Family Vacation: All Aboard for Fun at Tweetsie Railroad

Growing up in North Carolina and visiting the mountains frequently as a child I remember Tweetsie Railroad with great fondness. I was excited to return this summer with my 3 year old daughter to see the park through new eyes.

Upon entering, one can recognize the Old West theme immediately complete with a turn-of-the-century town; cowboys moseying down the main street and the old coal powered train that gives the park its name. The Wild West Train Adventure, which departs about every 45 minutes, is a must! We hopped aboard the train as soon we entered the park. Passengers enjoy a three mile train ride through the mountains while enjoying entertainment in the form of cowboy antics at several stops. This ride is a favorite for children and the young at heart.

Immediately following our ride on the famous train, we went to see K-9s in Flight Frisbee Dogs, which was a special event. The show was about 30 minutes long and was quite entertaining. Tweetsie offers many special events such as this throughout the summer and into the fall. The special events this season kicked off with a Thomas the Train experience the first week in June. The season will end with a Ghost Train Halloween Festival September 30-October 29th.

The County Fair area was our next destination and one that my daughter was looking forward to. She had seen the large Ferris wheel from the highway and was ready to go for a ride. Besides the Ferris wheel there were several other classics such as the carousel, track cars, Tilt-A-Whirl, planes and helicopters, etc. Most rides were geared toward younger children, but there were a few rides just for big kids. We also enjoyed the arcade and shooting gallery in this section of the park.

Live entertainment is a big part of the Tweetsie Railroad experience and there are many shows going on throughout the day including dancing, music and magic. We decided to check out the Tweetsie Country Clogging Jamboree. It was a very enjoyable show that lasted about half an hour. The performers were enthusiastic and had the audience clapping and taking part in the show.

After a quick bite to eat at the Cowboy Cantina, we headed up to Miners Mountain via the chair lift. The ride up to the top offered the perfect opportunity to see the entire park from above. Upon arrival, we visited the playground, fed animals at the Deer Park and rode the Mouse Mine Train Ride. This part of the park also had a few rides, a spot to pan for gold and do some gem mining.

Our visit ended with a trip to a gift shop, and one pink cowgirl hat and train whistle later we were ready to call it a day. We were pleased with our visit to this quaint mountain amusement park and will return for more fun next year.