US 129: "The Dragon"

The Dragon begins on the North Carolina side at Fugitive Bridge with a view of the Cheoah Dam where Harrison Ford jumped in the movie The Fugitive. It ends 14 miles across the mountain at the Tabcat Creek Bridge in Tennessee. US 129 climbs through The Slide, a steep series of "S" curves. The road then levels and straightens until a series of curves approaching Deals Gap and the Tennessee State Line. We'll leave the next eleven miles and 318 curves for you to describe after you ride it. Many just remember curve after curve after curve and surviving the run of their lives.

The "Dragon" as it is affectionately called is a section of US 129 from Graham County North Carolina into Blount County Tennessee. The road is famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles. Motorcycles and sports vehicles alike love the energetic ride and breathtaking views produced by the Great Smoky Mountains.

The road has been featured in many motorcycle magazines, most recently in Rider (October 2002) and Road Runner (Summer 2001). Articles in National Geographic Adventure (August 2002, February 2003), Makes and Models (June 2002), and Competitive Edge (May/June 2002) have also noted the unique attractions of the road. It was voted the number one motorcycle road in the United States in a Buell Motorcycle website survey.

Lake Santeetlah

Lake Santeetlah, formed in 1928 with the construction of Santeetlah Dam, consists of seventy-six miles of mostly natural forested shoreline. While the lake surface and land below the high water level is owned and managed by Tapoco, Inc., almost 80 percent of the shoreline is public land being managed by the United States Forest Service.

Lake Santeetlah has a wide variety of fish, the most popular being smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and walleye. Until recently Lake Santeetlah boasted the state record largemouth and walleye. Santeetlah also has a good population of crappie, bream and lake trout. Fishing licenses are required and can be purchased at local marinas, bait stores, and other businesses.

More than 50 primitive campsites are scattered around the lake. These sites have few facilities: no toilets, no water faucets, no fire grills, and best of all no fee or permit. The only campground with facilities located directly on the lake is Cheoah Point with 26 camp sites, 4 picnic tables, toilets, and no showers ($8.00 a day/open April to November/first come first served).

Nearby Forest Service Campgrounds are Horse Cove located on Big Santeetlah Creek with 17 camp sites, toilets, and no showers ($8.00 a day/open winter with no fees/first come first served) and the group camp at Rattler Ford which has four sites (up to 50 people each site), showers, and toilets ($25.00 each site by reservation). For more information contact the Cheoah District Office at VOICE 828-479-6431 or FAX 828-479-6784.

Take the kids to Cheoah Point Recreation Area complete with white sand beach, picnic tables, protected swim area, and restrooms.

Visitors can rent boats at several locations on the lake. Take a leisurely pontoon ride or try skiing on the glassy smooth surface. Or paddle a canoe into one of the secluded prongs. Whatever your choice, the serenity experienced by a day on Lake Santeetlah is almost impossible to find anywhere else.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

Deep in the mountains of Graham County lies a 3800-acre tract of the most beautiful forest in America, unmarred and undefiled by the hand of man. On July 30, 1936, the area was dedicated to the Poet, Joyce Kilmer as a living memorial.

It was the simple but beautiful words of Kilmer in the Poem, "TREES" which prompted forestry officials and friends of nature to set aside the acreage, which now comprises the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Notice was served to the world that the exploitation and desecration of our forest lands had come to an end.

Because of its relative isolation until recent years, the wooded area had remained untouched by the woodman's axe. Huge poplars, some 20 feet in circumference, tower 125 feet or more toward the sky. Giant red oaks, magnificent hemlocks, and many other varieties of trees stand as proud neighbors to the mammoth poplars. The forest once an isolated region known only to the few who penetrated its boundaries as Poplar Cove has now become an attraction to thousands. The government has set aside the area to remain a "natural area" and maintains trails leading to various points of scenic or botanical interest. One trail leads across Little Santeetlah Creek into Poplar Cove where a bronze plaque placed upon a granite boulder states simply: "Joyce Kilmer, 165th Infantry, Rainbow Division, Soldier and Poet, Author of TREES. Born in New Brunswick, N.J. December 6, 1886. Killed in action in France July 30, 1918."

Another trail follows Little Santeetlah Creek to a trail on top of the Unicoi Mountains. From here a trail follows the ridges to Stratton Bald, Hayoe, and Hangover Mountains. The boldness and grandeur of nature along these trails cannot be matched anywhere. More and more city dwellers from afar seek a few hours of the serenity and tranquility of this natural wonderland.

The natural forest was dedicated on the eighteenth anniversary of Kilmer's death in France during World War I. The Bozeman Bulger Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsored the action authorizing the establishment of the Joyce Kilmer forest memorial.

Many are familiar with the words of Kilmer's "TREES" and still others have heard the version set to music by his mother. As the nature lover strolls by the misty waterfalls, through the verdant vegetation, near the flowing cascades, or over the bold, sharp peaks, a beautiful tree will call to mind with renewed freshness and meaning the words:

Fontana Lake & Fontana Dam

This 29 mile long lake has more than 240 miles of almost totally undeveloped shoreline. More than 90 percent of the land around the lake is owned by either the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or the US Forest Service and development has been kept to a minimum. Fontana Dam, completed in 1944, stands 480 foot high and is the highest dam in the Eastern United States and the fourth highest in the country. The Appalachian Trail runs right across the top.

Fontana Dam and Lake serve several purposes, chief among them being flood regulation and power production. Releases from the lake also benefit downstream navigation by contributing to the water volume during periods of low flow. In the normal operating cycle, the lake is drawn down during the fall and winter months to provide ample space for winter rains, and is allowed to refill when danger of floods has passed.

Fontana and Santeetlah Lake attract boaters and fishermen. These lakes are never crowded and the natural settings calm the senses.

The Fontana/Graham County area is a natural playground. Forget the theme parks and other man-made attractions. Come to where the real action is. Visit Graham County on your next vacation.

Cherohala Skyway

The Cherohala Skyway was completed in the fall of 1996 after being under construction for some thirty-four years. It is North Carolina's most expensive highway carrying a pricetag of $100,000,000. Winding up and over 5,000 foot mountains for 15 miles in North Carolina and descending another 21 miles into the deeply forested backcountry of Tennessee. The road crosses through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests thus the name "Chero...hala". The Skyway is becoming well known for its natural beauty and scenic vistas

This road connects Robbinsville, North Carolina, with Tellico Plains, Tennessee. It can be desolate at night and extremely dangerous in the winter months. There are no facilities other than restrooms for the entire 36 miles. There is little evidence of civilization from views that rival or surpass any from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Sightseers, motorcyclists, and sports car enthusiasts all come to enjoy this secenic highway. Many just drive to the top to cool off in the summer months. There is usually a ten degree difference in temperatures from the lower elevations. In spring and fall you might want to bring along a jacket.

Smoky Mountian National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains, with 16 peaks higher than 6,000 feet in elevation, is part of the larger Southern Appalachian Range. With dimensions roughly 70 miles east to west and 8 miles north to south, the area is bounded on the east by the Pigeon River and on the West by the Little Tennessee River. All of the rivers, which have eroded deep swathes through the mountains, run more-or-less westerly and eventually empty into the Mississippi River.

The Smoky Mountains are much older than the Rockies. Erosion over 125 million years has diminished their elevations and resulted in the lush forested areas one sees today. First inhabited by the Native American Indians, early settlers began to intervene around 1800. By 1836 the Cherokee were being relocated to make room for even more settlers. The Trail of Tears, which attempted to relocate the Indians westward, is one of the sadder tales of our American history. Today Native Indians once again inhabit large areas of the Smokies.

The Smoky Mountains became a forgotten land as later settlers moved further west looking for better farmland. By the 1900s a nearly isolated culture made its roots deep in the mountains. Life was not easy, but those who stayed in these remote areas managed to scruff-out a meager living.

Then the loggers came, devastating nearly two-thirds of the forestland in the Smokies and leaving the rest seriously maimed. About the same time there was a movement to establish a national park somewhere in the east. World War I and political delays allowed the loggers even more time to clear-cut vast chucks of woodlands. Finally in 1926 the first sections of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park were purchased in the Elkmont area of Tennessee. Funds for additional purchases were slow in coming until John D. Rockefeller, Jr. donated five million dollars in the name of his mother.

Today the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is America's most visited National Park. There are more than 600 miles of protected hiking trails through the Park and numerous projects underway that will both preserve the natural beauty of the Park and return much of what was lost over the centuries. It is a great place to visit and study about.

Click Here to visit The Official National Park Service website

Nantahala National Forest

The Nantahala National Forest was established in 1920 under the Weeks Act which provided for the acquisition of National Forests to provide timber production and the regulation of flow in the navigable streams. Sixty-eight percent of Graham County is located within the boundaries of the Nantahala National Forest.

The Indian word Nantahala means "land of the midday sun" - an appropriate name for a forest in which deep mountain gorges and valleys are illuminated only when the noon sun is directly overhead.

At 5,800 feet, the Appalachian summit of Lone Bald is the highest point in the forest. Cascading waterfalls and mad whitewater rivers give the forest a wild, untamed atmosphere heightened by primeval oaks, hemlocks, chestnuts, and poplars. Unique plant communities and several endangered species can be found in the rarely visited areas of the forest. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Nantahala Forest through Macon, Swain and finally Graham County.

Some of the nearby attractions in the National Forest include whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River, the virgin forest of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, mountain biking in the Tsali Recreational Area, and hiking the Joyce Kilmer / Slickrock Wilderness Areas.

For more information visit this sites:

GORP'S Site for the Nantahala National Forest

Snowbird Backcountry Area

Encompassing some 10,000 acres, the Snowbird Backcountry is one of the favorite areas for hunting, fishing, and primitive camping. This area was the hiding place for the Cherokee Indians in 1836 who refused to be transported westward in the Trail of Tears. It was one of the last areas settled by white men.

Big Snowbird Creek offers some of the best native trout fishing available. The headwaters are near Mitchell Lick with the trail continuing to Big Junction at the Tennessee State Line. As the Big Snowbird Trail climbs some 2,600 feet along the creek there are numerous scenic cascades and waterfalls such as Big Falls, Middle Falls, and Upper Falls.

The Sassafras Creek Trail features Sassafrass Falls, but beware if you continue on this trail as it has not been well maintained. The Middle Falls Trail may be necessary in high water times.

Timbering of the large chestnut, Poplar, and hemlock continued in this are until 1942. The area is still healing from the scars left by this enterprise. There are still signs of the old railroad constructed to haul the timber.

Be sure to get maps and a compass before venturing into these wilderness areas. It is always a good idea to let someone know where you will be hiking and when you expect to return

Slickrock Creek Wilderness Area

The Slickrock basin wilderness consists of 10,193 acres of which 3,881 acres are located in the Cherokee National Forest of Tennessee. When combined with the Joyce Kilmer basin wilderness the total area reaches 17,013 acres.

These two basins are extremely steep and rugged, with elevations ranging from a low of 1,086 feet at the mouth of Slickrock Creek to 5,380 feet at Stratton Bald. Rocky outcrops are common, and numerous drainages and cascading streams dissect the terrain. A dense hardwood forest, some of which is virgin, blankets these slopes. The forest is broken only by occasional grass or heath bards along the high ridges. Black bear and wild boar are common to these woods.

Severely threatened by logging until 1922, the wilderness today has regained much of what was lost. There are even small pockets of forest that apparently escaped logging, but the majority of the trees are classified as old-growth rather than virgin forest.

Slickrock Trail, some of the wettest 13 miles a hiker can experience, bisects the wilderness area from southwest to northeast. The first 8 miles of this trail are rated easy to moderate and feature ten fords, many cascades, Wildcat Falls, and crystal clear pools perfect for cooling-off in the heat of the summer. This is also the most easily accessible trail in Slickrock so expect to see other hikers. If you are looking for seclusion continue southward on Slickrock Trail toward Naked Ground in Joyce Kilmer.

There are other trails to explore in Slickrock. Be sure to get maps and a compass before venturing into these wilderness areas. An excellent book on the area is Hiking Trails of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and Citico Creek Wilderness Areas by Tim Homan.

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, begun in 1910 and finished in 1937 (with modifications made after 1937), is not only a story in itself, but it has been the impetus for many amazing tales and feats. The trail stretches from Maine to Georgia, some 2168 miles in length.

Once thought to be an impossible through hike, some 2000 people have made the trek straight through with an average time of between 4 and 5 months. One person has even hiked it walking backwards.

Graham County proudly hosts almost 29 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Fontana Dam to Grassy Gap near Wesser in the Nantahala Gorge. Elevations in this section vary from 1,725 to 5,062 feet and presents hikers with some of the most challenging elevation changes along the entire trail.

South of the Smokies are the long climbs of the Stecoah-Cheoah Mountain area, then the outstanding Nantahala section, with 4,000-foot gaps and 5,000-foot peaks. Cheoah Bald offers panoramic views of western North Carolina. The variety of forest growth and the beauty of the flowering shrubs, along with the many spectacular views, make this entire section of trail memorable.

For additional information, visit the official Appalachian Trail Conference Website

Appalachian Trail thru northern portion of Graham County, NC

Appalachian Trail thru central portion of Graham County, NC

Appalachian Trail thru southern portion of Graham County, NC

Whitewater Adventrues

The western North Carolina mountains offer some of the best whitewater rafting/paddling rivers on the east coast. The Nantahala River, only a 30-minute drive from most areas in Graham County, is one of the most popular. This Class I, II, and III river is the perfect place for the entire family to have a taste of this exciting sport. A little farther away is the more adventurous Ocoee where the 1996 Olympic kayaking events were held. Many Graham County visitors take a day to enjoy one of these rivers

Graham County just might have its own whitewater river in the near future. Studies have been made with varying flows on the Cheoah River, which parallels US 129 on the western side of the county. Those who rode the various flows during the testing had nothing but positive comments on the nine-miles of the Class IV rapids.

Negotiations are under way for use of the Cheoah River for recreational purposes. If the Cheoah becomes a whitewater river it promises to be one on the best in the southeastern United States.

2011 High Flow Releases
februaury 19th,
March 19th, April 2-3,9-10,16-17,
May 14-15, 21-22,
June 18-19,
October 1st,
November 5th.