Although this area is a little over a hundred miles from Chattanooga,
it’s uniqueness makes it well worth the drive to get there. It is one
of the largest (3800 acres) of the few remaining remnants of virgin
forest left in the eastern half of the United States. It was once
owned by a timber company and was slated to be cut before being
purchased by the Forest Service. It contains huge trees hundreds of
years old, some of them twenty feet or more in diameter. This is what
the forest in this entire region was like when the first white settlers
arrived except that the most prominent tree of that time is now
missing. (The massive American Chestnut which was larger than any of
the remaining species and once dominated the forest was wiped out by
a blight accidentally introduced from Asia about 1925.)
Unlike regrowth forests, the virgin forest is open and glade-like with
the forest floor being carpeted with wildflowers of every description
is season. Additionally there are an incredible number of different
kinds of ferns, wild herbs, fungi, and mosses to be found here. There
is an easy well marked four mile figure eight trail that most anyone
can enjoy. Because of the figure eight design, you can do only two
miles if four is too much.
Additionally, several longer trails exist with over 60 miles total of
trails. One of the prettiest, the Naked Ground trail, was recently
used by the club as part of a backpack loop hike.
To get to this area from Chattanooga, the most scenic route is to
proceed to Tellico Plains and take the Cherahalla Skyway. There are
several possible routes to Tellico Plains, but the easiest to find,
is to take I75 to the Sweetwater exit, SR68, and head east through
Madisonville to Tellico Plains. Once in Tellico Plains follow the
signs for the Cherahalla Skyway across the mountains. From the Skyway
you will enjoy incredible views of the Citico/Slickrock Wilderness.
The Skyway ends at US129, where you will turn left and drive to the
entrance to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest picnic area. The trail
proceeds out of the picnic area. For more information or to purchase
a map contact:
Cheoah Ranger District
Route 1, Box16A
Robbinsville, N.C. 28771