Things to Do in Oak Ridge

In addition to cultivating a rich assortment of herbs, Erin's Meadow Herb Farm welcomes visitors into its greenhouses, fields, and classrooms to learn the best uses for its multitudinous varieties of herbs. Inside, visitors can peruse a variety of gifts and products made using all-natural ingredients, or drop in for classes that include demos, spa-centric herbal recipes, and the recipe for creating a love potion disguised as peppermint tea.

The certified instructors at Creek Bend Stables have groomed world-champion horses and riders. With their expert guidance, beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders can polish their technique and avoid common blunders such as mounting the horse by climbing up its face. Lessons progress in length and depth of instruction as students age and develop skills.

The Nantahala River rushes through Class II rapids and higher, but it also runs through the stories of the countless people who've dared its churning waters and tumbling falls. One such story centers on Steven and Sue, who met at a Hendersonville summer camp and soon fell in love with each other and the Smoky Mountain air. Eight years later, the Matzes sold off the trappings of corporate-Atlanta life and founded Adventurous Fast Rivers Rafting with their two children, four dogs, and more than a dozen wilderness-loving employees.

These instructors—certified in First Aid and CPR—ready groups for each guided or unguided exploration by teaching proper raft and boat control, as well as describing techniques for crew coordination. A hand-painted map points out routes through the Nantahala Gorge that avoid interview-hungry nature documentarians. Adventurers have just as many rafting options as routes, including Aire and Hyside self-bailing inflatable rafts, funyaks, sit-on-top Torrent kayaks, and traditional bucket rafts. After either disembarking at the riverside outpost—recognizable by the tree growing through its center—or preparing for a final plunge down the Nantahala Wesser Falls, river-farers dry off and examine photos taken during the plunge down the Falls. The outdoor picnic area's park-style charcoal grills make it easy to throw a post-river barbecue.

A statue of Old MacDonald himself greets visitors to Ripley’s Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini Golf, a floppy straw hat casting a shadow across his overalls. His arm is locked in a neighborly wave in front of a gauntlet of animated farm animals and barnyard scenes surrounding three 18-hole mini-golf courses. Ceramic pigs sun themselves alongside a winding stream and wily rabbits poke their heads out of burrow holes. A classic red barn serves as the clubhouse, where players can discuss highlights of the round and arcade games release happy digital chatter like a calculator dreaming about pi.