Cherokee, North Carolina

​Camping
We just love the Smoky Mountains!! We stayed at an awesome KOA in Cherokee. There was a jump pad right next to our site, 2 pools (one indoor, and one outdoor). The outdoor pool had a slide. The Raven Fork River runs along side the campground. There was tubing available down the river at our campground. We were unable to take advantage of that because of Mia’s age and size. There were also fishing ponds on the property and it looked like a popular activity. We did not have time to take advantage of the fishing on this trip. 

Hiking

• Alum Cave

Our first hike was to Alum Cave. This was the first long distance hike that Mia was able to do on her own. We didn’t bring the carrier and she really didn’t give her a choice to get carried. She did awesome on our five mile hike to Alum Cave. There were lots of conversations about paw patrol on the way, but we were able to keep her entertained and she hiked like a champ! Alum Cave was well worth the hike. As we were resting at Alum Cave, we had this butterfly following us. It would land on one of us, then move on to another and it stuck with us the whole time we were resting.

We also stopped at a few waterfalls on this trip. 

• Mingo Falls-this is a short out and back trip. There is quite the elevation gain and the .3 mile hike is rated as moderate because of the steps. The falls is a spectacular 120 foot tall! There is a nice bridge in front of the falls for viewing.
• Soco Falls-this is a short trail .2 miles. There is not a lot of parking. You can view the falls from the observation deck or you can continue to make your way down the steep slope using a rope path. This can be a little tricky depending on the weather conditions. If you can make your way down, I prefer the view of the cascading falls from the bottom.