Traveling by train avoids the lost baggage, unexpected layovers, and sudden plummets in altitude that have become synonymous with traveling by catapult. Discover the pleasures of the steel track with today’s Groupon from Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. Choose between the following options:

• For $15, you get a children’s (ages 2–12) standard-class ticket on the Nantahala Gorge train line (a $30.74 value).
• For $25, you get an adult standard-class ticket on the Nantahala Gorge train line (a $51.94 value).<p>

All ticket prices include a 6% historic preservation fee.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad traces 53 miles through the scenic hills, forests, and blue-green waters of western North Carolina. Seated in a standard-class cabin, passengers in vintage coaches from the 1920s travel the historical Murphy Branch line as they peer through wide windows at panoramic views and hitchhiking songbirds. Excursions stop for 1.5 hours at Nantahala Gorge and its outdoor center, where guests can shop, sightsee, or nibble on meals by the river. Riders then hop on for the return trip past the Little Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers, as their massive, maroon-painted steel pony chugs its way along the rails. Riders can climb on board Saturdays in February, Fridays and Saturdays in March, or Tuesday–Saturday during April. Guests also have the option to upgrade from standard-class tickets to first class for an additional cost.