dventure Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains 2nd Edition Blair Howard HUNTER HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC. 130 Campus Drive Edison, NJ 08818-7816 % 732-225-1900 / 800-255-0343 / fax 732-417-1744 Web site: www.hunterpublishing.com E-mail: [email protected] IN CANADA: Ulysses Travel Publications 4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec Canada H2W 2M5 % 514-843-9882 ext. 2232 / fax 514-843-9448 IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: Windsor Books International The Boundary, Wheatley Road, Garsington Oxford, OX44 9EJ England % 01865-361122 / fax 01865-361133 ISBN 1-55650-905-7 © 2001 Blair Howard All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, elec- tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and compa- nies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability or any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omis- sions result from negligence, accident or any other cause. Cover photo by Michael H. Francis Maps by Kim André, © 2001 Hunter Publishing, Inc. 4321 Contents Introduction 1 The Nature Of Adventure 2 Geography 3 Flora & Fauna 6 The People 12 History 13 Climate 15 Basics 17 Getting Around 17 Safety 21 Adventures 27 Camping 27 Caving 32 Fall Color 33 Spring Wildflowers 34 Snow Skiing 34 Hiking 34 Mountain Biking 37 Bird Watching 38 Hunting 38 Horseback Riding 38 Rock Climbing 40 Gliding 40 Watersports 41 Shopping 44 Antiquing 45 Craft Hunting 45 Southeastern Tennessee 45 History 45 Sightseeing 47 Chattanooga 47 Ocoee 59 Fort Loudoun State Historic Park 60 The Lost Sea 60 Red Clay State Historic Area 61 Adventures 62 Boating 62 Canoeing Trails 65 Camping 67 Fall & Spring Colors, Scenic Drives 67 Fishing 69 Hang-Gliding 73 Hiking 74 Whitewater Sports 83 iv n Contents Shopping 84 Chattanooga 84 Cleveland 85 Upper East Tennessee 87 Getting Around 87 Sightseeing 87 Cherokee National Forest 87 Elizabethton 89 Erwin 90 Gatlinburg 91 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 93 Greeneville 103 Jonesborough 105 Knoxville 105 Morristown 107 Rugby 109 Sevierville 109 Townsend 110 Tri-Cities 111 Roan Mountain 116 Adventures 117 Antiquing 117 Boating & Canoeing 117 Camping 119 Craft Hunting 120 Fishing 121 Hiking 125 Off-Road Riding 134 Snow Skiing 135 Northwestern North Carolina 137 History 137 Getting Here 138 Getting Around 139 Sightseeing 139 Asheville 139 Black Mountain 143 Blowing Rock 144 Blue Ridge Parkway 145 Boone 150 Hot Springs 151 Jefferson 152 Linville 153 Linville Falls 154 Marshall 155 Pisgah National Forest 155 Sparta 157 Spruce Pine 158 Adventures 158 Pisgah National Forest 158 Boating & Canoeing 162 Craft Hunting & Fairs 165 Contents n v Fishing 167 Rock Climbing 168 Hiking 169 Mountain Biking 172 Horseback Riding 174 Llama Trekking 178 Snow Skiing 179 Shopping 182 Southwestern North Carolina 187 History 187 Getting Here 189 Getting Around 190 Sightseeing 190 Brevard 190 Bryson City 192 Cherokee 193 Cullowhee 196 Flat Rock 197 Fontana Dam & Fontana Village Resort 198 Franklin 198 Wayah Bald 202 Hendersonville 202 Highlands 203 Murphy 204 Nantahala National Forest 206 Adventures 215 Boating 215 Camping 217 Craft Hunting & Fairs 218 Fishing 219 Rock Climbing 220 Hiking 220 Snow Skiing 226 Whitewater Rafting 227 Shopping 227 Brevard 228 Dillsboro 228 Hendersonville 229 Highlands 230 Waynesville 230 Northern Georgia 233 Getting Here 234 Sightseeing 236 Amicalola Falls State Park 236 Black Rock Mountain State Park 237 Blue Ridge 238 Cloudland Canyon State Park 238 Chattahoochee National Forest 239 Chief Vann House State Historic Site 250 Dahlonega Gold Museum & Historic Site 250 Fort Mountain State Park 251 vi n Contents Hart State Park 252 Helen 253 James H. “Sloppy” Floyd State Park 253 Lake Chatuge 254 Moccasin Creek State Park 254 New Echota State Historic Site 255 Rabun Gap 256 Red Top Mountain State Park 256 Tallulah Falls & Gorge 257 Traveler’s Rest State Historic Site 258 Tugaloo State Park 258 Unicoi State Park 259 Victoria Bryant State Park 259 Vogel State Park 260 Adventures 261 Boating 261 Camping 263 Canoeing 263 Craft Hunting & Fairs 264 Fishing 266 Hiking 269 Shopping 274 Camping Directory 275 Wilderness Camping 275 State Park Camping 292 Commercial Camping 305 Accommodations Directory 321 Southeastern Tennessee 321 Upper East Tennessee 322 Northwestern North Carolina 323 Southwestern North Carolina 324 Northern Georgia 325 Information Directory 327 Fish & Wildlife Agencies 327 Blue Ridge Parkway 327 Fishing 327 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 328 Cherokee National Forest 328 Pisgah National Forest 329 Nantahala National Forest 329 Chattahoochee National Forest 330 Rivers & Lakes 331 Whitewater Outfitters & Adventures 331 Contents n vii Maps Great Smoky Mountains 19 Southeastern Tennessee 46 Lookout Mountain 51 Upper East Tennessee 86 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 94 Northwestern North Carolina 136 Pisgah National Forest 156 Southwestern North Carolina 186 Nantahala National Forest 207 Mountain Waters Scenic Byway 209 Northern Georgia 232 Introduction Introduction ention the Great Smoky Mountains to most people and they Mimmediately think of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And so they should, for each year more than nine million people make it the most visited national park in the United States. But the park is not the be all and end all of the Smokies. In fact, it’s just a small part of the whole. The Smokies, for the purposes of this book, encompass an area that runs from the Virginia state line, straddling the Tennessee/ North Carolina border, all the way down into northern Georgia. Along the way they embrace the great Nantahala, Pisgah, Chero- kee and Chattahoochee national forests – four vast outdoor tracts of wilderness. Although civilization came here in colonial times, the area is, for the most part, still a very primitive domain that hasn’t kept pace with the outside world. Great pockets of unspoiled wilderness ex- ist within the Smokies; some areas still don’t have electricity, and there are places where the locals are downright suspicious of strangers. Many people here live out their lives much as their an- cestors did almost 100 years ago. A visit to the national park will take you to the famous mountain city of Gatlinburg, to Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, but the land where Davy Crockett was born and raised has much more to offer. Over a dozen ski resorts are tucked away among the hills and val- leys; there are plenty of unspoiled fishing spots and hundreds of backcountry camping grounds offer thousands of sites, from prim- itive to full-service. Then there are the tiny towns, some no more than a couple of clapboard shacks and a country store; towns like Tellico Plains, Sylva, Highlands, Sweetgum and Rainbow Springs. A network of backcountry roads, narrow and winding, join one small woodland colony to the next. Hundreds of miles of narrow trails, pathways and bridleways interlace the forest and criss-cross one another in a bewildering spider’s web of footpaths. It’s an area where careless travelers can get easily get lost, and stay lost for days on end. The Great Smoky Mountains are also home to a diverse assort- ment of wildlife. Black bear, white-tailed deer and wild boar roam 2 n Introduction free; wild turkeys, eliminated from eastern Tennessee by genera- tions of hunters, have returned to the Cherokee National Forest. And each year in the fall, the great hardwood forests provide visi- tors with spectacular displays of color. The Smoky Mountains represent one of the last real opportunities for great adventure in the southeastern United States. n The Nature Of Adventure Adventure means different things to different people. To some it means the far-off jungles of Africa, the snows of Antarctica, or the peaks of the mighty Himalayas. To others it means beachcombing, hiking or horseback rid- ing. Adventure in the Smokies means an excursion into the great outdoors – hiking, rock climbing, snow skiing, fishing, hunting, and boating. The Adventure Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains covers all those activities and more. It takes you to the historic sites in the area, and to the hundreds of antique stores, gift shops and craft fairs. It covers fine dining and luxury hotels, and details afternoon drives on country roads. We have taken three separate approaches to the order of this book. First, each type of adventure is briefly covered on pages 27 to 43. There, you will find out what’s available and where. Second, each geographical region is described in depth, along with a detailed report of attractions and adventures within that partic- ular region. Lastly, we have included three separate directories at the back of the book – one for camping, one for accommodations, and one for information services. The listings in the camping and accommoda- tions directories are not recommendations, but they do include short descriptions of the facilities. So, if you want to spend a few days snow skiing, you’ll turn to that particular activity on page 34, and there you’ll find that snow ski- ing is available in upper eastern Tennessee and upper western North Carolina. From there, it’s simply a matter of turning the pages to your region of choice where you’ll find a list of resorts and all the information you’ll need to make an educated choice.