The best things to do in the NC mountains with family depend on who’s coming. Around Longcliff in Lake Toxaway, little kids can walk a quarter mile to Silver Run Falls, teens can tackle Whiteside Mountain or Brevard’s bike trails, and everyone can share a day on Lake Glenville.
Ask a five-year-old, a fifteen-year-old and a grandparent what counts as a mountain adventure and you’ll get three answers. On the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, most of them are close by. Some of the best things to do in the NC mountains are a short drive from Longcliff, and a few start inside the community.
A family day at Longcliff can start without the car. The 44-acre Longcliff Preserve, open to the public, has 3.5 miles of trails through white pines, many about 160 years old, and Bearwallow Creek runs through it to Bearwallow Falls, which drops more than 100 feet.
Kids find chipmunks and cottontails along the trails, brook trout in the creek and berries in late summer. The North American Land Trust, which stewards the Preserve, leads monthly naturalist walks, an Easter egg hunt and planting days in the Pollinator Meadow.
The Edge, at the community’s high point above the Gorges State Park valley, is set up for sunset cookouts and concerts. The Great Lawn is planned as the village green, with a playground built from logs harvested on the property.
For young children, the best outings are short, flat and end at something worth seeing.
Kids who have outgrown the quarter-mile walk are ready for real elevation.
Lake Glenville, just north of Cashiers, is the plateau’s best summer lake day. It’s one of the highest-elevation lakes east of the Mississippi, with 26 miles of shoreline, according to Discover Jackson NC.
Swim at the Pines Recreation Area, the lake’s designated public beach. Signal Ridge Marina rents pontoons, kayaks and paddleboards, and waterfall cruises pass cascades you can only see from the water.
Cashiers, Highlands and Brevard each make an easy half day with kids, and they’re three of the best-loved North Carolina mountain towns.
Each season on the plateau brings its own family traditions. Read more about it in our piece on four seasons on the plateau and our seasonal guides.
Longcliff sits on the eastern end of the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau, about 15 minutes from Cashiers and 25 from Brevard, with Gorges State Park on three sides. Nearly everything in this guide is a reasonable drive, and the Preserve is outside the door.
A grandparent and a toddler can walk a slow loop in the Preserve while the teenagers ride DuPont, and everyone ends up at the same table. Partner David Parks puts the goal plainly: “What we want to see are families creating experiences and memories that are generationally deep.” More on the walkable mountain village design.
What are fun things to do in the North Carolina mountains with kids?
Short waterfall walks, lake days and small mountain towns are the easiest wins. Near Cashiers and Highlands, families like Silver Run Falls, Dry Falls, the Highlands Nature Center and Lake Glenville.
Are there easy hikes for young kids near Cashiers, NC?
Yes. Silver Run Falls is about a quarter mile round trip on a flat path, and Gorges State Park’s Lime Kilns and Heath Pine Ridge trails are short and rated easy.
Can you swim in Lake Glenville?
Yes. The Pines Recreation Area is Lake Glenville’s designated public swimming beach.
Is the Longcliff Preserve open to the public?
Yes. The 44-acre Longcliff Preserve in Lake Toxaway is open to residents and the wider community, with 3.5 miles of trails stewarded by the North American Land Trust.
Longcliff puts the small adventures out your door and the big ones a short drive away. Stop by the Discovery Center on US 64 in Lake Toxaway, or explore homes for sale at Longcliff.
