Graham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,861, making it the third-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Robbinsville.
The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasses an estimated area of 655,598 acres (2,653.11 km2).
The Unaka Range is a mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. It is a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains physiographic province. The Unakas stretch approximately from the Nolichucky River to the south to the Watauga River to the north. The Unakas include the prominent Roan Highlands, where several summits rise above 6,000 feet. The Iron Mountains border the Unakas to the north, and the Bald Mountains border the Unakas opposite the Nolichucky to the south. The name unaka is rooted in the Cherokee term unega, meaning "white". Common Lore is that 1 in 4 trees in the Unaka Range were American Chestnut trees prior to the great Chestnut Blight. Chestnuts having long white blossoms, the Unaka Mountains turned white in color during the blossoming of the chestnut trees, and thus were called the White mountains by the local Cherokee.
The Unicoi Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Unicois are located immediately south of the Great Smoky Mountains and immediately west of the Cheoah Mountains. Most of the range is protected as a national forest, namely the Cherokee National Forest on the Tennessee side and the Nantahala National Forest on the North Carolina side— although some parts have been designated as wilderness areas and are thus more strictly regulated.
The Cherohala Skyway is a 43-mile (69 km) National Scenic Byway and National Forest Scenic Byway that connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina in the southeastern United States. Its name is a portmanteau of Cherokee and Nantahala, the two national forests through which it passes. Along with multiple vistas and overlooks, the skyway provides easy vehicular access to various protected and recreational areas of the Unicoi Mountains, including the Citico Creek Wilderness, the Bald River Gorge Wilderness, and the remote interior of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina. The forest is managed together with the other three North Carolina National Forests from common headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina. There are local ranger district offices located in Pisgah Forest, Mars Hill, and Nebo.
The Nantahala National Forest, established in 1920, is a national forest located in the American state of North Carolina. The word "Nantahala" is a Cherokee word, meaning "Land of the Noonday Sun." In some spots, the sun reaches the floors of the deep gorges of the forest only when it is high overhead at midday. This was part of the homeland of the historic Cherokee and their indigenous ancestors, who have occupied the region for thousands of years.
Dick's Knob or Dicks Knob, with an elevation of 4,620 feet (1,408 m), is the third-highest peak in the State of Georgia if using a 200 ft. prominence rule. It is located in Rabun County, Georgia within the Southern Nantahala Wilderness and is the second-highest mountain in the county.
Hightower Bald, with an elevation of 4,568 feet (1,392 m) is the fourth-highest peak in the US state of Georgia. It is located in Towns County, Georgia at the North Carolina state line and is within the boundaries of the Southern Nantahala Wilderness of the Chattahoochee National Forest.
Standing Indian Mountain, elevation 5,499 feet, is part of the North Carolina portion of the Southern Nantahala Wilderness within the boundaries of the Nantahala National Forest. The mountain lies along the Appalachian Trail and is the highest point along the Nantahala River.
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is an approximately 3,800-acre tract of publicly owned virgin forest in Graham County, North Carolina, named in memory of poet Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918), best known for his poem "Trees". One of the largest contiguous tracts of old growth forest in the Eastern United States, the area is administered by the U. S. Forest Service. The memorial forest is a popular family hiking destination and features an easy two-mile, figure-eight trail that includes a memorial plaque at the juncture of the two loops. In 1975 the memorial forest was joined with a much larger tract of the Nantahala National Forest to become part of the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.
Gregory Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the flame azaleas that bloom over the bald every summer. The azaleas reach peak bloom around mid-to-late June.
Silers Bald is a mountain in the western Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Its proximity to Clingmans Dome and its location along the Appalachian Trail make it a popular hiking destination.
Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, created in 1975, covers 17,394 acres (70 km2) in the Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina and the Cherokee National Forest in eastern Tennessee, in the watersheds of the Slickrock and Little Santeetlah Creeks. It is named after Joyce Kilmer, author of "Trees." The Little Santeetlah and Slickrock watersheds contain 5,926 acres (23.98 km2) of old growth forest, one of the largest tracts in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Wesser Bald is a summit located in Macon County, North Carolina, near the community of Wesser. A wooden fire tower at the summit provides hikers with unimpeded views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and also the Nantahala Mountains. The Appalachian Trail traverses the summit from roughly north to south with the Nantahala Outdoor Center lying to the north within the Nantahala Gorge and Tellico gap just to the south. Tellico gap has unimproved road access. The climb from Tellico Gap takes an average of 20 minutes. Also, a third route, the blue trail, departs from the end of Wesser Creek Road and follows Wesser Creek up to a point just south of the summit to a fork with the Appalachian Trail. The summit is located at 4,627 ft (1,410 m). and is within Nantahala National Forest. A map detailing the highway routes to access Tellico Gap is available at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Observable landforms include Wayah Bald, the Nantahala Gorge, and Clingmans Dome among others. The Wesser Fire Tower provides unparalleled 360 degree views of the Smokies in a short 1.5 mile hike from Tellico Gap on the Appalachian Trail, with an elevation gain of about 767 feet. The Fire Tower was originally reported as destroyed during the forest fires which ravaged the Nantahala Forest in November, 2016 but it was later learned that it survived.
Citico Creek Wilderness is a 16,226-acre (66 km2) wilderness area within the Cherokee National Forest in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The wilderness contains the entire upper drainage of Citico Creek, which consists of the north and south forks and at least eight tributaries. Three steep-sided ridges descend west from the crest of the Unicoi Mountains — Brush Mountain, Pine Ridge, and Sassafras Ridge.
The Bald Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Bald Mountains stretch from the Pigeon River in the south to the Nolichucky River in the north, and comprise parts of Cocke County, Greene County, and Unicoi County in Tennessee and parts of Madison County and Yancey County in North Carolina. The Great Smoky Mountains border the range to the south, and the Unakas rise opposite the Nolichucky to the north. The range gets its name from the relatively frequent occurrence of grassy balds atop the more prominent summits.
Albert Mountain is a mountain in North Carolina's Nantahala Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Trail goes along its summit, which is around 5,200 feet (1,600 m) high. A fire tower offers views of the Blue Ridge and the Little Tennessee River valley.
Hooper Bald is a grassy bald mountain in the Unicoi Mountain Range located in the Cheoah Ranger District of Nantahala National Forest in Graham County, North Carolina, United States. The summit is 5,429 ft/1,655 m.
Haw Knob is a mountain located in the central Unicoi Mountains in the southeastern United States. The peak is located in Monroe County, Tennessee and Graham County, North Carolina, and has an elevation of 5,472 feet (1,668 m) above mean sea level. It located near the Cherohala Skyway and is accessible via the Benton MacKaye Trail.
