The summer is coming to a close, which means it’s time to mark off those final bucket list items. Here are just a few of our favorite activities you can mark off your list, right here in Maggie Valley.
Visit a National Park
If you are looking to check a National Park off your bucket list, look no further! Maggie Valley is located in the NC Smokies near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which features a variety of wildlife-watching, bicycling, hiking, and fishing amenities. Book any of our many lodging options, and you’ll be able to almost instantly check one item off your list: visiting a national park.
Take a Dip in Midnight Swimming Hole
Enjoy sun-kissed skin and the feeling of the warm sun on your face? By exploring gorgeous new hues in nature – and on your skin – at Midnight Swimming Hole, you can keep that summer tan just a little bit longer and take one last dip before temperatures begin dropping.
Sunset & Stargaze
Call it wanderlust or call it romantic, but sharing a sunset and stargazing on the Blue Ridge Parkway is an activity you can’t go a full summer without. Cruise over to and park at one of the parkway’s many overlooks, sit in the trunk, and take in breathless heights and shimmering stars.
Munch in the Park
Most people think a bucket list has to be chalked full of adventurous activities, but summer is also about slowing down and enjoying what the earth has to offer. A great way to do this is with a picnic in Maggie Valley’s McCraken Corner Park, conveniently located by the town’s sidewalk system and Mountain View Greenway. The park features plenty of open ground to bask on while savoring a delicious meal, as well as shaded picnic tables and grills.
Hike Up to the Waterrock Knob Overlook
Summer is all about sight-seeing, so make sure to get those legs working while also catching a glimpse of nature from mountain heights with a hike up Waterrock Knob Overlook. With a steep but short hike, you can enjoy the scenery of a 6,292 ft mountain peak, or you can you can sit at an elevation of 5,820 ft right in the parking lot and still experience a nearly 360 degree view of mountain landscapes with no work at all!
Wine and Dine
Embrace the finer things this summer. You can start with Frankies’s Italian Trattoria for dinner and dessert, where fresh, locally grown herbs, greens, and veggies are featured in many dishes. We recommend the Bisrecca alla Buttero, if you’re a juicy steak-hunter, with a side of sauteed broccoli and the Dolci Misto sampler for dessert!
Then, you can head one minute down the road to sip on fine wine at B&C Winery, where three for five-dollar wine tastings are offered daily. The juices and skins from vineyards around the world are utilized alongside fresh mountain spring water to make some of the finest bottles of wine around.
Maggie Valley is the perfect summer spot to cross-off all of those last-minute items, and an even better place to capture awesome photos. Don’t forget to tag @VisitNCSmokies when you post for a chance to be featured in our marketing resources.
