Eat & Ride the Train

Great Smoky Mountain Railroad

You get a up-close look at the mountains in western North Carolina by hopping the Nantahala Gorge Excursion Railroad. The 4 ½ hour ride features bluegrass music at the Byson City station while rolling along the Little Tennessee River and enjoying a Southern flair, featuring pot roast and pulled pork BBQ. Wildflowers to the left, trees growing out of granite to your right, all the while clean mountain air fills your nostrils. The train rolls past a canoe, two people wave as you eat your sandwich. A dilapidated shack, then a cabin, followed by a quaint red barn roll past you, followed by green pastures.