The drive connecting Tennessee and North Carolina took $100M and a mile of elevation to build

It’s half Cherokee, half Nantahala

You don’t hear much about the Cherohala Skyway, and that’s part of what makes the drive so good.

This 43-mile road connects Tellico Plains, Tenn., and Robbinsville, N.C., through two national forests, and it climbs from 900 feet to over 5,400 feet along the way.

The name itself splits the difference between the Cherokee and Nantahala forests it cuts through.

Most people plan two hours for the drive and end up taking twice that, because the overlooks and trailheads keep pulling you off the road.

A Kiwanis Club joke turned into a 34-year project

The whole thing started as a wisecrack. In 1958, a member of the Kiwanis Club in Tellico Plains said somebody ought to build a real road between Tennessee and North Carolina instead of relying on old wagon trails.

That joke turned into an actual wagon train ride to the state line, which built enough buzz that Congress funded the route by 1962.

Then came environmental reviews and the hard reality of cutting a highway through rugged mountain terrain. Construction took 34 years.

The road finally opened on Oct. 12, 1996, at a cost of about $100 million.

Twenty degrees cooler at the top than the bottom

Starting near the Tellico River at 900 feet, the road gains more than 4,000 feet before topping out near Haw Knob at the state line. Some grades hit 9 percent, so you feel the climb.

Temperatures can drop 20 degrees between the base and the summit, so bring a layer even in summer.

The pavement is a wide, well-maintained two-lane highway with broad shoulders, managed by both states’ transportation departments. It’s a smooth ride all the way up.

Fifteen overlooks line the route from end to end

The Skyway gives you 15 places to pull over, stretch your legs, and look out across the mountains. Santeetlah Overlook sits at 5,390 feet and has picnic tables with long views in every direction.

Big Junction Overlook, at 5,235 feet, is high enough that clouds regularly roll through and block the view entirely.

Shute Cove Scenic Overlook faces the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Area, and Lake View Scenic Overlook lets you spot Indian Boundary Lake far below in the valley.

Walk through a 400-year-old forest the size of a small town

Near the North Carolina end of the Skyway, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest covers 3,800 acres of old-growth trees.

It’s one of the largest tracts of virgin forest left in the eastern United States, with more than 100 tree species.

Some of the yellow poplars stand over 100 feet tall and measure more than 20 feet around, and a few are over 400 years old. The forest was set aside in 1936 as a memorial to Joyce Kilmer, a poet killed in World War I.

A two-mile figure-eight trail loops through the giants

A figure-eight trail covers two miles through the memorial forest.

The lower loop runs 1.25 miles and takes you past the Joyce Kilmer Memorial plaque, set into a large boulder along the path.

The upper Poplar Cove loop adds another 0.75 miles and passes through the grove where the oldest, largest trees grow. Restrooms and picnic tables sit at the trailhead.

The forest is part of the bigger 17,000-acre Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness that stretches deep into the mountains.

A 90-foot waterfall you can see from your car

Bald River Falls drops 90 feet in the Cherokee National Forest, and you don’t have to hike a single step to see it. The falls sit about five miles off the Skyway on Forest Service Road 210, right along the Tellico River.

You can watch the whole cascade from the roadside bridge. Parking fills up fast on weekends and holidays, so get there early.

If you want more, the 5.6-mile Bald River Trail starts at the parking lot and follows the river upstream.

Trails range from paved paths to bald summits

Spirit Ridge Trail near mile 10 is paved, ADA-accessible, and about 0.7 miles round trip with almost no elevation change.

Hooper Bald Trail near mile eight climbs about a mile round trip to a grassy summit where flame azaleas bloom in early June.

Huckleberry Knob Trail near mile nine covers 2.2 miles round trip and tops out at 5,560 feet, the highest point in the Cheoah Ranger District.

For longer hikes, the Benton MacKaye Trail connects at Stratton Ridge. Whigg Meadow Trail runs 3.3 miles to a wildflower meadow.

Swim, fish, and camp at Indian Boundary Lake

About two miles off the Skyway on the Tennessee side, Indian Boundary Recreation Area sits at 1,560 feet around a 96-acre lake ringed by hardwoods and pines.

The campground has 87 sites with electric hookups, water, showers, and flush restrooms. A 3.2-mile trail circles the lake for hiking and biking.

Day visitors can use the swim beach, boat launch, accessible fishing pier, and picnic areas. It’s a solid base camp if you want to spend more than one day on the Skyway.

Lake Santeetlah’s 76 miles of wild shoreline

Six miles from Robbinsville, Lake Santeetlah covers 3,000 acres and stretches along 76 miles of shoreline. About 80 percent of that shore is protected national forest land, so most of it stays undeveloped.

The lake holds bass, walleye, crappie, trout, and bluegill. More than 50 primitive campsites line the shore, and none of them require a fee or permit.

Alcoa created the lake in 1928 by damming the Cheoah River, and the forest has grown tight around it ever since.

Fall color rolls down the mountain for six weeks

The leaf show starts at the top in late September and works its way down into mid-November. Sourwood and dogwood trees turn red first.

Yellow tulip poplars follow. Maples bring red, orange, and yellow during peak season in the last two weeks of October, with birches adding bright yellow to the mix.

Oaks and sweetgums close it out with purple, orange, and red that linger into November. You get six weeks of changing color from top to bottom.

No gas, no food, no cell signal for 43 miles

Fill your tank in Tellico Plains or Robbinsville before you start, because you won’t find gas, food, or cell service anywhere on the route.

The Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in Tellico Plains is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and has maps and road condition updates. In winter, ice and snow at higher elevations can make the drive dangerous.

The Skyway’s long, sweeping curves also draw motorcyclists and sports car drivers, so keep your eyes on the road when traffic picks up.

Drive the Cherohala Skyway in Tennessee and North Carolina

You can pick up the Skyway on TN-165 in Tellico Plains or NC-143 in Robbinsville and drive it in either direction.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Bald River Falls, Indian Boundary Lake, and Lake Santeetlah are all close to the route.

If you still have energy after the drive, the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap is a short trip from the North Carolina end, with 318 curves packed into 11 miles.

Check the official website for current road conditions before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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