Fishing In The Smokies

Whether visitors are coming to do some fishing in the Smokies, Smoky Mountain golfing, whitewater rafting or just to relax in Bryson City NC cabin rentals, getting to the mountains can be nearly as much fun as being here - at least when drivers find themselves on the Nantahala Scenic Byway.

For those coming to the Great Smoky Mountains from Chattanooga, TN or North Georgia, the Nantahala Scenic Byway offers 40 beautiful miles to ease the drive.

US Hwy 19/74 winds its way up through the Andrews River Valley to the Nantahala Gorge, following the Valley River and then the Nantahala River in turn.  Mountains rise misty in the distance across the valley, then draw close and seem to hug the road as the sides of the Nantahala Gorge rise on either side of the river.  Nantahala means, loosely translated,  "River of the Mid-Day Sun", because the sun only reaches the heart of the River Gorge when it is directly overhead.

This scenic roadway offers open vistas and close encounters with mountains in only a short drive - well worth the trip! There are numerous pullouts along the road by the Nantahala River, several with picnic tables, where you can enjoy watching the rafters and kayakers paddling by.

On a cool fall night in the Smokies, curl up in front of a fire in one of our Bryson City NC cabin rentals and reach for a good book.  What's a good read for a mountain evening?  We have a favorite suggestion.

Ron Rash, professor at Western Carolina University, is the award winning author of 9 books: The Night The New Jesus Fell to Earth (short stories), Casualties (short stories), Eureka Mill (poetry),  Among the Believers (poetry), Raising the Dead (poetry), One Foot in Eden (novel), Saints at the River (novel), and The World Made Straight (2006) and Serena (2008). 

His family has lived in the Appalachian mountains since the 1700s, and there is a unique taste of the rugged mountain life in his works and his characters are no simple stereotypical constructs, but rather real folks dealing with tough issues, some common to people everywhere, some unique to the mountain region they live in.

Whether here for fishing in the Smokies, smoky mountain golfing or just a relaxing Carolina mountain vacation, there's nothing like a good book to wind down the day, and Ron Rash won't disappoint.

Just a couple miles away from our Smoky Mountain cabin properties, on Old NC 288, is Lemon's Branch Boat ramp, a little-known put-in to Fontana Lake, where the Tuckaseegee river meets the lake.  But if you don't have a boat, there's another gem along the way.  Only minutes from town, away from crowds, on quiet backroads, is a surprise -- three picnic tables along side the river.

Like so many places in small towns, this one does not get much traffic from folks who don't live there.  If you bring your lunch to this location, you'll most likely have the place to yourself - expect for the occasional fisherman or duck floating by or a Blue Heron wading along in search of fish.   And there's also railed deck over the water -- a perfect spot for doing some land-based fishing in the smokies -- especially if you have kids.  So grab a sandwich and come enjoy an easy-to-get-to, quiet picnic spot in the mountains along the river.

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....

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!

Investing in a Cabin in the Mountains for Rental Property Income
So you are thinking about buying some property in the Smoky Mountains so you can have access to a vacation cabin, and you’d like to turn it into a vacation cabin rental to generate income while you aren’t there.

What kind of property offers the best chance for rental success?
I get this question frequently from homeowners and prospective rental property buyers. Johnny and I (Dena) have managed vacation cabin rentals through our company, Yellow Rose Realty for over 15 years now. We have learned from experience with actual historical rental patterns to back it up, what “rents” well and what doesn’t.

Here are tips to help you identify the best property to achieve your rental cabin goals:

Location and Cabin Floor Plan/Layout are the two most important elements in your purchase of property.  Amenities and Interior Decorating come next in importance. We’ll talk about Location and Cabin Layout in this blog entry, and look for tips about Amenities and Interior Decorating in Part 2 next week.

Location:
The top requested cabin rentals in our Smoky Mountain vacation region that includes Bryson City, Cherokee, Nantahala, Fontana, and Dillsboro have Creekside and Mountain Views.  Creekside rentals are, of course, more limited than mountain view rentals, so you will benefit from some built-in excess demand if you can find a good creekside property. Creekside properties are exceptionally popular for families with kids and the numerous stocked trout streams in our region make for a high value additional benefit for renters who like to fish.

Access:
Good roads to your cabin rental are important because vacationers do not necessarily have four-wheel drive vehicles, and/or they are not familiar with rugged terrain driving.  Motorcycles are an increasingly popular target market with world-class motorcycle touring less than an hour from Bryson City, NC (Cherohala Skyway, Tail of the Dragon, and Blue Ridge Parkway to name just three).


Cabin Floor Plan/Layout:

Maybe you found the perfect property and want to build your own cabin, or maybe you want to buy an existing cabin and turn it into a rental cabin.

What kinds of physical layouts (cabin design) are most popular with renters?
Here they are:

1. The best renting cabins have open floor plans with great rooms and cathedral ceilings. This big open room (living room, dining room, kitchen area all in one central area of the cabin) is really important. It gathers together your rental family/group and encourages shared activities, conversations, and time together in the one large gathering space.
2. If you find a beautiful property with great mountain views or creekside access that has lots of separate rooms (i.e. no great room), definitely consider a renovation. Your repeat rental business depends on your renters loving their time in your cabin!
3. How many bedrooms are ideal for maximum “rentability”?
4. We manage over 60 vacation rentals and find that the two bedroom is the most popular and consistent for year-round target rentals. The three bedroom is the next popular. One bedrooms cabins are great for honeymooners and couples looking for a romantic retreat, but are less useful for broader target customers. The four bedroom and larger cabin is perfect for large groups and families, and rentals tend to be limited to holidays and summer months as a result.

The most important thing to know: Get an assessment on your prospective property from a rental property manager who has long term (more than 5 years) experience in mountain vacation rentals BEFORE you buy. Our vacation market offers specific challenges and opportunities due to our geography and seasonality. Yellow Rose Realty offers free evaluations on potential property investments for purchasers. Take advantage of our expertise, with no risk and no cost. You deserve to maximize the income from your rental property. The wrong cabin or the wrong location can’t achieve your goals.

Read more next week in our blog on What Makes a Successful Cabin Rental – Part 2, Amenities and Interior Decorating.

The 4th of July holiday weekend is fast approaching! It's not too late to plan a great Smoky Mountain Vacation Getaway as we still have a few Cherokee and Bryson City Cabin Rentals available for last minute bookings, call 800.528-0760 or book online.

There is a lot happening in the mountain towns here on the NC side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park this weekend! Here's a run down of what's going on:

• Bryson City Freedom Festival: all day on Friday July 4th.The day starts at 9am with the Firecracker 5K Road Race, a fast, flat (hard to believe in the mtns, it's true) course from town towards Deep Creek and the GSMNP.  Then enjoy a day of music, youth entertainment, PAWS pet show "Strut your Mutt", crafts, good food, and a great fireworks display in the evening. 
• Cherokee Annual July Pow Wow: Enjoy authentic Indian dancing, story telling, drumming, and tribal regalia. The Indian dance competition is really exciting. Vendors, food, and fireworks finish out a great day in Cherokee.
Other area events include the North Carolina Bluegrass Festival, Inspirations Gospel Extravaganza, Music in the Mountains every evening in Bryson City, and An Appalachian Evening Concert and Dinner in nearby Stecoah.

• FREE FISHING  all day on July 4th, no licenses required, thanks to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. For a complete list of public fishing access areas, visit Go Fishing! on www.ncwildlife.org