Bryson City North Carolina Real Estate

For folks coming to the area for Carolina mountain vacations, there's an event happening just down the road, in our lovely sister village of Dillsboro, that we're excited to share with everyone: The fifth annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival.  This gathering includes potters from all over the United States - as far away as Texa, Michigan and California - and is happening  Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.

Western North Carolina Pottery Festival is a juried event and showcases 42 master potters demonstrating a variety of techniques.   The festival will take place from 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine. Admission is $2 per person and includes a ticket for a day-long raffle. Children under 12 get in free! 

Dillsboro is just a few minutes drive from both our Bryson City NC cabin rentals and our Cherokee NC cabin rentals, so make an easy day of it and enjoy.

We've got Smoky Mountain golfing, fishing in the Smokies, Smoky Mountain vacation rentals and now we have Elvis!  Okay, so he's not the real Elvis, but he's a mighty cheerful impersonator.  Chris Monteith is bringing "The King" to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Depot for a Halloween concert that we're expecting to rock our little mountain town. 

This is one of our favorite things about Bryson City - the weekly Music in the Mountains concert.  Every Friday night at 6:30, some new and fun local music makers gather at the Depot and play their hearts out.  We get over to listen any time we can and it's always a great time - not only do we get to hear great music, but we get to meet visitors from all over the country who've stopped to add some mountain tunes to their Smoky Mountain vacation. 

Elvis in Bryson!  We're looking forward to this one....

If you happen to have arrived at your Smoky mountain vacation rentals in the midst of a rainstorm this fall - don't be blue!  Take a look around you and notice how vivid the colors of the changing leaves look in the rain.  It's a little recognized fact that gray and rainy days make fall foliage seem to glow brighter and richer than days full of bright sun.

Of course we always wish for sunny skies so we can enjoy some fabulous views from elevation, but if it happens to rain during your Carolina mountain vacation this fall, don't let it get you down - take a moment to notice how brilliant and intimate the tree colors seems - like they turned yellow or orange just for you.  There's nothing dreary in so personal a vision of fall!

Grab an umbrella and go for a walk at Deep Creek, notice the mist off the water and how stunning the waterfalls are thanks to the extra rain - and notice that you have fewer people crowding the trail with you!  Ahha - the joys of a rainy fall day.  Or go over to the Biltmore Estate and explore a mansion like none you have ever seen! (Don't forget to buy your discounted 2 day Biltmore tickets at Yellow Rose for significant savings!)  And when you return to your Bryson City NC cabin rentals, think how nice and cozy it's going to feel for the evening!

The Smoky Mountains have dressed themselves into their fall finery!  The colors are stunning and, for two nights so far,  we even had dustings of snow on the highest peaks.  It melts quickly right now, but the white stuff is a lovely topper for these mountains of ours.

Bryson City North Carolina real estate on the edge of these mountains is prime leaf-looking territory.  We're lucky enough to live here, but we love that we can offer Cherokee NC cabin rentals and Bryson City NC cabin rentals to allow visitors to enjoy the reds of the maples, yellows of the beech and poplars and  the oranges of oaks.  Folks come from all over to see Mother Nature's show in the Carolinas.  We recommend picking up a copy of Trees of the Smokies to help the park and learn more about what you're looking at when you gaze in awe at these spectacular trees.

National Parks and National Forests both represent publicly owned lands but they have very different uses, management plans and levels of protection of wild places.

In our area, we have two national parks around which folks can plan a Carolina mountain vacation -- the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and The Blue Ridge Parkway -- easy to reach from either Bryson City NC cabin rentals or Cherokee NC cabin rentals!  We also have the gorgeous Nantahala National Forest.

National Parks are managed by the Department of the Interior to be protected and preserved in wild state for current and future generations.  Visitors must leave everything they find, and take away everything they bring (i.e. do not pick flowers, collect mushrooms, rocks...or leave orange peels, eggshells, apple cores...). National parks are patrolled by Park Rangers and offer many visitor amenities at designated locations, such as restrooms and maybe even lodging and restaurants.  Dogs are usually not allowed off lead at camping or picnic areas or on any hiking trails in National Parks. 


National Forests, such as Nantahala National Forest, are managed by the Department of Agriculture and are used not only for recreation, but for logging, mining, and hunting. They are less restrictive of activities; more areas are open for camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, All-Terrain-Vehicle use, etc.  National Forests are managed by very small staffs; expect to be completely self-reliant while visiting as amenities are few and very basic.  Dogs are usually allowed. 

It's best to check with the local Park Service and Forest Service offices near where you've booked your Smoky Mountain vacation packages.

It's here!  Fall color has arrived in the Great Smoky Mountains - the peaks around our Bryson City NC Cabin rentals are just pocked yellow and orange and at lower elevations, we're seeing leaves begin to turn too.  The air is full of the fall sounds of rustling leaves in the breeze and the crunch of the fallen leaves underfoot!  Mornings are cooler and days are still hot, making for perfect days of golf in the smokies after a good, hot breakfast! 

Smoky mountain golfing is in full swing among the colorful peaks with the opening of Sequoyah National Golf Course in Whittier, NC.  This course is brand new and we'll bring you more information on it as it becomes more established!  The local course already well known is the Smoky Mountain Country Club, also in Whittier, NC.  Roaming the greens while admiring the display of color onthe mountains...now that's a fantastic Smoky Mountain day!

One of our favorite Bryson City, NC events is the annual Downtown Trick or Treat, taking place this year on Friday, Oct 30th from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.  It's a great event for the kids - even us big kids!  Downtown Bryson City is decked out in Halloween trim and the business owners often dress us to greet the crowds of kids and parents going door to door to every business for Halloween treats. 

This year, we're been informed, there will be a costume contest!  Hmm...what can we go as this year?  So for all our guests planning their Carolina mountain vacation for Halloween weekend - don't forget your dress-up duds -- they are one thing our Smoky Mountain vacation rentals don't provide you!  Those in our Cherokee NC cabin rentals will have to drive a few miles to join the event, but it's worth the trip to see the grins on the kids' faces.

As with the newest children's-book-turned-movie, Where the Wild Things Are, imagination came to life a few years ago with The Polar Express as that famous children's tale was turned into a feature film.  Here in Bryson City, NC, imagination was taken to the next level -  with a real life Polar Express train ride, complete with Santa, elves, lots of hot chocolate and jingling bells for all!  It's the perfect theme for family Carolina mountain vacations!

Starting November 9, 2009 and running through December 23, 2009, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad transforms itself into a children's wonderland.  Kids come in their pajamas for a magic adventure the experience before only in the book or the movie.  We love to watch the little ones jumping up and down in anticipation.  They'll be dreaming of trains every night in one of our Smoky Mountain vacation rentals.  You can read the book, rent the movie, and bring the whole family out to see the real thing!  

Fall in the Great Smoky Mountains means color, color, color.  North Carolina does not have the abundance of maples that make New England famous for red fall color, we do have enough sprinklings of those fabulous flaming red trees to make these southern mountains glow.  Layer after layer of yellow, orange and red dappled peaks spread into the distance here, and the colors linger from mid October into November, making late season viewing a treat. We are seeing the color now, marching down the mountainsides. Very color.

Whether we're out fishing in the Smokies, or enjoying a round of Smoky Mountain golf, we are admiring the glorious color on our lovely mountains!  We're lucky enough that even where we're not out playing, our Smoky Mountain cabin properties - both the house and the office in town - offer us views of the fall extravaganza.  What a treat!  And lucky for folks visiting us that we also have Smoky Mountain vacation rentals so they can enjoy the same views we do!

Fall has come to the Great Smoky Mountains with cool nights and crisp mornings that make you want to wrap your hands around a hot mug of coffee, gaze up at the foggy mountains and give a big "Aaaahhhh!" of contentment.  Days here are warm and clear, and the nights just chilly enough to need another blanket to cuddle under. 

These are great days to get out on the lake in a kayak, take a hike and ride home on a Jet Boat, explore Biltmore Estate. IT is warm enough to be pleasant, but not too hot and sticky for outdoor activities.  With dozens of different things to do in Bryson City and with the crowds of summer gone, folks who come for Fall Carolina mountain vacations see a whole different side of our lovely mountains.  So everyone bring your sense of adventure, and ask us to stock your Bryson City NC rental cabin with some fresh local organic coffee for our fall mountain mornings.

Did you watch the PBS documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"?  What a fabulous series!  (If you missed it on TV, you can view it online.)  Seeing it got us thinking about the people behind the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

One of the most famous, Horace Kephart, author of Camping and Woodcraft based himself in Hazel Creek and eventually Bryson City.  Another great influence on the creation of the National Park was George Masa, whose mysterious life is explored in the documentary The Mystery of George Masa.  On the Tennessee side, Wiley and Rebecca Ann Oakley were influencial in creating appreciation for the uniqueness of the Smokies.

Thanks to these people and many other great men and women, when you enjoy Great Smoky Mountain vacation packages, you are able to enjoy these fabulous mountains in all their glory.

Ginkgo Trees are one of the most ancient species of tree on Earth, with fossils dating back to the early Jurassic period.  One surprising trait of these trees is that they do not loose their leaves gradually.  Ginkgos drop their leaves all at once, sending a shower of golden onto the ground, and if you happen to be near the tree on your Carolina mountain vacation when it happens, it's not a sight you will soon forget!

In 1941, Mary Bryson Tipton (Bryson City, NC is named for her family), planted a Ginkgo tree on the corner of Everett and Mitchell Streets in downtown Bryson City.  Mrs. Tipton had been a missionary in China and returned home to Bryson City NC at the start of the second world war.  The tree is still there, shading the building beside it and offering its own unique fall spectacle among our Smoky Mountain fall foliage extravaganza.  It's not something typically included in Smoky Mountain vacation packages, but if you're lucky enough to see our Ginkgo shed its leaves while you're visiting Bryson City, you'll have another great story to take home with you.

We're starting to see color at elevation - over 5000 feet.  Lucky for us, living in the Great Smoky Mountains means that we're only a short drive from such elevation and can get to those beautiful leaves in just a few moments.

Here in downtown Bryson City, NC, we're seeing dogwoods already showing their red berries and a tint to their leaves.  The mornings are cooler, and the days are warming into the 70s with blue skies, puffy clouds passing by and the first hints of golden fall light.  What a great time to be out playing in our Carolina mountain vacation paradise!

Whether you've chosen Bryson City NC Cabin Rentals or Cherokee NC Cabin Rentals, the heights of the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway are a short drive away.  And as the season goes on, you'll be able to step right off you cabin porch into a display of fall colors and crunchy leaves.  We'll keep you updated as more colors appear!

They tune up in June and spend the next several months singing us to sleep.  People spend lots of money on white noise machines to hear a computer-generated version of our Smoky Mountain cicada song -  so what better way to fall asleep than to an all-natural white-noise?

And cicadas sing rain or shine - some claim they sing louder in the rain - so you can count on night music no matter what the weather! Many of our Bryson City NC rental cabins have country front porches on which you can sit and watch the sunset and listen as the night sounds begin.
Good sleep is a hallmark of a Carolina mountain vacation, and while our Smoky Mountain vacation packages include enough activities to set you up for good rest, our mountain cicada lullaby closes the deal on a great night of sleep.

The Great Pumpkin vacations in the Great Smoky Mountain!  Bryson City North Carolina real estate is perfect for pumpkin patches and the Great Pumpkins loves to hide among them every weekend in October!   The Peanuts characters are all looking for the Great Pumpkin too and will greet you and help you search as well.  Kids select their own pumpkins, and enjoy hay rides, live music, storytelling, a hay bale maze, a bouncy house, a petting zoo and more.

Kids and adults are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and to trick or treat.  It's a fine time to live and play in Bryson City and we love to have folks visit and be part of it.

Whether you're doing Cherokee NC Cabin Rentals or Bryson City NC Cabin Rentals, make the Great Pumpkin Express part of your Carolina mountain vacation! You can book your train ride tickets directly with us at Yellow Rose Realty, when you call (800-528-0760 or when you arrive at our office in Bryson City. 

We had a great time this past weekend, despite the rain - Railfest was in Bryson City!  Festivals such as this one is a bonus find in any Smoky Mountain vacation packages. There are festivals all fall in the mountains this time of year and are definitely worth working into your visit!

Railfest is 3 days of railroad fun for trail enthusiasts of all ages.  Those interested in railroad history can enjoy visiting equipment, motor car displays and of course Bryson City's Lionel Train Museum!  There are musical performances and good eats too!

Bryson City NC cabin rentals are available all year long, but fall festival season is a favorite time to fill the cabins because there is so much to see and do in the fall. (The colors are just beginning to turn... more on that soon.) 

A like bluegrass, a little gospel, a little folk, a little rock-n-roll, a little reggae...you might hear any or all of during North Carolina mountain vacations and here in Bryson City, we have Music In The Mountains every Saturday night at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad train Depot.  You can grab a pizza on the deck at Anthony's and listen while you eat, or pull up a chair right in front of the musicians and feel part of the band!

September 19th, The Caribbean Cowboys  got the crowd moving with a tunes mix of reggae, calypso, and good old rock 'n roll.  Then on the 26th, we have local bluegrass/rockabilly with Isaac Deal & Aaron Plantenberg, formally of Commonfolk, playing guitar and banjo favorites.

When you call about Bryson City NC Cabin Rentals, make sure to ask us what else is happening in town while you're visiting! Visit our events calendar as well to see area events. 

The National Parks: America's Best Idea premiers on PBS on Sept 27, 2009th and there will be a sneak preview screening of an except from the documentary on Sept 26 at the Sugarlands Visitors Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Showings are 11am and 2 pm.

As Ken Burns, director of the documentary says of the National Parks: “If it is a democratic idea and we are all co-owners of these places, all we have to do is go and visit our property every once in awhile and make sure it’s being taken care of. That will save it for posterity.”

Wow!  So we here in Bryson City, NC have huge interest in the most visited of all our National Parks - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (We kinda think of it as "ours".) Most of Swain County, NC, where Bryson City is located, is public land - either National Forest or National Park - so we have a lot to visit and preserve.  All year long, we've been celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it's not over yet!   We're excited to see this new documentary and to keep celebrating this wonderful place where we choose to live.

We were thrilled to learn that Hinnant Family Vineyards chose three paintings by local Bryson City, NC artist Charles Heath to grace the labels of their latest North Carolina Wines: Electric Pelican, Moondance Magnolia, and Loggerhead Red.  These sweet muscadine table wines are made from handpicked grapes and the lively art on the labels will make you smile.  Charles will even sign your bottle if you stop by his gallery!

If your North Carolina mountain vacation needs a little twist or you are looking for a unique sourvenir or gift to take home with you, these wines are a perfect option!  Pick them up at The Cottage Craftsman in downtown Bryson City, NC.

And if you're in town on one of our Smoky Mountain vacation packages, remember we offer grocery delivery service to our rental cabins.  So if you're thinking wine - don't forget to order in some cheese!
Check out our new Fall Carolina Mountain Vacation Specials, hot off the press (ok, hot onto the website?!) Save 15% on any midweek cabin rental, Monday to Thursday. 

In the next few weeks, some of our favorite summer visitors will be heading south for the winter.  Ruby Throated hummingbirds arrive in the Great Smoky Mountains and Bryson City & Cherokee in spring and stay through about the second week of September.  Their arrival heralds spring in the mountains and their departure means we'll soon be enjoying crisper mornings and the first hints of fall color!

We'll be sad to see these little flying gems go, but we know their leaving means the Smokies' most colorful season is almost upon us.  We'll be crunching through fallen leaves, watching ferns turn bronze and kicking fallen black walnuts along the Deep Creek Trail in no time!  Fall is a spectacular time for a Carolina Mountain Vacation. 

Did you know North Carolina has a new birding trail with great resources for beginner to expert birdwatchers?  You can pick up your own birding trail guide online or at Gil's book store in Bryson City. It's located at 196 Everett Street, near the train depot. (Don't look for a website for Gil's, he's happy to be old-school with a physical book store only, and pleased to let other's use the internet to their heart's content. You'll find a nice selection of local and regional guidebooks there.)