Explore Western North Carolina: Family Fun for Everyone

A few weeks ago my family and I were invited to visit Western North Carolina and attend Haywood County's inaugural Fire & Ice Mountain Winterfest taking place in the towns of Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Canton and Clyde. First, let me tell you about the area and many attractions offered, then read on for a detailed account of our experience.

Haywood County has 554 scenic square miles of beautiful mountains and countryside. The town we visited during our stay, Maggie Valley, is located in the heart of Western North Carolina. Maggie Valley is surrounded by the ridges of the ancient Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains and offers many family-friendly attractions. Ghost Town in the Sky is a wild-west theme park with "rides fit for the youngest buckaroo to the bravest outlaw" and also features staged gunfights, live music, crafts, food and fun during the spring, summer and fall. In the winter the Cataloochee Ski Area is open, the Southeast's longest operating ski resort. With 14 slopes and trails, Cataloochee has fun for skiers and snowboarders, offering slopes for both novice and expert skiers.

The area truly has something for everyone – festivals, golf at the Maggie Valley Club, mountain music at the Maggie Valley Opry House and more. The Biltmore Estate is only about 30 minutes away, the Cherokee Indian Reservation is close, as well as Chimney Rock Park, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad and Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel – all located within an hours drive.

Additional activities include white water rafting, camping and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains, horseback riding; you can even visit Cataloochee Valley for elk sightings. Over 100 restaurants and 180 accommodations are located in the area, so you're sure to find a restaurant and place to stay that suits your needs.

Go to www.VisitNCSmokies.com for more information on accommodations, restaurants, lodging and more.

Now, on to my weekend getaway…

Let me start by saying that I'm not much of a fan of cold weather, but I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to discover everything that Maggie Valley, NC has to offer.

The travel time from Nashville, TN wasn't as far as I thought it would be, but there was a rock slide at the TN/NC state line which added an extra hour to our trip. We arrived at the Maggie Valley Club around 4:30 and checked into our condo -- it was beautiful! The 3 bedroom/2 bath condo (with screened-in porch, I might add!) was so nice that my husband said that he would live here; definitely a golfers paradise in the mountains!

We decided to go to Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa for dinner. As part of the Fire & Ice Festival, the Cork & Cleaver restaurant inside the resort had a crab leg and wing buffet as the special for the evening. Great choice! The food was excellent, definitely not your "typical" buffet. The crab legs, wings, salad and dessert were delicious and they continued to put fresh food out the entire time we were there. I would highly recommend the Cork & Cleaver restaurant to anyone who is looking for a great atmosphere with quality food. After dinner we decided it was time to call it night, as tomorrow we were going to the Cataloochee Ski Area for a day of skiing and snowboarding fun!

The next morning, we went to the Pin High Bar and Grille, a very nice restaurant located at The Maggie Valley Club. They had a delicious Lumberjack Breakfast buffet available, consisting of scrambled eggs, applewood-smoked bacon, sausage links and patties, fluffy pancakes, biscuits and gravy and homemade hashbrowns. A full breakfast menu was also offered. We decided to try the Lumberjack Breakfast since were in a hurry to get our day started. I'm 2 for 2 on buffets now; the food was fresh and very good. The wait staff was friendly and on hand to refill our drinks or get us anything we needed. We will be eating here again!

Next up - the Cataloochee Ski Area! Everyone was excited to start skiing so we got our ski lift tickets and rented our equipment. Because none of us had skied before we decided to take the class. It was a hands-on class where an instructor takes you out on the slopes and teaches you the basics for an hour and a half. It was quite humorous watching us, I'm sure! Thankfully our instructor was patient and even went out of his way to help my son Matthew, who was having a difficult time. After class we were set loose to ski on our own. We never quite mastered the sport, but had a fun time trying. This, I might add, makes you very hungry! We decided to go get some lunch at the ski lodge. They had everything from burgers and fries to pizza…a wide variety of choices to please everyone.

After lunch my husband and the kids decided they wanted to learn to snowboard. It was going to be an hour until the next snowboard class so we skipped class and thought we would teach ourselves. Once we made it back out on the slopes we discovered it was completely different than skiing. Thanks to the generosity of some snowboarders, they taught us the basics of snowboarding. Matthew (who had such a hard time skiing) picked up snowboarding with no problem at all. We stayed out on the slopes the rest of the afternoon and then headed back down the mountain.

Located at the bottom of the mountain is Tube World, a 5 run snow tube park where you get on inner tubes and slide down manmade snow ramps. Once you slide down the ramp, a handy conveyer belt takes you back to the top to do it all again. Tubing sessions cost $25 per ticket, per session (sessions are 1 hour and 45 minutes) and there is a minimum height of 42 inches. If you have smaller children, a Wee Bowl Snowplay Area is offered those who don't meet height requirements ($5 per session).

After Tube World we went back Pin High Bar and Grille and had a wonderful dinner. The wait staff suggested we try the chocolate cake for dessert, which my son named the "to die for cake," it was absolutely delicious! We decided it was time to call it a night, so we headed back to the condo and reflected on what a wonderful trip this has been.

The next morning it was time to start our journey home, but not before one more stop at the Pin High Bar and Grille for brunch. Once again, the staff made sure our every need was met. I definitely recommend Maggie Valley Club as a place to stay and eat when you are in the area. We had one piece of the "to die for cake" and headed for home. The kids were sad to leave because they had such a fun time. I must agree, for a girl that doesn't like cold weather at all, I had one of the best times with my family on this mini vacation! We will definitely come back again. Maggie Valley, North Carolina is a great place to have fun and spend quality time with friends and family.