Cataloochee Valley
Public Land · Waynesville, North Carolina
A wide green valley deep in the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, reached only by a long gravel road over a ridge. Before the park it held one of the largest Appalachian communities in the Smokies - over a hundred buildings and around twelve hundred people - and a Cherokee hunting ground before that. What remains is a scatter of white frame churches, a school and farmhouses standing in open pasture, and the elk that were reintroduced to the park in 2001 and are now most reliably seen here.
Cataloochee Entrance Road, Waynesville, North Carolina, 28786, United States
FREE and open year round, dawn to dusk, but ⚠ THE ACCESS IS THE WHOLE STORY: Cataloochee is reached by a narrow, winding, largely GRAVEL mountain road with steep drops and no guard rail for much of it, and it takes about forty minutes from the paved road. It is not suitable for large vehicles or trailers and can close for snow, ice and washouts. The campground is seasonal and reservable. A park parking tag is required for stops over 15 minutes.
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