Take a Hike

Take a Hike

A five-minute hike from the Mingo Falls Campground (Big Cove Rd., about 4 mi north of Acquoni Rd.) will reward you with a view of the 200-foot-high Mingo Falls. In the downtown area you can cross the Oconaluftee River on a footbridge to Oconaluftee Islands Park & Trail (Off U.S. 441, across from Cherokee Elementary School) and walk a trail around the perimeter of the Island Park, which also has picnic facilities. The flat 1 1/2-mi Oconaluftee River Trail begins at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park entrance sign on U.S. 441 (near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway) and ends at the Mountain Farm Museum-Park Visitor Center.