My sister and her husband have rented a house in Highlands for a couple of months, and I'm going to visit in late September. I would like to do some easy hiking with my sister, see waterfalls, whatever - just be outdoors. Any suggestions?

Get yourself a GPSr and become a geocacher. Visit geocaching.com
This is a worldwide game with hidden caches and a few virtual caches. I have been geocaching for 6 years now with a little over 1000 finds.

Tom - I've heard of geocatching and it sounds like fun, but I'm looking for something a little tamer/easier. My sister specified a "nice little walk - NOT a hike like you would do". She also is somewhat worried about bears. (The guy they rented the house from told them all sorts of bear stories.....). Anyway, I think that what we need are popular, easy, short (30 minute?) hikes - oops, I mean walks!

Geocaching is not necessarily strenuous. Our grandson does it in downtown Charlotte.
Lots of waterfalls and hikes in the area. I'm sure there are guides for it.

There are many geocaches hidden in parking lots and city parks all over the US. Type in an address in the "hide & seek" tab on geocaching.com The Groundspeak headquarters are in the Fremont section of Seattle. There are many virtuals and ""challenges" if you don't want to look for a container and sign a logbook.

There are lots of trails available, many to waterfalls. Here's one resource. I'm more familiar with hikes a bit further south but here's one link to check out -
http://www.highlandsinfo.com/hiking.htm

One thing you need to be sure to do is take the drive from Highlands to Franklin on Hwy 64. It's an amazing drive with waterfalls along the way -
http://theblueridgehighlander.com/ma...lina/index.php

Late in the afternoon, head up to Sunset Rock SE of Highland.
Look for GCXE9J near the upper parking lot. The cache has been there for 5 years and has 146 finds with only 2 DNF's. It sounds like a great place to take a picture of the town at sunset.

If you are interested in a train ride, head north of Franklin to Bryson City -

http://www.gsmr.com/ride-us/ride-us
http://www.gsmr.com/sites/default/fi...terstate_1.pdf

You could stop for lunch or dinner in Sylva on the way up (or back).

The Georgia county just over the state line is Rabun County and has several very easy hiking options -
http://www.mountaintravelguide.com/H...g%20Trails.htm

One is the walk along the rim of Tallulah Gorge -
http://www.gastateparks.org/TallulahGorge

The highest state park in Georgia is Black Rock Mountain State Park - between Clayton and Dillard, GA (turn at Mountain City GA)
http://www.gastateparks.org/BlackRockMountain

There's a moderate 2.2 mile hike along the Tennesses Rock Trail. There's one steep section going up to a viewpoint, but the rest is easy. Some people do part of it and double back.

An EXTREMELY EASY walk - more like a stroll - is along the lake at BRMSP. It's a beautiful walk around a small mountain lake - almost a mile and completely level. Follow the signs to it off Taylor's Chapel Road -
http://www.getoutdoorsgeorgia.org/pa...x.asp?parkId=3

Also on the list above is the short hike to Minnehaha Falls. It's a bit of a drive but past Lake Rabun and it's a beautiful drive.

East of Clayton on the SC border is the Chattoga River where the movie Deliverance was filmed. That section of the river is one of the wildest rides available to the public. At the end of the Class IV run is Bull Sluice rapid - and a lot of people end up in the water there. A friend takes a short walk from the parking area to watch the "fun". I've never done it but plan to. I've rafted the Chattaga and was indeed popped out of the raft at Bull Sluice. Scared me to death.
http://www.jjanthony.com/waterfalls/...ullsluice.html

As you head back north on 441, less than a mile from the turn-off to Highlands is the famous Dillard House -
http://www.dillardhouse.com/restaurant/
If you want great veggies, fried and baked chicken, prime rib on some nights, country ham and other specialities it's the place to go.

If you are bored or if it's raining and you want to see a movie, head over to Franklin to Ruby Cinemas -
http://www.rubycinemas.com/nowplaying.html

I often go there to see movies on opening weekend. It's a small 4plex but you can't beat the prices - 2 adult tickets, a popcorn and a drink to share AND change back from a $20.

The little town of Franklin may be worth a stop.

The strangest location for an acclaimed restaurant is a French restaurant adjacent to a gas station. No kidding. Look for the Hot Spot and at the side is the Caffe Rel
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran..._Carolina.html
Cash only so stop at the ATM first if need be.

One last idea - the BEST thing to do (IMO) is to spend time on a mountain lake

I don't know anthing about renting on Fontana Lake
http://www.greatsmokies.com/boating.asp

but if you want a recommendation on Lakes Burton or Rabun in Georgia, let me know.

Hiking to the shopping in the area might just be the ticket!!

Thanks so much - I'll look into what you've suggested and get back with questions. When we were quite a bit younger (my oldest is 23 and it was a couple of years before he was born), I took my sister rafting on the Chattoga. This wasn't the first time I had taken her rafting, but it was the first time she had gone on more than mainly II with a couple of III class rapids. She made me give her my car keys, reasoning that if she went overboard with the car keys I would be more likely to rescue her. Thank goodness we didn't have to test her theory!