No Parkway? No problem! Find fall color in WNC in the wake of hurricane Helene.
Much of Western North Carolina is still recovering after hurricane Helene. There has been major damage to the southeast’s favorite fall color drive: The Blue Ridge Parkway. For now, it’s best to give room for recovery efforts but there are beautiful places in WNC that were barely affected by the storm. This post will focus on those areas and where to find some good color and photo opportunities! These are parts of WNC that still need visitors.
At the time of writing this on Thursday, Oct 17th, most of WNC is still showing a lot of green. You have not missed the colors! In addition to this guide, we will be offering a few select tours to the areas listed below on Oct 21st & 22nd, and Oct 29th through Nov 2nd. Visit our Fall Color Tours page to book!
We also hope people visiting the area might consider volunteering for some relief effort and/or bringing supplies. Contact Samaritan’s Purse to see how you can help.
We’ll divide up the opportunities by region:
Cashiers & Highlands
Hwy 64 is the route to take to see the best this area has to offer. At the time of writing this, Hwy 64 is closed between Rosman (near Brevard) and Lake Toxaway. You can access this route either from Franklin, NC, or come up Hwy 130 in South Carolina which turns into Hwy 281 once you cross the NC state line. 281 intersects with Hwy 64 near Whitewater Falls (which is currently open!).
Features:
- Whitewater Falls
- Shadow of the Bear
- Whiteside Mountain (hike)
- Sequoah Dam Falls
- Bridal Veil Falls
- Dry Falls
- Cullasaja Falls
Cherokee, Byson City, and Maggie Valley
There is so much to see and do in these areas and there isn’t one specific route. These towns specifically could really benefit from your tourism.
Cherokee features:
- Mingo Falls
- Oconaluftee River
- Oconaluftee Elk Viewing
- Bradley Fork Trail
Byson City features:
- Deep Creek
- Tom Branch Falls
- Juney Whank Falls
- Indian Creek Falls
- Lake Fontana
Maggie Valley features:
- Soco Falls
- A stray elk wondering through Maggie Valley!
Chehola Skyway, Lake Santeetlah
This area is a personal favorite and definitely worth a visit. Think of the Chehola Skyway as a little brother to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a skyline drive offering great views of the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. There are many overlooks to pull over at and enjoy the views. The drive reaches elevations as high as 5,400ft.
The NC side of Chehola starts near Lake Santeetlah, arguably the most beautiful lake in all of Western North Carolina. Situated not too far from the lake is a forest road that leads you along Big Snowbird Creek. Big Snowbird is a beautiful watershed worthy of some photos.
If you would like a guide to show you these areas and teach you how to take better photos, reach out to us!
