canoeing, paddle sports, fishing, hiking, biking, climbing, wilderness medicine and river rescue, is located in Bryson City. 

I wish I could say that I have taken advantage of this cornucopia of outdoor activities that Bryson City is known to be, but that has not been my forte.

DEEP CREEK
One thing I have done, however, is hike the Deep Creek Waterfall Loop Trail. 

We visited Juney Whank Falls first. It was only about 1/3 of a mile but gains about 200 feet in elevation, steep enough that some older folks turned around before completing it. 

We passed them later at another waterfall and I showed them photos and a video we took of it so they would not miss out completely. 

Once you reach Juney Whank, you can cross the bridge and make a left to continue the trail, or turn around and go back to the parking lot. 

From the parking lot, you can start the other end of the trail and visit the additional two waterfalls, if you want to skip the full loop for a shorter hike. I think that shaves about 0.3 miles off the 2.4 mile round trip but I could be mistaken. I noticed the distances on the signs do not match what is listed on the NPS website but it was just off by 0.1 mile or so each time.

The second falls are called Tom Branch Falls, and they were the most impressive of the three we saw on this hike. There is a large amphitheater-style area below with some benches that look out over the water. 

Continuing on toward Indian Creek Falls, the furthest away from the parking lot, you will see some idyllic bridges and rushing waves. 

There are some really fascinating moss-covered rock features there as well. 

You will walk down some steep stairs to get to Indian Creek Falls, but the sunken creek bed below is a dream. I would love to spend the day lounging around in those shallow pools in the shade.  

FONTANA LAKE & FONTANA DAM is just a few miles away. The dam was completed in 1944, and shortly after a new interstate was laid out. 

Over 25 years later, after the project suffered a never-ending series of setbacks and problems, it was abandoned.

Now the partial road is known as “The Road to Nowhere” and serves as another tourist attraction.

TAIL OF THE DRAGON
Think carefully about which route you take back up north.

Case in point, I ended up once again embarking on The Tail of the Dragon when in fact, the first time was one time too many. 

This famous 11-mile thrill route has over 300 hairpin curves, most of them so tight you can not see the car in front of you because it is already going the opposite direction.

It is a popular area for car clubs, race cars, sports cars, motorcyclists, and other wildly insane people that like to whip around blind curves in pitch darkness. #lookbothways #ilovebikers 

That last time in particular was unnerving because the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort was having some kind of ear-bursting competition event and we kept having to pull off to let dozens of riders pass each time. 

I felt cool in my zippy new black car that I lovingly call Baphomet, but I was basically put in the corner over and over during the entire 11-mile stretch. 

Definitely go that route if you are a skilled biker or if you want that kind of white-knuckled stress in your life.

Otherwise, go home through Gatlinburg.

In the area for a while? Follow me to Cherokee or Waynesville, and don’t forget to subscribe!

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© Copyright Fernwehtun, 2015- Current. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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© Copyright Fernwehtun, 2015- Current. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Fernwehtun and Fernwehtun.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content