National Scenic Byway
CHEROHALA SKYWAY
The Cherohala (pronounced Chair-oh-hay-la) Skyway is a beautiful 36-mile national scenic byway. The highway runs between Santeetlah Gap 11 near Robbinsville, North Carolina, and Tellico Plains in Tennessee. Officially the Cherohala Skyway is State Route 143 in North Carolina and State Route 165 in Tennessee. The route through the North Carolina side looks down on the Appalachian Mountains and the Snowbird, Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and the Citco Creek Wilderness areas. On a clear day you can see as far as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On the Tennessee side you’ll enjoy the sights of the Cherokee National Forest, including the Bald River Falls and the Tellico River. There are nearly 100 twists and turns on the skyway that exceed 90 degrees. This, along with its close location to Tail of the Dragon (U.S. 129), makes this an exciting, fun motorcycle road. Both routes can be done on a 130-mile loop. It is remote and traffic is usually light.
The high-altitude, 36-mile road was built for its scenery. The winding, remote, two-lane road offers looks at forested mountaintops, and deep valleys. The route runs along the crest of the Unicoi Mountains and connects western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The Skyway ties together the two national forests that provide its name: the 640,000-acre Cherokee in Tennessee and the 517,000-acre Nantahala in North Carolina. It lies south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Take a leisurely journey on the Skyway and enjoy the spectacular scenic overlooks some of which offer picnic tables, or hike one of the many trails and view the wildlife of the forests. The skyway climbs to its highest overlook at 5,390 feet. There are 15 pull-offs and eye-popping vistas everywhere. It is at its colorful best at sunset and when the leaves are changing colors. Along the skyway you will find access to hiking trails, a campground, scenic waterfalls and some very wild country. There are several rest areas along the route, but no restaurants or gas stations, so be sure to gas up before you begin your skyway excursion. Bring along a jacket because the temperature can be about 20 degrees cooler at the higher elevations. Allow yourself about 2 hours riding the skyway, so you can have time to stop and enjoy the sights.
If you stop at the Unicoi Crest Overlook at 4,470 feet in elevation, you can see three states: North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia (to the southwest). A stop at Hooper Bald Trailhead and a quarter mile hike will provide stunning vistas of the rugged country to the south in the Snowbird Creek watershed. It is filled with rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurels and myrtles, along with blueberries, huckleberries and wintergreen. There is one campground just off the skyway called Indian Boundary Campground; it is on the Tennessee side. More information on the Skyway can be found at www.cherohala.com and www. ridetellico.com
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Directions To The Byway:
From Asheville, NC to Cherohala Skyway
- Follow US 74 west for approximately 70 miles, and then turn north onto US 129.
- Take US 129 to Robbinsville, NC.
- Merge onto NC-143. Follow NC-143 for 12 miles to the beginning of the Cherohala Skyway at Santeetlah Gap.
From Knoxville, TN to Cherohala Skyway
- Take I-75 southwest to Sweetwater.
- Get on TN-68 and go southwest to Tellico Plains.
- Take TN-165 through Tellico Plains to where the byway begins.
From Chattanooga, TN to Cherohala Skyway
- Take I-24 east to I-75.
- Follow I-75 northeast to Sweetwater.
- Get on TN-68 and go southeast to Tellico Plains.
- Take TN-165 through Tellico Plains to where the byway begins.
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Driving The Byway
- Start on NC 143 at Robbinsville, NC, and continue on NC 143 until the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.
- Byway becomes TN 165. Continue on this route 20 through the Cherokee National Forest until the end of the Skyway at Tellico Plains, TN.
Leah Lind
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