For less than $1,400 a family of four can spend an entire week in Bryson City, NC. That includes lodging in a mountain cabin and all meals and activities! The Great Smoky Mountains and Bryson City, NC, are less than one day’s drive from many parts of the United States, such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Bryson City is a picturesque town in Western North Carolina that is tucked on the southern end of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and offers plenty of charm and southern hospitality. Upon arriving in Bryson City you will immediately realize that this is not your typical city. Bryson City is small town America at its finest with fewer than 1,400 residents. The welcome sign says it all: “Uncrowned, Unhurried, Unspoiled, and Uncommon.”
You can rent a mountain Cabin in Bryson City or Cherokee for about the same price as a hotel room, if not less. There you will find many Smoky Mountain Cabin Rentals available that range in price from $650 to $850 for a full weeks stay. Your Mountain Cabin has many impressive features, including a hot tub, a campfire pit and private bedrooms, but the key to this budget friendly vacation is a full kitchen, where you can cook all of your meals and assemble box lunches for your day trips exploring the Smoky Mountains. We suggest leaving the television off so that you can turn the cooking into a family event for all to enjoy. How often do you get a chance to really teach your kids how to cook?
Since many of the inexpensive or free activities surrounding Bryson City and the Smoky Mountains involve moving about and burning calories, you will not want to skip any meals. This will help to ensure that you have plenty of fuel to keep you energized for the adventure packed days that await you and your family. Here is a complete seven day meal planner with an itemized grocery list to help guide you along. Following this handy shopping list and meal planner, a week of groceries that will feed a family of four for all three meals will only set you back about $300, and that includes snacks and beverages. Now that you have the food and nourishment covered, let’s talk about things to do that will bring the entire family closer as you enjoy some fun quality time together. After you have all of your groceries stored and your clothes are unpacked, we recommend spending the evening resting up in your private hot tub as you snuggle into the cabin for the night.
There is no better way to explore the Smoky Mountains than on foot. Since your cabin is just a few miles away from many of the top destinations, you can probably use less than a tank of gas during your entire week. Many of the hikes we will mention do not require you to be in peak physical condition, but for those who want a little workout while vacationing, there are surrounding trails that are sure to get your heart pumping in no time. If your everyday life consists of sitting in rush hour traffic and hearing the annoying sound of car horns, get ready to experience not only a change in latitude, but also a change in attitude. There is nothing quite like hiking along a trail in the midst of nature while enjoying the sights and sounds of falling water that originates from a cool mountain spring. Bryson City and Cherokee feature many of the best waterfalls the Smoky Mountains have to offer, including these three on Deep Creek: Tom Branch, Indian Creek and Juneywhank Falls. Another must-see waterfall is Whitewater Falls. At 700 feet, it’s the highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains.
