The chocolate factory offers a wide selection and variety of hand-dipped chocolates, homemade fudge, gourmet coffees from around the world, Jelly-Bellies, handmade truffles, food gifts, and more.
28 Church Street
Dillsboro, NC
(828) 631-0156
Sassy Frass is an upscale consignment furniture and home decor store that offers a wide variety of items including furniture, home goods, kitchenware, and fine jewelry, as well as vendor booths filled with a variety of fun and useful items.
581 W Main Street
Sylva, NC
(828) 586-3600
Ride the rails through parts of Western North Carolina, departing from the historic depot in Bryson City. A variety of train excursions and special event trains run throughout the year, with options ranging from dining in first class with a private attendant and breathtaking views to taking it all in while riding in an open-air gondola.
45 Mitchell Street
Bryson City, NC
800-872-4681
This “park” located in Dillsboro is not what you might think; it is a park of artisan studios. The “green energy” is the methane gas captured from the town’s old landfill that is used as fuel for the studios. The studios and artisans featured include a sculpture garden, glass studio, metals shop, ceramics studio with a kiln that is fired using vegetable oil, and a gallery. Guided tours are also available.
100 Green Energy Park Rd.
Dillsboro, NC
828-631-0271
Concerts on the Creek will be held every Friday night from May 26 through September 1, 2017 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bridge Park gazebo. Bring a chair or blanket. The event is free with donations accepted. For more information, please call 828-586-2155, visit www.mountainlovers.com, or like Concerts on the Creek on Facebook.
June 2nd, 2017 – Grandpa’s Cough Medicine
Event Description
Grandpa’s Cough Medicine delivers blazing tempos, outlaw attitude foot-stomping intensity and frenetic picking with their simple combination of flat-picked guitar, Scruggs-style banjo, thumping upright bass and tight vocal harmonies.Visit their website at outloawbluegrass.com pr find them on Facebook: @grandpascoughmedicine.
The only casino in the state features 102,000 square feet of gaming space, a 3,000-seat
entertainment center, and 20,000 square feet of conference and meeting space.
777 Casino Drive
Cherokee, NC
800-427-7247
Features artifacts and items that highlight and celebrate the culture of the Cherokee tribes indigenous to Western North Carolina.
589 Tsali Blvd.
Cherokee, NC
(828) 497-3481
One of the favorite things to do for many Western North Carolina visitors is hiking the numerous trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway and through state and national forests. There are so many hiking trails, in fact, that it’s difficult to pick the perfect ones to take during a limited visit to the mountains. We’ve compiled a short list that encompasses the general area around the Sundog Vacation Rental properties, as well as a few outliers that are worth the longer travel time.
Pinnacle Park
Just south of the Plott Balsam Mountains in Sylva, the namesake of this park is a ridge that rises more than 5000 feet. The view from that height is nothing short of impressive and is accessible via the West Fork Trail that starts in the parking lot and ends at the pinnacle. Fair warning, though: It’s a steep, rocky trail, and from beginning to end, it covers about 7 miles.
Haywood County’s Black Balsam Knob
A great place to catch a sunrise or sunset, the Knob reaches an elevation of 6,214 feet. Luckily, the hike to the summit is just a little over half a mile following the Art Loeb trail. Although it’s not a long hike, it is steep – the walk up rises 425 feet in elevation. Prepare for sensory overload, as the scent of balsam fir trees and wildflowers fills the area around you. To get there, take the Blue Ridge Parkway to milepost 420. A map and more detailed directions may be found here.
Richland Balsam Trail
The 1.5-mile trail begins on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Haywood-Jackson Overlook. It’s a 700-foot climb, but it’s not difficult. There is plenty of foliage along the way, and frequent hikers claim the trail smells wonderful – owing to the abundant fir and spruce trees surrounding the trail.
Whiteside Mountain
Located in the Highlands area, this hike is not for the faint-hearted. It’s steep, features stairs, and the trail features some mud and slightly eroded spots. There are several overlooks along the way to the top, but they don’t all have railings or fencing, so be cautious when stopping to peek over the edges.
Devil’s Courthouse Trail
The paved hike to the top of the mountain is fairly short at just under a mile (round-trip), but provides a powerful view of the surrounding area. Still, it’s not the easiest hike, with obstacles including stone stairs. The reward is at the top, where three states are visible if skies are clear.
High Falls Trail at Lake Glenville
Just 8 miles from Cashiers, the High Falls Trail is a scenic hike with scattered rhododendron and tall tries. Its more perilous features include stone stairs, but there are also tree-built bridges that are easier to traverse. High Falls waterfall is within reach at just .7 miles along the trail, but heading back to the trailhead means climbing more than 500 feet in elevation. In all, the hike is 1.4 miles, round-trip.
More Hikes
The hikes mentioned here are just a small sampling of the numerous treks within the mountains of Western North Carolina. For more trails, thorough descriptions of each trail, directions to each, and levels of difficulty, visit this website.
Every Thursday night is Jazz night at the Innovation Brewing. Tyler Kittle and Michael Collings are some of the most talented Jazz musicians around and we are lucky enough to have them right here in Sylva. Come experience the Kittle/Collings duo every Thursday from 8-11pm