Well, I kept my vow to escape to Deep Creek in Bryson City yesterday and spend the day tubing. There’s nothing like the great outdoors and exciting outdoor activities to restore one’s sense of sanity.
The weather was gorgeous, and the water was refreshing and cold!
We stopped at a place called JJ’s tubes to rent our tubes (only $5 for the entire day) and the very friendly staff attached our three tubes to the top of my car.
Then we drove the mile to the entrance to the campgrounds.
We decided to hike to the top of the trail that runs parallel to Deep Creek (almost a mile) and tube all the way down back to the campgrounds. The top part is more difficult: there are more rapids, whirlpools, lots and lots of rocks you can get caught on, small waterfalls, and the water runs much faster. It seems like it could even be dangerous, but it really isn’t. It’s just exciting enough to give you a sense of danger but you’re really pretty safe. I wouldn’t recommend the higher part of the creek for small children however, although I did see quite a few braving the rapids anyway.
Once you pass under the bridge, the ride becomes more like a “lazy river,” with fewer rapids and whirlpools,and just becomes slow and relaxing. Some of the views are breathtaking:
We climbed up the trail and came down the entire way twice. Afterwards, we stopped for burgers and ice cream, and then drove back to JJ’s to return our tubes. A perfect way to end a perfect day.
I didn’t take pictures due to not wanting to have to carry much equipment with me up the trail and then have to worry about possibly losing or ruining it in the water. So these few were taken along the trail by my daughter, who had a small waterproof box to store her phone in (and for anyone who is wondering, she is doing a lot better). There’s one picture of all of us once we made it back to the slower portion of the river as we were approaching the campground (shown at the top of this post).
Lucky Otters Haven 