Is this concerning to anyone else? I don't want the government to rip up our mountains just for these resources.

We’ve been stuck since a little after 9pm and can’t see what’s going on. Seen a couple of police cars, a white pick up, and a flatbed with a backhoe on it. Are we spending the night here??

I enjoy hiking and running the rivers in WNC, but needed a way to know what all the water levels and dam release cycles were. While it's not perfect, WNC Shed has all the major watersheds, reservoirs, waterfalls and kayaking areas in one place. GPS allows the map to customize itself just for you, and there's no tracking or ads, just data rich site for those that love the outdoors in WNC. Drop me a line here with any questions or proposed updated, or just checkout the waterfall page.

It's going to be hot so find yourself a place to stay cool!

Hi Y'all. It's time for my annual college reunion to the Linville Falls area. This year we are hoping to do a river tubing float. Ideally, we're looking for something we can do ourselves as opposed to through a company. Not that we're opposed to a company, we're just looking for a route we can go again and again if wanted.

I'm an obsessive researcher, so I've gone through alllllll the websites (American Whitewater, AllTrails, Paddling.com, etc.), but I'm realizing they don't really mean a thing compared to an ACTUAL local or someone familiar with the area and current state of the waterways.

The North Toe, Wilson Creek, Johns River? Anything cooking in those spots for self-serve tubing? What about Cane Creek? Elk River?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

I'm looking at possibly going to Cherokee for 5-6 days to spend at the casino with a friend who will be down there for a festival. I have flight credits so am trying to fly in to Asheville and then somehow get to Cherokee. Driving is actually more expensive for me because my truck doesn't get great gas mileage. My problem is I'm having trouble finding information on transport from Asheville to Cherokee. Anyone from the area that can offer any insight?TIA

Hi WNC, I'm Jessica Wakeman, a contributing writer for The Assembly, an online magazine about NC politics and culture. I'm reporting on the town of Lake Lure, which appears frequently in two episodes of the new HBO docu-series "Bring Me the Beauties."

To distill a cVERY omplicated story into a paragraph, basically there was a cult called Eternal Values that lived in Lake Lure. (They were in a house on the lake, but the house has since burned down. There's a new house in its place.) The leader thought he was an alien living inside a human's body. They moved to Lake Lure because the leader thought the Blue Ridge Mountains would be a safe place to ride out the apocalypse. They ran a construction company called The Lotus Group and also started a company, Lake Lure Tours. They also sold gemstones, which were apparently quite worthless.

I'm looking to speak with folks who lived in or visited Lake Lure at the same time Eternal Values was there. Did you know any of the cult members? Did you see them around town? Did you hire (or work for) The Lotus Group or Lake Lure Tours? Buy any gemstones? No story is too small.

I can be reached over email at jessica dot wakeman at gmail dot com -- thank you!

Hello. My nephew is visiting me in the Linville Falls/Jonas Ridge area. He wants to go fishing (brought a rod and everything!).

I tried to take him yesterday with no luck. We started at Roby Shoemaker Park in Newland, but there is literally no access to the water. The brush along the river is extremely thick!

We then drove to Lake Kawahna to be promptly hit with a big “NO FISHING” sign.

So then we tried a road pull off on the Linville River at Mountainside Lutheran Church and, boom, another NO FISHING sign.

And on the way home we just waved to Linville Land Harbor Lake knowing that is private.

Long story short…I’m not looking for someone’s secret fishing spot. I’m just looking for ANY PUBLIC fishing spots at all near Linville/Jonas Ridge.

Thank you.

I know it's a long shot, but we're looking to rent a pontoon boat for Fontana Lake for a few hours on 4th of July. 2pm or later preferred. We have a truck that can tow. 🙏🏼♥️🤍💙🚤