Cross Creek RV Park, Maggie Valley, NC

Date of Stay:  Friday June 30 – Tuesday August 1, 2017 (1 month)

Rate:  $525/month

Website:  Cross Creek RV Park
   69 Georgia Lane (gps 1354 Moody Farm Road)
   Maggie Valley, NC 28751
   828-926-1183

Description:  Located in the southwest point of NC, this park is great for big rigs with level sites and no curvy mountain roads to navigate.  We stayed on site 55.  The roads and sites are gravel with nice grassy areas.  The sites are about 45 feet wide with room for Tawanda and our truck parked sideways in front.  They have a nice pavilion with a laundry room but no bathroom facilities.  There are 3 different areas in the park; section by Jonathan Creek across the road, section of mostly seasonals with 90 degree back-in sites with trees; and the newer open section where we were.  All are FHU(50A) with cable.  Our section has the pull-thru back to back sites so that your patio is facing your neighbors somewhat.  Bring extra sewer hose and support.  Moody Farm Road is flat and has a nice sidewalk for great morning walks.  Maggie Valley is basically a small, laid back tourist town located about 5 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSM) near Cherokee.  It’s also only a few miles to a bigger small town (Waynesville) that has all the basics covered plus a vibrant downtown and only about 40 miles from Asheville to cover any major city desires one may have.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpster in the back corner of the park but no recycle bins.

Activities:  We enjoyed our time here because it was easy to relax but still have some activities.  We travelled the BRP sections several times and I hiked a few trails.  The sidewalk near the rv park is near Jonathan Creek and there’s not much traffic on Moody Farm Road so it’s a good place to get in shape.  We drove the curvy dirt road to Cataloochee Valley to find some elk (mother and her calf).  A herd of 50 elk were reintroduced to the GSM in 2001 and has grown to about 200 now.  We also saw a herd of about 18 at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, but the biggest one (14 point bull) was only a quarter mile from the rv park!  He appears on a regular basis so the locals have named him Jeffrey.  We also drove over to Cades Cove and  Gatlinburg TN and saw some of the fire damage near there from the wildfire of November 2016.  One of our favorite spots is the bamboo forest in Oconaluftee Island Park in Cherokee so we spent a few quiet minutes of contemplation there.   I remember camping at Deep Creek GSM cg near Bryson City as a kid 50 years ago so I had to check it out.  It’s a great place to go tubing down the creek with hundreds of your closest friends and it has a nice trail to some small waterfalls.  I also remember going to Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee as a kid so we did that early in our visit.  They show how life was in the 1750’s and keep their crafts and heritage alive.  Lake Junaluska is between Maggie Valley and Waynesville.  It is about 200 acres so it would be a nice place for our boats.  It is a conference and retreat center established by the Methodist Church and has a wonderful paved walking path around it (3.8 miles around or 2.3 miles if using the footbridge).  One hike I took on the BRP (Milepost 451.2) was Waterrock Knob Trail.  It’s only 1.2 miles round trip but quite steep.  Another hike I did was Mingus Creek Trail (about 6 miles) in the GSM which goes up beside the creek most of the way.  I was startled by a wild pig about five feet from me.  No pictures as he was snorting and walking towards me!  I just slowly backed away and kept hiking.  We also enjoyed just hanging around our patio and watching the clouds drift up into the mountains. Oh yeah, we finally had our slide topper mechanism fixed that broke on June 1 by a good mobile rv tech (RV Trailer and Motorhome Repair 828-380-0887). 

Cross Creek RV Park, Maggie Valley NC

 

Entrance to the rv park                                   Corn field beside the park

 

On site 55 before neighbors Stan and Carol arrived

 

Surrounded by the Smoky Mountains... we love it here!

Scenes along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP)

 

Big Witch Overlook                                     Woolyback Overlook… Bill?

 

Rough Butt Bald…Pounding Mill Overlook… Where do they get these names?

 

Cowee Mountain Overlook                           BRP highest elevation (6053 ft)

 

We had to drive through a few tunnels!

 

Some of the overlooks even have special features such as a pedestrian overlook or a short trail

Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee NC

 

Cherokee Indian life as it was in 1750

 

Native crafts such as beading and pottery…

 

…basket weaving and burning out a canoe…

 

…weapons making and demonstrating the blow gun

 

They didn’t live in tipis                                 Inside the Council Chambers

 

Short Nature Walk at OIV … Cherokee have great respect for nature

Catalochee Valley (GSM) and the Elk

 

                                  Catalochee Overlook                        Nice stream by the road to the group camp

 

There’s just something about a mountain stream!!

 

Doe and fawn (Elk!) were in the woods right beside the road!!

 

Momma never stopped grazing!

 

Catalochee Valley has a couple of old homesteads there too

 

Elk grazing at Oconaluftee Visitor Center GSM

 

Our neighborhood elk (Jeffrey) bedding down for the night!

Soco Falls and Oconaluftee Island Park in Cherokee NC

 

Soco Falls

 

Not easy to get to the base of Soco Falls but I made it!

 

Couple of the many painted bears in Cherokee

   

Bamboo Forest at Oconaluftee Island Park (one of our favorite places)

 

Nice pedestrian bridge at the park

 

Tubing is popular … we saw people walk up stream to float down several times

Waterrock Knob Trail BRP Milepost 451.2

 

Inside the Info Center at Waterrock Knob

 

Beautiful view from the parking lot

   

Not a long trail but heart pounding steep

 

Beautiful views along the hike!

 

View from the top is beautiful too!

 

Going down made my toes hurt

Cades Cove and GSM Fire Damage near Gatlinburg TN

 

Cades Cove

 

Wild turkey in Cades Cove.  We saw a white tail deer buck in the woods but traffic was backing up.

 

Fire damage in GSM

 

Fire damage… all four pics are from the Carlos Campbell Overlook on Newfound Gap Road

Beautiful rainbow at Newfound Gap GSM

Cloudy morning at Lake Junaluska

 

Bethea Welcome Center                            Lake Junaluska Cross

 

Gazebo along the trail                             Many people enjoy the pathway

 

 

Lots of flowers along the pathway

   

The paved pathway only has a couple of gentle hills

 

Sharing the path with geese and ducks means watching your step

 

 

More than just Canada geese here

 

Lake Junaluska is beautiful with the Smoky Mountains as a backdrop

 

Public boat ramp and the park beside it

 

The Rose Walk with more than 200 rose bushes

Oconaluftee Visitor Center and nearby Mingus Mill (GSM)

 

Inside Oconaluftee Visitor Center

 

Path to Mingus Mill which was built in 1886

 

Water is diverted from Mingus Creek into a 200 ft flume to power the water turbine

 instead of using a water wheel

 

The turbine under the mill and the stone grinding corn inside

Deep Creek GSM Area

           

Juney Whank Falls near the beginning of trail, Tom Branch Falls in the middle and 

Indian Creek Falls at top

 

Tubers get hot walking up hill about a mile to the put in spot and cold mountain water

 

About a 3 ft drop                                        Easy rapids

 

Lots of people enjoy this beautiful place making memories

Mingus Creek Trail

           

Trail starts as an old road bed beside Mingus Creek then narrows with

 several stream crossings without bridges

           

About a half mile into the hike, I startled a wild boar which in turn startled me!

           

The last half mile was steep with many switchbacks.  Turn around point at Deeplow Gap Trail

 was peaceful.  A nice hike in the woods!