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Did you know that Cherokee is bordered by two national parks? We're best-known for the North Carolina half of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But we're also the southern gateway to the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park.
      The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway stretches 469 miles from Cherokee to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, Outstanding scenery makes this one of the most popular units in the National Park System. "America's Favorite Drive" winds its way though mountain meadows and past split-rail fences, old farmsteads and historic structures.
        Just outside Cherokee is Richland Balsam Knob, the highest point on the entire Parkway and a favorite of sunset watchers. The Parkway was designed for a leisurely drive with plenty of pullovers to enjoy the incomparable views. One of the nicest is Devil's Courthouse, near Cherokee.
       Enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Cherokee and drive beside a rushing stream up to the top of the Smokies at the Clingman's Dome tower (left) with its 360-degree view of the mountains. If you want to visit waterfalls in the area – some involve a hike, but there are several in the Cherokee area that just take a short, easy walk. The closest falls to Cherokee is the beautiful Mingo Falls (above), just out Big Cove Road from Saunooke Village. Nearby Bryson City has two graceful falls just out from town in the National Park at Deep Creek. (A perfect fishing or tubing spot).
        About an hour west of Cherokee, in Graham County, are two natural gems — The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest offers a two-mile walk through an old-growth virgin forest with giant Hemlocks and Poplars. Nearby, the 36-mile Cherohala Skyway, connecting Robbinsville and Tellico Plains, Tennessee, provides views that rival the Blue Ridge Parkway. Near Tellico Plains, take the 5-mile side trip (FS Road 210) to the 100-foot high Bald River Falls. This spectacular cascade can be viewed from your car.