A Walk in the Woods Smoky Mountains hiking and backpacking tours

My 11 year old son and I had the time of our lives courtesy of Michael M., our tour guideud83dude0a He was super knowledgeable, easy-going, and fun to chat away with. East Tennessee is more beautiful than I ever imagined and Michael made sure to point out its beauty and geographical history so that we were both engaged which was so very educational and entertaining.nThe only reason I give it 4 stars is because they charged me an extra $25 to re-book because I had an emergency that made me miss my first appointment. They're not very understanding. But, I do understand that this is a business and time is money.ud83eudd37It is what it is.

My girlfriend and I were the only two hiking for this trip - A Hidden Waterfall Adventure, today on September 8, 2020. Dylan was absolutely fantastic...made sure we were ok, and made sure the pace was good. He was down to earth, very friendly we had good conversation the entire hike. Henwas very knowledgeable giving us an education on the history of the Smokeys, and the fire. He even had us try eating some leaves from plants. He let us take our time, ask questions, take pictures, etc. The destination was a little known waterfall so there were not many other people there which was great. What an amazing experience, we will definitely be hiking with Dylan again.nnNow for A Walk in the Woods as a whole....ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. We didn't need any gear from them but they were great. During these COVID times I actually had to reschedule the trip from May until September. They worked with me while I tried to get the cabin and hike rescheduled...rescheduling was painless.nnRecommendations:n- camel bak for your watern- a small snackn- fully charged cellphone, the views are breathe taking.n- shoes with good tread, running shoes would not cut it in my opinion, we wore hiking shoes.n- as Dylan said 'start bold, start cold'...I wore jeans with the high being 82F, I'd recommend starting in shorts and a hoodie if it is chilly...that way the hoodie can be taken off.nnThanks again Dylan, and the A Walk in the Woods team! Well done!

If I could give Walk in the Woods 100 stars I would (no pun intended ;) They were magical and provided an amazing experience in the Smokies. I was alone for a weekend excursion and did not feel safe walking around by myself especially knowing that their are little critters that live in the woods :) So after researching some tour companies, I came across Walk in the Woods. They provided a range of options to experience but given that it was high season many of the packages were already sold out (book in advance folks :) but! Because I'm a singleton, they were able to slot me into one to see the fall colors and I was beyond excited. Our tour guide, Samantha, took us not just to see the beautiful fall foliage but also to see an artists house in the woods, I felt like I got a two for one experience. Samantha did her due diligence to find the best trail to see the fall colors and she did not disappoint. I've never seen trees like this in my life: oranges, yellows, reds, and greens abound. I felt like we were on a grand adventure too since this little house is off the beaten path and you really need to know where you are going to find it. We headed off the trail and crossed a little wooden bridge to find the most Thomas Kinkade looking cabin (actually it was Mary Avent's) in the beautiful fall foliage. It was straight out of a painting. We had a light lunch there and then returned back the way that came. I loved this experience so much that I decided to book another and went with our tour guide, Dylan, to the hidden waterfall :) again, the fall foliage was on point and we walked through acres and acres of it. The vistas were amazing and just to see the leaves falling at every turn is something I'll never forget. Dylan stopped at multiple places to give us information about the topography, or flora and fauna and was equally knowledgeable of the area as Samantha had been on the prior trip. Once we got it the waterfalls, we had a chance to rest for a little bit and take some pics and just feel the majesticness all around us. Our walk back was so much fun with a lot of stops along the way for pics and just making sure that we were not exerting ourselves too much. It was a beautiful day!nnI'm so grateful to Samantha and Dylan for making my trip so very special and for all of the Walk in the Woods staff for providing these types of experiences for singletons like me so we can be with others to experience something special and have a safe time doing it :) Thanks y'all!

My 3 kids (8, 11 & 14) and I really enjoyed our hike to see waterfalls and streams. Dillon was our guide and he was fantastic. Very knowledgeable about the area and helpful to those of us who aren't used the the terrain. This hike was doable for me and I'm not in particularly great shape (I walk the dog a few times a day and take an exercise class once a week.) I would recommend wearing pants on this hike as there is some poison ivy. Dillon was excellent at alerting us to it. This hike was for sure one of the highlights of our vacation.

Our hike, Discover Days Gone By, with historian Samantha Suttles, was REALLY interesting, very educational, fun, and relaxing - a great hike with a highly professional guide who has a wealth of knowledge!! Samantha told us about the history of the area and the people who lived in the Park. She had lots of specific, well-researched information and stories. She told us about the Cherokee and the flora and fauna. She showed us the plants which the Cherokee used for medicine. We visited a homestead, a cemetery, and a one room school house. Our tour was supposed to be from 9-12, but our hike ran an hour longer than planned (perhaps because we asked so many questions!), and Samantha happily gave us all the time we needed. If you're looking for a hike with LOTS of information about the history of the area and the people - look no further than to take the hike Discover Days Gone By with Samantha Suttles!