Basecamp to Adventure

NOC Adventures Begin Here

Gatlinburg and the Smokies offer so many outdoor opportunities that it's hard to know where to start exploring. At the Great Outpost Basecamp, we'll help you make the two most important decisions: 1) What kind of adventures are appropriate for your group and 2) How to embark on those adventures. Every outing requires planning to be successful, and that's where you can turn to us. We can set you up for some DIY fun or connect you with a reputable guide. It's easy, fun and fast.

Guided Activities in the Smokies

You may be willing to hire a guide to get the most out of your visit. Not only do guides help visitors enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly, but they also contribute to the experience with their expertise and insight. Perhaps most importantly, you can let the guide worry about logistics while you and your family focus on fun and spending time together outside.

At Basecamp, we can match you with the perfect guided adventure.

Whitewater Rafting with The Best

Rafting a whitewater river is incredibly fun, and because you're floating on a raft it's actually one of the easier ways to get outside. NOC offers guests a wide range of family-friendly rafting options from big-time splashes to flat, scenic paddles suitable for kids as young as three.

Upper Pigeon Adventure: Exciting whitewater families will relish a Pigeon River rafting trip! Splash through big, bouncy waves on Class II-IV rapids. This trip is sure to get active youngsters soaked and smiling.

Lower Pigeon Float: This family float trip is available for kids as young as three. Splashing and swimming encouraged!

Nantahala Splash: The nation's favorite family whitewater. Nantahala River rafting features eight miles of practice on easy Class II rapids before splashing through the exciting Class III whitewater of Nantahala Falls.

Nantahala Rentals: Guide your own raft! We provide the raft and gear; you supply the fun. One of the Smokies most fun challenges!

Guided Walks and Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains

1.5 Hour Walk (includes trail snacks):
Trip Through Time (Easy to Moderate) - Min 2/Max 30 Participants - Cost $24.00 + Tax
The Smokies are famous for its rich Southern Appalachian history. Get a glimpse of how one of Gatlinburg's most famous families, the Ogles, lived before this became a National Park. The walk takes us through an old apple orchard to a working grist mill. We'll visit rock walls and chimneys, a large barn and cabin, see an old fashioned "refrigerator" and discover how nature takes over when humans leave. The trail is narrow and rocky in spots.

2.5 Hour Walks (includes trail snacks):
Homestead Stroll (Easy) - Min 2/Max 30 Participants - Cost $36.00 + Tax
When the Smokies became a National Park, there were over 7,000 people living within the Park's boundaries. Most of the folks left the area, but the three Walker Sisters stayed throughout their lifetime and became a tourist attraction into the early '60s. Visit the homestead of the famous Walker Sisters on a gentle two ½ hour guided walk and experience an authentic cabin in the woods. Learn how these three women lived off the land, their stories of struggle and the reasons they chose to stay long after their farm became a part of the National Park.

Waterfall Excursion (Easy to Moderate) - Min 2 /Max 15 Participants - Cost $37.00 + Tax
Get a taste of an old growth forest on this walk to one of the most unique and accessible waterfalls in the Smokies. On this walk, we will experience giant trees, a large variety of plants, and a glimpse into why the Park is the salamander capital of the world. This is a great walk for kids. Be ready to get your feet wet as we get to experience this beautiful waterfall when we walk behind it.

Half Day Walks (3-4 hours total- includes trail snacks):
Hidden Waterfall Expedition (Moderate) - Min 2/Max 15 Participants - $54.00 + Tax ($6 per person to add a sack lunch)
The Smokies are the most visited National park in the country, but there are hundreds of miles of trails that will take you away from it all. On this challenging walk you'll explore a secluded series of small cascades, swimming holes and a beautiful waterfall where you can enjoy a lunch far from the maddening crowds. This is a wonderful half day experience for those seeking solitude.

Mouse Creek Falls (Easy to Moderate) - Min 2/Max 25 Participants - $60.00 + Tax ($6 per person to add a sack lunch)
This half day walk is all about exploring in the pristine cold mountain streams that make the Southern Appalachian mountains famous. Near Hartford, NC, this walk is a perfect one to do before an afternoon white water rafting trip with NOC. Your guide will take you past several tempting swimming holes along a wide gentle trail while you learn about the logging and agricultural history of the Smokies, why poison ivy is Mother Nature's revenge, and why moonshine was an important part of the Southern Appalachian culture. You will lunch at a spectacular waterfall.

Day Hike (7 hours round trips - includes trail snacks):
Heath Bald Adventure (Moderate) - Min2/Max 15 Participants - $78.00 + Tax($6 pp to add a sack lunch)
The Smokies are thought to be the most bio-diverse place in the world north of the Tropics. On this day hike, you will get a glimpse of why this is. Starting in a rare old growth forest, this hike crosses several pristine brooks, takes you behind a beautiful waterfall, large trees, lush mosses, ferns and wildflowers. We'll lunch on a high mountain heath bald, a rare feature, enjoying spectacular views of Mount LeConte.

Guided Fly Fishing

Cast, mend, drift and set. There are few things that compare to the thrill of fly fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains. At Basecamp we'll provide you with the instruction you need to fish successfully or we'll connect you with a guide intimately familiar with the nation's most stunning streams.

More details to come.