What better way to enjoy the glorious fall colors of North Carolina and Tennessee than a leisurely drive along the Cherohala Skyway? Take this scenic byway through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests in autumn and fall in love with the brilliant colors of the Appalachian Mountains.
To see autumn’s colors at their peak, plan your trip around the end of October or early November. You’ll be astounded by fiery oranges, deep reds, and glowing yellows of more than 120 species of trees native to the area. Notice how the autumn sunlight dances off the light-hued wood of the poplar aspen and its luminescent, quaking leaves. Smell the crisp air; it may be laced with a hint of wintergreen from the aromatic yellow birch, easily recognized by its golden yellow bark.
Drive a couple miles north from the eastern terminus of the byway in Santeetlah Gap, NC, and you’ll find the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This 3,800-acre forest is home to the largest stand of old-growth trees in the eastern United States. The forest was dedicated to the poet, Joyce Kilmer, famous for his poem, “Trees.” His famous line reads: I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. The line is especially poignant when you take in this beautiful land and trees in their shimmering autumn glory. Come hike among the red oak and take in the earthy smells of the forest just before it descends into winter.
Get back on the byway and continue your drive through Nantahala National Forest. Full of plunging gorges and towering eastern hemlock, an evergreen that lives more than 500 years, the Nantahala National Forest will leave you with a deep sense of peace and tranquility as you roam the landscape, taking in the region's dazzling colors and sky-scraping mountains.
Continue west along the byway into Tennessee, where you enter the Cherokee National Forest. A 145,380-acre wilderness, this national forest is known mostly for its whitewater rivers and abundance of waterfalls. Stop and have a picnic in the crisp fall air, and hike around the forest to see the dogwood trees turning crimson and purple or the maple leaves changing to their brilliant red.
Want to take a stunning side-trip? Take the byway west to Oosterneck Creek in Tennessee and drive 10 minutes south along River Road to Bald River Falls. The falls will enchant you during the autumn season as the water rushes by, carrying leaves from a black or rose cherry tree over time-smoothed stones. Come back in the winter to see Bald River Falls when it’s covered in ice-- a true winter wonderland.
As the sun sets on the south, leaves will dance and their colors will sing, truly embodying those famed words: I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree. Take a drive on Cherohala Skyway and bask in the colorful splendor of autumn.
