The Summer vacation season got off to a great start this Memorial weekend. Bryson City’s motels and campgrounds were filled, there were great crowds at the Heritage Festival, and Deep Creek had a steady parade of holiday vacationers floating and bouncing along on brightly-colored “tubes” (the old-fashioned black truck-tire inner tubes have all but disappeared).

Since the Park Service does not rent tubes, the Hannah family of Hope Mills, NC rented their tubes at the Deep Creek Tube Center and Campground, where they were camping. The Tube Center is just one of several tubing vendors along West Deep Creek Road near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and on the Oconaluftee River in Cherokee.

Unlike whitewater kayaking, which appeals to more adventurous individuals, lake kayaking is a more relaxed experience available to everyone. Along Fontana Lake’s north shore, kayaking provides a unique view of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where sightings of bear, river otter, deer or bald eagles are not uncommon. Interested? Visit the Bryson City website for information about kayaking in the Smokies, including outfitters.

Innkeeper Scot Warf (Charleston Inn) took this photo as he glided into the cove below the Goldmine Loop trail near the eastern end of the lake.

Jennifer Wilson snapped this early morning scene on Fontana Lake as a boat passed under railroad trestle on its way to a day of fun on the 11,700-acre lake.

Several marinas rent boats for full-day or half-day outings which can include fishing, swimming and sightseeing. With the entire north shore of the 35-mile-long lake protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, wildlife sightings are common, including black bears and bald eagles.

The 791-foot long bridge, which crosses the lake 100 feet above the water, is one of the highlights of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s 44-mile Nantahala Gorge excursion which departs from Bryson City, March thru December.

Because they’re on the main trail, two of Deep Creek’s waterfalls — the Tom Branch and Indian Creek falls — are relatively easy to visit. But Juneywhank Falls requires a little more effort. And those that make the short quarter-mile uphill trek to the falls are rewarded with a beautiful 80-foot cascade. And if a brief rest is desired, there’s a wide foot bridge at the foot of the falls, with benches for sitting and viewing the show.

Download a map of the Deep Creek trails and waterfalls. More info.

Photo by Shari Jardina, an Indianapolis photographer who’s captured many images of the North Carolina Smokies.

When it was completed in 1944, Fontana Dam was the fourth tallest dam in the world. And at 480 feet, the Tennessee Valley Authority dam is still the tallest in the Eastern United States, and a must-see for visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains. It’s the first of five hydroelectric dams along the Little Tennessee River.

Constructed to provide additional electrical power for the war effort, the dam and the resulting 11,700-acre Fontana Lake required the purchase of 68,292 acres of land, 5125 acres of which was forested and had to be cleared. 1,311 families and 1,047 graves had to be relocated, and four Western North Carolina towns — Fontana, Bushnell, Forney, and Judson — were completely inundated.

As the four towns disappeared, a new village was created to house the project’s 5,000 construction workers. Many of those structures remain today as part of the Fontana Village Resort.

The story of the dam’s origin is portrayed at the Fontana Dam Visitor Center (Open May to November, 9 am – 7 pm, daily), and in Lance Holland’s book, “Fontana – A Pocket History of Appalachia.”

Photo by J.R. vanLienden