FROM A SUMMIT MEADOW along a ridgeline, we looked out across the expansive valley that encompasses the 1,000-acre Cataloochee Ranch in Western North Carolina. The fields were still green on this October day, but trees splashed red and gold as far as the eye could see--and that was pretty far. Twenty miles to the southeast, Mount Pisgah's 5,750-foot peak loomed in the Pisgah National Forest, while a bit to the fight we could see Cold Mountain, the isolated peak that had lent its name to both the novel and the film.

"They scouted us heavily here for the movie," said Judy B., our guide, and one of about eight family members who still actively participate in the daily operations of the 80-year-old ranch. "We were kind of glad they choose Romania instead."Our three horses were tied to nearby trees, the breeze softly rustled the leaves on this bright fall day, and I knew from the sounds of silence exactly what Judy meant. While much has changed the world since the 1800s, and tourism has taken over from farming, ranching, and the timber industry, this area still looks pretty much as it did back then. Directly behind us a split-rail fence marked the southeastern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The woods are as deep as the day that Tom Alexander first saw them as a forest ranger in 1935, and today the ranch that he founded with his wife, "Miss Judy," still offers the same kind of mountain hospitality, scenic beauty, and soft adventure that guests have been finding here for eight decades. It's one of the most established family adventure vacation venues in the Western Carolina mountains, featuring trail rides, hiking, trout fishing, and a relaxed family atmosphere, where meals are served family-style inside and outdoors and guests return year after year.

I watched the faces of the kids as they donned their helmets and mounted up for the first of two daily trail rides. Most had smiles as wide as those on the Halloween jack-o-lanterns carved the previous evening, while others seemed raptly intent with the whole prospect of riding off into the hills.

Within a 50-mile radius of Waynesville, North Carolina, the closest major town to Cataloochee Ranch, there is a broad selection of outdoor adventures. Rafts shoot through rapids and canoes glide down rivers. Hiking trails lead to cascading waterfalls and small hands pan for gems in sluice boxes. Throw in camping, mountain biking, trout fishing in wooded streams, swimming in hidden lakes, and a number of manmade attractions and you've got an unbeatable Carolina cache of both environmental and commercial entertainment.

Contact: Cataloochee Ranch, 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC 28751; (800) 868-1401; www.cat aloochee-ranch.com.

Here are some other great destinations in the mountains of North Carolina:

BRYSON CITY. In this rugged corner of the state, Bryson City abuts the tallest region of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Clingman's Dome is the third tallest peak in the eastern U.S. at 6,643 feet. The old-fashioned mountain town straddles the Tuckaseegee River and, while it's pleasant enough, most people come here for the spectacular scenery and outdoor activities, including kayaking, rafting, camping, hiking, and just driving around.

The town of 1,500 people sits near the eastern perimeter of Fontana Lake, which extends almost 25 miles west to the 480-foot-high Fontana Dam, the tallest in the eastern U.S. It was built in World War II to supply power to nearby Knoxville, Tennessee, where Alcoa had an aluminum plant and the top-secret atomic research plant was esconced at Oak Ridge. The dam and lake are considered top draws here, but when you combine them with Great Smoky Mountain Railway from Bryson City, you have a unique and fun way to explore the lower regions of the Nantahala Gorge. The train has both diesel and steam-powered locomotives, and on one excursion, you can ride to the end of the gorge, then raft back.

Rafting is big here. A number of outfitters located along US Highway 19 west of Bryson City offer whitewater rafting down the Nantahala at various levels for all ages, as well as inflatables for both self-guided and guided trips, mountain biking, rock-climbing, fly fishing, and hiking on the Appalachian Trail.