Cherohala Skyway
Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities

Although separate bicycle lanes or paths are not specifically designated along the byway, the design of the paved road and the grassy shoulders provides room for bicyclists. Sightseers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and even some commercial traffic may be found along the byway.

Tennessee Side

There are 12 existing trailheads located adjacent to the parking overlooks on the byway. The trails range from three to eight miles in length and traverse some of the most beautiful forestland found in Southern Appalachia. Many hiking trails follow aboriginal and Overhill Cherokee trade routes that are thousands of years old. Other trails enter the unique and beautiful Citico Creek Wilderness in eastern Tennessee. Wilderness trails are not appropriate for everyone, since they are generally kept primitive, rugged, and sometimes steep.

North Carolina Side

Several short trails invite you to leave your car and explore the forests and meadows near the road. Look for these trails along the Cherohala Skyway:

Wright Cove Nature Trail

This half-mile loop winds through a cool, shady northern hardwood forest of American beech, yellow birch, and eastern hemlock. Two benches provide peaceful spots to enjoy the abundant ferns and woodland flowers.

Huckleberry Knob

An easy 2.5-mile round-trip trail takes you out of the forest and across two high grassy knobs. From Huckleberry Knob, the highest point in the Cheoah Ranger District at 5,560 feet,, you get a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding Unicoi Mountains.

Spirit Ridge

This paved, accessible trail leads through a leafy tunnel of beech, birch, maple, and cherry to an overlook offering a spectacular view of the Skyway and the mountains. The trail is a 0.7-mile round trip and has interpretive signs along the way.

Hooper Bald

You can walk the short, 0.5-mile round-trip trail up to Hooper Bald, a grassy opening, or you can enter the extensive Snowbird Backcountry with its network of 37 miles of trails. A turn-of-the-century hunting retreat once stood near Hooper Bald and in 1908 accidentally introduced Russian boar into the Southern Appalachians.

Whigg Meadow

An easy, 1.5-mile trail climbs nearly 500 feet to a grassy meadow where livestock once grazed. You get a great view from the top. The trail begins at Mud Gap on the Tennessee-North Carolina State line and is a tiny part of the 275-mile-long Benton MacKaye Trail.