Breathe in that refreshing, clean mountain air, while exploring the great outdoors on our Appalachian hiking trails. Create long-lasting family memories while horseback riding, skiing, biking, fishing or golfing in Eastern Tennessee’s pristine mountain country.
Horseback Riding and Hay Rides
Dogwood Springs Ranch
Right next door to Iron Mountain Inn! One-hour guided mountain trail rides. Open everyday.Perfect way to enjoy the peace and quiet of the Cherokee National Forest.
Or gather a group of friends and family for a jolly hayride! There are also scheduled hay rides throughout the year. Call for a schedule. 423-768-2050
Directions: Come to the Inn, settle in, put on your riding clothes (hard shoes and long pants), and get ready to have a wonderful experience.
Virginia Creeper Biking/Hiking Trail
http://www.vacreepertrail.com
The whole family will enjoy biking the famous Virginia Creeper Trail in Damascus, VA. Rent a bike
( www.thebike-station.com) or bring your own, but start at the top of White Top Mountain because then the ride is all (well almost all) downhill! Just about when you think it would be nice to grab a bite or a drink, there is the Trailside Café. Drop your bike on the grass and grab some refreshments. Then continue on down into Damascus, VA stopping for an ice cream cone at the Ice Cream Parlor.
If you want a more challenging ride, start in Abingdon, VA at the old railroad depot in town and ride along the river, over the bridges and take time to stop at the Winery for a tour and a taste. Then when you return to Damascus, stop in at the Dairy King for a delicious chicken sandwich and brown cow.
Or, if you have your own bike, let us take you to Damascus where we will leave your car, while we take you into Abingdon. Explore this charming 18th century town, enjoy lunch at The Bistro or Barter Cafe, even take in a matinee at the Barter Theatre, then ride back to your car on the 17 mile section of the Virginia Creeper Trail which starts at the old railroad station.
Mountain Golfing
http://www.redtailmountain.com
Enjoy 18 holes of golf on one of the country's most beautiful golf courses - Red Tail Mountain. Sam Adams, pro, offers a challenging course where the ball flies forever. Tournaments throughout the season (March-November depending on the weather).
And if you want other course suggestions, just give us a call. There are many fine courses in the area that welcome guests from "away."
Helicopter Tour of the Mountains, Lakes and Forests
Experience our mountains, lakes and streams from a bird's eye view. Call 423-727-0129. An experience of a lifetime.
Hiking Trails and Waterfall Hikes
We are in the middle of “hiker’s heaven.” Sections of the Appalachian Trail for a day or even an overnight hike. Let us drop your car at the end, and we’ll take you to a good starting point for a 4-hour or 6-hour hike. Shorter hikes also available.
Hike up to Gentry Creek Falls, which is listed by National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine as one of the best hikes in the country. Lots of water crossings. Or enjoy the Laurel Falls hike which is part of the Appalachian Trail.
Walk the fitness trail at TN’s Sycamore Shoals State Park. See where the Overmountain Men crossed as they gathered for the march to Kings Mountain and the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War fought there.
Enjoy walking over the world’s shortest railroad tunnel at BackBone Rock and continuing along Beaver Dam Creek – also a great fishing stream.
For a warm-up hike, there is the 2-mile mountain trail with a short extension right on the grounds of the Iron Mountain Inn.
Grandfather Mountain (about an hour’s drive) has some challenging rock climbs and nature hikes (www.grandfathermountain.com). This is a recognized biosphere and habitat. Well worth the trip, part of which is along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway and Linville Viaduct.
Fishing
Our streams and lakes are stocked with rainbow, brown and lake trout, as well as bass, walleye and carp. Bring your fishing boat and participate in some of the tournaments held throughout the year.
From Randy Ratliff: I am back to guiding and booking trips as Troutfishers Guide Service once again.
There will be no changes in where we will be able to take you on your trips,
local wades trips in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee or float trips on
the Tennessee Tailwaters.
I am also pleased to announce
that I am affiliated with Eddie Wyatt’s Fly Shop of Tennessee. Eddie and his
crew, Major Mike, Hutch, and Mike J. are a great bunch of guys. Make sure to
give them a call or stop by for all you’re fishing and tying needs. I will be
doing various casting and tying class/demonstrations at the fly shop throughout
the year so be sure to check the fishing report on my website for
details.
We are already booking trips
for the 2009 season, especially during the Watauga Tailwater caddis hatch. The
caddis have started their emergence around April 9th for the last
several years, running through Mothers Day on into the first of June. Be sure to
give me a call and get your caddis hatch trip on the calendar before the dates
disappear. The smallmouth guys are booking up their trips as well. Pound for
pound a smallmouth is the best fighting freshwater fish out there. Of course one
of my clients, Mark Murphy might disagree. He caught a nice 9-½ pound blue
channel cat while on a smallie trip.
The South Holston browns are
through spawning. It was a sight to see all those big beautiful browns doing
their spawning dance. Many nice fish ranging from mid twenties to just over
forty inches were caught and released this year.
We are now seeing the BWO’s
as the predominant hatch on both the Watauga and South Holston tailwaters. We
have been throwing a size 18 to 22 BWO emerger we call the “Down & Dirty”.
Have you wanted learn how to
fish those small size 22 to 30 blackfly and midge dries, come book a trip and
let me unlock the secrets of this type of fishing. We have been having good days
with plenty of average trout and a few good ones thrown in. The best so far on a
size 26 dry with 7x tippet has been a 19 ½ inch brown. It is not as intimidating
as you would think.
We will be attending two fly
fishing shows this year. I will be in the Temple Fork Rods booth at the Atlanta
Fly Fishing Festival being held January 24th & 25th in the Gwinnett Center.
Be sure to stop and say hello. Our second show will be the Kentuckianna Fly Show
being put on by the Derby City Fly Fishers in Louisville, Kentucky on January
31st. I will be giving one of the many seminars available at the event. I will
be speaking about smallmouth fishing tips and techniques. We will have the
Brookie Skiff boat on display in the booth. I am proud to say that I helped my
guide partner Nes help build this beautiful boat last winter. Check out Derby
City Fly Fishers website for more details and directions to the convention
center www.derbycityflyfishers.com
Rent a fishing boat to explore Watauga Lake on your own. Fish Springs Marina 423-768-2336 ( www.fishspringsmarina.com) has pontoon boats and fishing boats. Or, just cast a line into the waters of the streams rushing down out of the mountains for some of the finest, undiscovered fishing in the country. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone!
Check out our Water Sports and Activities page for more information.
Skiing
Nearby Beech Mountain, Seven Devils and Appalachian Ski Mountain offer excellent downhill skiing starting in December through early March, depending on the weather. All the areas make snow, so there is skiing day and night. There is also skating and other winter sports. We are about 40 minutes drive through the mountains to Beech.
Bristol Motor Speedway
Featuring the NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and other events.
The Speedway also offers tours of the track (it is steeply banked!!) by bus and explains some of the back stage aspects of the track. Visit the box of the owner of the Speedway! See the Drag Strip!
They also have ice skating during November, December until mid-January.
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