I’ve watched tourists flock to overcrowded lookout points where they spend more time jostling for selfie space than actually enjoying the view, but the Cherohala Skyway offers a refreshing alternative to the “been there, posted that” travel experience.
This 43-mile ribbon of asphalt connecting Robbinsville, North Carolina to Tellico Plains, Tennessee delivers mountain magic without the traffic jams that plague more famous routes, allowing you to actually hear yourself think—and occasionally gasp at views that no smartphone camera can truly capture.
The road climbs from humble valleys to soaring 5,400-foot peaks, passing through two national forests and delivering the kind of soul-restoring scenery that makes you temporarily forget about your inbox, your mortgage, and that strange noise your refrigerator started making last week.
The Cherohala Skyway wasn’t thrown together over a couple of construction seasons like those cookie-cutter subdivisions that seem to sprout overnight…