If you want to spend a few days doing some non-train related sightseeing, stay at the Blackwater Falls State Park lodge. The old lodge is great, and the park has some good easy to moderate hikes. The falls, close to the lodge, are really nice.
If you are interested in unique scenery, take a quick trip over to the Dolly Sods Wilderness. Some consider it the most unique and beautiful hiking area on the East Coast because its a high-altitude plateau with lifeforms normally found much farther north.
