Jonathan Creek Adventures & Fishing

Imagine waking in the morning to the sounds of a gently rushing stream. Walk out onto a deck with your coffee and sip it while sitting on deck overlooking the waters. Large enough for several people or for performing your morning yoga routine, your place in the mountains is serene in the mornings, and romantic at night. Jonathon Creek is one of the best Maggie Valley attractions. It is a babbling, frolicking little creek that alternately rushes and meanders along its course through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The legendary Meadowlark Motel is privileged to own over 200 feet of gently sloping creek frontage with a ¾-acre outdoor recreation area, community deck, three cottages with decks, and the BackPorch pavilion overlooking the creek.

Things to Do in Jonathan Creek at the Meadowlark Motel

Jonathan Creek is famous for trout fishing. But there are a lot more things you can do on the creeks of North Carolina besides fishing. Here are just a few of the bountiful ways to enjoy our vibrant Jonathan Creek during your Maggie Valley, NC, vacation.

  • Go fishing! This creek is literally full of trout, along with some other types of fish. The State of North Carolina stocks the creek, so it won’t run out of fish just because you’ve had a great day. They are delicious to eat, especially cooked in our outdoor pavilion or on our grills, but you can always catch and release.

  • Tubing! You can’t enjoy river tubing any closer to Maggie Valley than at the Meadowlark Motel. If you’re a guest at the motel, you’re welcome to play in the water at your own risk. Besides the Meadowlark, there are various other access points to Jonathan Creek within the town of Maggie Valley, so you can make your trip as long as you might like!
  • If it’s warm, take your shoes off and dig your toes into the creek bank. Take a walk in the water. There is something called ‘earthing’ that is popular today. Earthing means making a connection to the earth with your bare feet. It is said to heal the body in many ways, especially restoring you to balance with the earth’s vibrations and reducing inflammation in your body. Studies have suggested it leads to better sleep, reduces stress and increases immune functions. But whether you believe earthing heals the body or not, you will find it simply feels great. It makes you feel alive, happy and content. Because of today’s urban environment, children don’t get nearly enough time in nature. Let them enjoy it and explore the creek. Digging in the earth has been shown in studies to help build the immune system too. Pick up some rocks and snail shells from the creek bed. Save a few as souvenirs. Learn more here and here.
  • Sit on the creek bank and commune with nature, with God. There is a reason the mountains are called “God’s Country.” It’s because the awesomeness of the majestic mountains and the beauty of nature brings a calm to the spirit. Meditate. Pray. Or just slow down for a while and relax. Maggie Valley, NC, is a great place for writing your novel or clearing your mind of all business and other worries.
  • Skip rocks across the creek. Children love this activity! You can turn it into a friendly competition to see who skips rocks the farthest or the best.
  • See how many life forms you can find in and beside the creek. It might help to bring a nature guide along with you, so you can identify everything you see. From the myriad flora and fauna, trees and bushes, to frogs, crickets, tadpoles, minnows, squirrels, different types of fish and more, you’ll learn so much about nature in just a few hours by the creek. According to the National Park Service, there are 1,600 species of flowering plants in the Park, along with 100 native tree species and 100 native shrub species. There are 60 native fish species, 66 mammal species, and 80 types of reptiles and amphibians in the Great Smoky Mountains. Learn more. Nature is the biggest attraction in Maggie Valley, and throughout the national park system.
  • Listen to the songbirds! The joys of nature are many and the sweet sounds of the birds are one of the most treasured in the mountains and everywhere. Watch their habits. Identify the birds you see. Birding is one of the favorite pastimes the world over. Bringing along a good pair of binoculars is important for this activity. There are 200 varieties of birds in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area.
  • Make a nature journal for you and the kids. As you explore the creek, the mountains and the many Maggie Valley, NC, attractions, write down all the natural things you see. Take lots of photos and print them out when you can so you can add them to the journal. These will become a treasured keepsake when the kids are grown and have flown “the nest.”
  • Become an environmental steward. There have been problems in the past with coal ash and other pollutants in North Carolina waterways. To my knowledge, there aren’t any problems in Jonathan Creek and we’d like to keep it that way. Discuss the environmental issues facing our earth with your family. Brainstorm for ways to make a positive difference.
  • Have a cookout in our Creekside recreation area and just enjoy the sound of the water and the beauty of the creek as it rushes by. You’ll enjoy it and so will the kids!
  • As dusk descends and the Whippoorwill begins to sing, share tall tales around the campfire. A creek or a riverside is the perfect setting for tall tales – we’ve all heard about how big the fish was that got away! The Great Smoky Mountains were formed 200 to 300 million years ago. Can you imagine the stories that have been told around campfires since then? If you need some help with stories for the children, here are a few ideas. There are Native American mountain stories like the tale of “Why the Mountain Lion is Long and Lean.” Then there are Appalachian Mountain ghost stories. But one of the best stories is how our town got its name. Here is the story of Maggie Mae Setzer Pylant, the namesake of Maggie Valley, NC.

Discover Even More Maggie Valley, NC, Attractions

Have fun on Jonathan Creek! For more information on Maggie Valley, NC, attractions, see our guides: Maggie Valley Winter Activities, Maggie Valley Skiing and Top 10 North Carolina Road Trips.