Cherohala Skyway
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, NC

Joyce Kilmer, the poet who is best remembered for his poem "Trees," (I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree . . .) and who was killed in action in France during WWI, has a living memorial in his memory. The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is an impressive 3,800 acre remnant of virgin wilderness, now the largest stand of old growth trees in the eastern United States. The dedication took place on July 30, 1935, on the eighteenth anniversary of the poet's death. At the dedication, a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt was read.

In this most beautiful, unmarred and natural setting, that was the unchartered hunting ground of the Cherokee Indians, virgin trees grow more than 100 feet tall and some 20 feet around the base. In addition to these trees, there is an outstanding variety of shrubs, vines, ferns, mosses, lichen, liverworts and herbaceous plants. In Spring, wildflowers take advantage of the sunlight which will not be available after the hardwood trees are covered with shade producing leaves. The Memorial Forest, comprised of huge poplars, giant red oaks and magnificent hemlocks, as well as many other varieties of trees, is maintained in its primitive and natural state. No plants living or dead may be cut or removed.