Meandering 469-miles through Virginia and North Carolina, from the Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway snakes though some the East Coast’s most stunning scenery. For the last 40-miles—the loftiest stretch of the wilderness-shrouded…
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Although big cats no longer prowl the 6,295-acre swath of the Nantahala National Forest dubbed Panthertown Valley, it’s still easy to imagine the namesake predators roaming the sylvan trails. One of the most stunning and ruggedly wild tracts of the massive national forest is Panthertown Valley—a…
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In a corner of the state inundated with undulating mountain chains and punctuated with soaring summits that include a generous number of 6,000-foot peaks, Yellow Mountain is far from western North Carolina’s loftiest summit at 5,127 feet in elevation. However, scaling this pinnacle of the Cowee…
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Jackson County, North Carolina, features a varied landscape is a veritable buffet for backpackers. Nestled at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, overlaid by the Plott Balsam and Great Balsam mountains, and loaded with strings of soaring 6,000-foot peaks (sixers) amid a massive…
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Just 20 miles from the southern edge of the Smokies, the western North Carolina town of Sylva provides a strategic launch point for exploring one of the country’s most beloved natural wonders—the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The national park, spread between North Carolina and Tennessee, is…
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Families looking to rekindle an old holiday tradition can visit Jackson County, NC. where the experience of selecting your own real tree from one of several tree farms in the area, replacing the artificial tree from the store. Due to the location, range of elevations, excellent soil and rainfall…
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Filled with sylvan streams winding through vast swathes of contiguous wilderness and crowned by the cloud-swaddled peaks of the southern Appalachians, Jackson County, North Carolina, is awash with natural wonders. Beyond the stunning backdrop, the mountain-nestled county is also peppered with…
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Western North Carolina is a land of waterfalls. Countless cascades punctuate the waterways braiding the vast expanses of forest and lofty Appalachian peaks dominating the western corner of the state, lending the landscape an undeniably enchanting quality. Some of the falls are accessible only after…
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Made in the Mountains: Artisans from Jackson County, NC From wood-fired to traditional Cherokee pottery, face jugs to raku beads, Jackson County, North Carolina, is saturated with potters that channel the beauty of the Western North Carolina Mountains into their work. The potters that call Jackson…
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The annual Mountain Heritage Day beckons guests to embrace Appalachian tradition and dive into the thriving legacy of North Carolina’s mountain culture on September 24. The festival, held in Cullowhee, N.C. at Western Carolina University, invites you with open arms to this authentic experience…
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