hiking

Once they set foot in the Great Smoky Mountains, many of our guests find they just can't keep their feet from wandering. With more than 800 miles of trails at your toes, from easy strolls to challenging day-hikes, you're free to conquer the mountain or just amble through our beautiful wooded grounds.

Two of our closest trails – Deep Creek in Bryson City (20 minutes away) and the Tsali Trails (10 minutes' drive) – are especially popular with guests looking to make a day of it in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Deep Creek's lush landscape, sparkling waterfalls and relatively mild terrain make it a gorgeous destination for an afternoon picnic. It's also perfect for water-lovers, who can cool off after a summer hike with a refreshing inner-tube ride down the creek itself.

The Tsali Trails follow the shores of beautiful Fontana Lake in the Nantahala National Forest, offering breathtaking lake views, plenty of single track hiking, and a more primitive, "back-country" experience than nearby Deep Creek.

 
guided hikes

In addition to solo exploration, Lakeview guests can enjoy unique guided hikes through our partnership with American Hikes. All will introduce you to equally enchanting Smoky Mountains hiking trails, and are led by experienced local guides with a broad knowledge of native wildlife, history and culture to share.

Ghosts & Legends Hike 
Take a spine-tingling evening stroll into the Great Smoky Mountains for an evening of ghosts, legends, and folklore.
Cost: $40. more info

Great Smokies Nature Hike
On this interactive tour of the lower elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains, your guide will introduce you to the Park's complex ecosystem through hands on experiments, interpretive discussions, and enhancement activities.
Cost: $40. more info

Waterfall Hike
This water-filled experience takes you to some of the less traveled areas of the Park to view waterfalls, cascades, and swirling pools.
Cost: $40. more info

Road To Nowhere History HIke
Step back to the beginning of the Park's creation during a time when families, communities, and local governments were giving up their land to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Fontana Lake.
Cost: $40 more info

Cataloochee History Hike
Situated among some of the tallest peaks in the southeastern United States, this isolated place was in the 1800s, the largest and most affluent settlement in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You might see some of the elk that have been re-introduced into the Park.
Cost: $95. more info

Highlands Balk Nature Hike
Though scientists are still debating their origins, they do know the bald mountain meadows were summer livestock grazing sites used by many of the early settlers. On this interactive tour of one of the Park's balds, your guide will introduce you to the rare ecosystem through hands on experiments, interpretive discussions, and enhancement activities.
Cost: $95. more info