Smokies

Whiteside Mountain

The sparkling white cliffs of Whiteside Mountain, in the Nantahala National Forest near Highlands, North Carolina, have long been a landmark along the eastern continental divide. The 750 feet tall cliffs are the highest shear cliffs in the eastern United States.

Wayah Bald

Wayah Bald, near Franklin, North Carolina, is a popular destination for hikers, especially in the early summer when rhododendron and azalea are in bloom. Its historic fire tower affords great views of the southern Appalachian mountains in three states.

Wayah Bald is named for the red wolves once lived on its slopes. "Wa ya" means wolf in the Cherokee language. Spear points found on the bald indicate that indigenous people used the area as hunting grounds more than eleven thousand years ago.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Richland Balsam

Richland Balsam, a mountain near Waynesville, North Carolina, rises to 6,410 feet and is the highest peak on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors can reach the summit on a 1.5 mile, self-guided loop trail that passes through a spruce-fir forest.

Graveyard Fields

Panthertown Valley

Panthertown Valley, near Cashiers, North Carolina, is a unique landscape, with a broad, flat valley floor flanked by granite cliffs which rise 200 to 300 feet. Located within the Nantahala National Forest, the scenic valley offers excellent hiking with a network of trails and old logging roads that lead to waterfalls and spectacular overlooks.

Nantahala River Bogs

The Nantahala River Bogs Natural Area in the Nantahala National Forest protects some of the few remaining "fens," commonly known as bogs, in the North Carolina mountains. The Nantahala bogs provide habitat for numerous species of rare plants and animals, including the bog turtle.

Devil's Courthouse

Cullasaja River and Gorge

Mount Hardy

Located south of Waynesville, North Carolina, Mount Hardy rises to 6,110 feet in the Great Balsam Mountain range and offers ambitious hikers an exhilarating climb from the Blue Ridge Parkway.