Scenic Highlander Driving Tours through the Tennessee River Valley and Mountains

Cherohala Skyway.....From heights nearing 6,000-feet, are views of the rugged rolling mountaintops of the Unaka Mountains with the Great Smoky Mountains to the northeast and the Tennessee River Valley to the west. What you will find along the route are lots of great mountain overlooks, camping areas and numerous hiking trails leading off from the scenic byway.  The mountain and valley views along the 36-mile stretch are spectacular.    read on.....

Unaka - Unicoi Mountains Scenic Byway.....Some of the largest mountain wilderness lands in the nation lie on the fringes of the eastern Tennessee Valley’s mountain region and along the western boundary of North Carolina’s mountain country. This wilderness of over 1,154,000 acres has been divided into three separate mountain ranges.  The Upper Unaka Mountains, the Lower Unaka Mountains and bridging the two of them together in the middle is the Great Smoky Mountains.   read on.....

Tennessee's Cherohala Skyway transverses the entire width of the Lower Unaka Mountains; also known as the Unicoi Mountains.  The Lower Unaka Mountains are more than half the have the size of the Smoky Mountains with mountain balds (peaks) nearing 6,000 feet high.  A vast mountain wilderness so isolated that it was nearly forgotten.

Foothills Parkway if you can’t get enough the Great Smoky Mountain’s scenic drives or you just want to view them from another perspective at a much lower altitude, then your going to love the Foothills Parkway. The Foothills Parkway takes visitors above the treetops and foothills from the valley below, offering incredible mountain vistas across the entire face of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Tennessee's Newfound Gap Road or US Highway 441 dissects the Great Smoky Mountains National Park the two-lane roadway crosses thru the heart of the park and over its highest mountain gap.  Newfound Gap Road follows rivers, climbs steep slopes and offers incredible views from the rooftop of the eastern United States.

The Ocoee Scenic Byway once known as the Old Copper Road, was the first designated National Forest Scenic Byway in the United States. This 26 mile two lane road trip connects what’s referred to locally as Upper and Lower Polk County. The Ocoee Scenic Byway also includes the Chilhowee Mountain Drive on Forest Route FR77 just across from Ocoee Lake in the Cherokee National Forest.

The Southern Highroads Trail is a 364-mile National Scenic Byway that travels through 4 states of the southern Blue Ridge Mountain highlands.  The 364-mile byway will take visitors thru the mountainous regions of the Chattahoochee National Forest of North Georgia, the Sumter National Forest in northwestern South Carolina, the Nantahala National Forest in western North Carolina and the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee.

Want to know more about the Tennessee River Valley and Mountains

Want to know more about the Great Smoky Mountains

Although very enjoyable, the mountains can be a driving challenge to a flatlander (no offense), to help you with your new venture, take a look at our driving tips.

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