Hiking aside, there are many ways to experience the Great Smoky Mountains. Over time it seems this thing, whatever it was, fed off of attention and peoples fears, says Fitzhugh. Along with convincing logging firms to sell lucrative lumber rights, the Park Commission had to negotiate the purchase of thousands of small farms and remove entire communities. These are the best hikes to add to your list for 2023. Today, exhibits on the Moon-Eyed People can be found at the Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy. When the creature hissed at them, they fled. All rights reserved. Horseback riding stables are located in Cades Cove, Sugarlands and Smokemont. The largest stream entirely within the park is Abrams Creek, which rises in Cades Cove and empties into the Chilhowee Lake impoundment of the Little Tennessee River near Chilhowee Dam. [65] The Cherokee called Gregory Bald Tsitsuyi , or "rabbit place," and believed the mountain to be the domain of the Great Rabbit. Mountains, climate, and weather are the big reasons. The first recorded sighting of the Brown Mountain Lights happened in 1771, when German engineer John William Gerard de Brahm wrote about seeing the lights in his journal. When the archaeologists came and looked at [the statue] they said theyd never seen anything to compare it to, says Stalcup. The range's 1,600 species of flowering plants include over 100 species of native trees and 100 species of native shrubs. [4] The Great Smokies are also home to the densest black bear population in the Eastern United States and the most diverse salamander population outside of the tropics.[5]. Trees were unable to survive at the higher elevations and were replaced by tundra vegetation. All three of these operations failed within their first few years, however, after their dams and boom systems were destroyed by floods. If you want to find out for yourself, the best time to see the Brown Mountain Lights is September through early November. [54], The lightning-bug firefly Photinus carolinus, whose synchronized flashing light displays occur in mid-June, is native to the Smoky Mountains with a population epicenter near Elkmont, Tennessee. Reportedly, some claimed to have seen the Mothman at the bridge shortly before its collapse and believed its presence was a harbinger of doom. The cove hardwood forests of the Smokies are mostly second-growth, although some 72,000 acres (290km2) are still old-growth. [7] It has the range's highest topographical prominence at 4,503 feet (1,373m). Five of the world's nine families of salamanders are found in the range, consisting of up to thirty-one species. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Some believe they were descendants of a small group of Welshmen who came to America long before the Spanish and settled in the Smoky Mountains around 1170. Great Smoky Mountains is the most biodiverse park in the National Park system. On December 15, 1967, the Mothman was credited for the collapse of Silver Bridge, which killed 46 people. [18], The Precambrian gneiss and schiststhe oldest rocks in the Smokiesformed over a billion years ago from the accumulation of marine sediments and igneous rock in a primordial ocean. If your nose is itching, it means company is coming. Treat bear encounters with extreme caution! Trout in the Smokies are generally smaller than other members of their species in different locales. Eat black eyed peas or collard greens with hog jaw on New Years Day. [38], The Smokies are home to over two dozen species of rodents, including the endangered northern flying squirrel, and 10 species of bats, including the endangered Indiana bat. A string of Overhill villages, including Chota and Tanasi, dotted the Little Tennessee valley north of Chilhowee. You can also celebrate the Appalachian myth at the annualMothman Festival, which typically happens on the third weekend in September. Many claim that the lights seen today are the spirits of the Catawba women, still searching for their loved ones. We look forward to helping you design a getaway that is entertaining, educational . [88], Wilson B. Townsend, the head of Little River Lumber, began advertising Elkmont as a tourist destination in 1909. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. We have restored 30.25 miles of brook trout habitat in 13 streams since 1981. The name "Smoky" comes from the natural fog that often hangs over the range and presents as large smoke plumes from a distance. In 1964, a hairy ape-man (who sounds suspiciously like Bigfoot) was reported to be roaming around US 70. We may never discover the truth behind Boogertowns backstory, but listening to all of the theories and tall tales sure is a lot of fun! For even more fascinating stories from East Tennessee, check out these 3 Cherokee Legends from the Great Smoky Mountains! They saw an odd-shaped thing that appeared to be glowing red with smoke and steam coming off of it, says Andrew Smith, Executive Director of the Braxton County CVB and curator of the Flatwoods Monster Museum. Others refuted the sightings, believing that residents of Point Pleasant were actually seeing a sandhill crane that had wandered out of its normal migration route. Only when we understand the parks biodiversity can we truly protect it. Hold your feet up when youre crossing a railroad track, or youll lose your boyfriend. Wild Bear Falls Water Park - Gatlinburg. The largest logging operation in the Smokies was the Little River Lumber Company, which logged the Little River watershed between 1901 and 1939. [2][3] The cove hardwood forests in the range's lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest that coats the range's upper elevations is the largest of its kind. Whether a small, blue-eyed race of sun-blind white men once inhabited the Blue Ridge long before the Europeans are known to have discovered America remains unknown, but the legend continues to live on. If cows are laying down, or leaves are upside down, its going to rain. Some stories claim that she promised to return to haunt John Bells direct descendants in 1935, but there were no reports by Nashville physician Dr. Charles Bailey Bell. Species common in the northern states find suitable habitats at the higher elevations. Streams in the Smokies are part of the Tennessee River watershed and are thus entirely west of the Eastern Continental Divide. For more information call the park's Oconaluftee Visitor Center at (828) 497-1904.) Spruce-fir forests occupied the valleys and slopes below approximately 4,950 feet (1,510m). The Great Smoky Mountains are famous for their ghost stories! For further assistance in planning your next journey into the beyond, please call (423) 743-WALK (9255) year-round, 11 AM to 11 PM, daily. The forests of the Smokies are typically divided into three zones: Appalachian baldspatches of land where trees are unexpectedly absent or sparseare interspersed through the mid-to-upper elevations in the range. Iva Butler, "Archaeologists Pack Up Townsend Dig." For an inexpensive vacation, the Smokies are hard to beat. 37738, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. 2023 Blue Ridge Mountains Travel Guide |, 30 Fascinating Blue Ridge Mountains Facts, The 7 Best Caves & Caverns in North Carolina, Visiting Expedition Bigfoot Museum (AKA Sasquatch Museum) in Cherry Log, GA, The 10 Best Haunted Houses inNorth Carolina, The 15 Best Things to Do in SWVA (Southwest Virginia), The Best Restaurants in Burnsville NC For Foodies, The 20 Best Things to Do in Dahlonega GA & Lumpkin County, Strawberry Picking in GA: The 10 Best Strawberry Farms to Visit, Visiting Deerwoode Reserve Cabin Rentals in Brevard NC, The 10 Best Historic & Covered Bridges in Virginia, The 15 Best Hotels in Asheville NC to Visit. Add to that the many free ranger-led programs run by the park night hikes, storytelling by the campfire, morning porch talks (free coffee provided), Appalachian culture fairs and you have the makings of one of Americas most remarkable budget-friendly getaways. The glorious sunrises are a great way to start the day in the Smokies KenCanning / Getty Images, First-timer's guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Made famous by a 1997 episode of The X-Files and the 2002 film The Mothman Prophecies, the Mothman is a fearsome creature with broad wings and red eyes who originated in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. [30], The spruce-fir forestalso called the "boreal" or "Canadian" forestis a relict of the ice ages, when mean annual temperatures in the Smokies were too cold to support a hardwood forest. Ultimately, it wasnt a thunderstorm that took Maviss life but an illness. Clingmans Dome (1 mile round-trip) is the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, at 6,643 feet, with truly unbeatable views. [87] By the time all operations ceased in the 1930s, logging firms had removed two-thirds of the virgin forests of the Smokies. If you see a white horse, youll have good luck. By 1925, the federal government was ready to move forward and create one of the first national parks in the eastern United States, along with Shenandoah National Park to the north. At this annual festival you can expect educational panels, a Bigfoot calling contest, a costume contest, and Bigfoot-themed dishes. The animalor whatever it isis large and covered in dark fur. Watch. [59], The increasing reliance upon agriculture during the Mississippian period (c.9001600 A.D.) lured Native Americans away from the game-rich forests of the Smokies and into the fertile river valleys on the outer fringe of the range. Spread across 500,000 acres in the Southern Appalachian range, the park is a four-season wonderland, famous for both its colorful spring wildflowers and the fiery blazes of autumn. Smoky Mountain River Rat Tubing and Whitewater Rafting will guide you down the Little River, where you'll feel the cool splash of the water and immerse yourself in mountain views. Mavis was born during a thunderstorm, and due to a local superstition, she believed that she was destined to be struck by lightning. His neighbor came over and experienced the same kind of disturbances. Known around the world as Sasquatch or Yeti and locally as Wood Booger or Boojum, Bigfoot is an ape-like creature that conceals itself in the deep, dark forest, leaving behind footprints so large they could not belong to any man. Located within the Appalachian Mountain chain, the park became a refuge for many species of plants and animals that were displaced from their northern homes by changing climate conditions during the last ice age. Maybe youve even sped up on a mountain road at night, thinking you see glowing red eyes in the woods? There were hundreds of eyewitnesses, says Jeff Wamsley, owner of Point Pleasants Mothman Museum. The Smoky Mountains are home to over 1,500 black bears, and they can become used to being around people, making them less scared to go near areas with large concentrations of people. [15], The climate of Clingmans Dome is hemiboreal (Kppen Dfb, Trewartha Dcb[16]). Needless to say, I made a hasty departure home.. The range has the densest black bear population east of the Mississippi River. Locals and tourists alike have reported glowing, orb-like lights in blue, white, orange, and red, hovering approximately 15 feet off the ground in the Brown Mountain area near Morganton NC. It made national headlines, says Smith. Wanda Stalcup is the Director of the Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy, N.C. But not every story of the Brown Mountain Lights is steeped in superstition. While you have a chance of seeing wildlife throughout the park, the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail is an excellent route if youre hoping to peep the parks animal residents, especially in winter time, at dawn, and in the evenings. Amy is excited to share her passion for the outdoors through her writing! [60] Fortified Mississippian-period villages have been excavated at the McMahan Indian Mounds in Sevierville and more recently in Townsend. After attending college at ETSU and UTC, Amy moved to Nashville, where she lived and travelled in a Dodge Sprinter van for a year, before moving back to Chattanooga. By 1805, the Cherokee had ceded control of the Great Smokies to the U.S. government. [14] Damaging winds can also be generated by strong thunderstorms, with tornadoes and strong thunderstorm complexes (also known as mesoscale convective systems) occasionally affecting the Smoky Mountains. Theres a 3-foot- tall sculpture of two conjoined figures thought to represent Moon-Eyed People,which was found in the early 1840s. For generations, myths and superstitions have been passed down through the oral traditions of native tribes and early settlers, gaining a foothold in our Appalachian culture. The legend holds that a Cherokeefemale was cursed by tribal elders for witnessing a sacred pre-hunt ceremony. Stories of Bigfoot also abound in Native American oral tradition, and the unexplained ape has been studied by scientists and scrutinized on the Internet. The park was established in 1934, and, with over 11 million visits per year, it is the most visited national park in the United States. [The statue depicts] twins, but theyre short like the Moon-Eyed People with little round flat faces. Some believe that the statue represents the two rivers and others believe it is a man and a woman. [80] Another incident was George Kirk's raid on Cataloochee, in which Kirk killed or wounded 15 Union soldiers recovering at a makeshift hospital. You stand frozen in place, eyes locked to that shadowy spot in the woods, waiting for the animal to move. [1], The Great Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve. Here are three of our favorite tall tales from the Smokies: In their book The Granny Curse and Other Ghosts and Legends from East Tennessee, authors Randy Russell and Janet Barnett share the story of a marital spat with supernatural consequences. And while the areas bears and fireflies get most of the publicity, the Cataloochee Valley is a prime spot to see elk, reintroduced to the Smokies back in 2001. In 2006, the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center opened in Townsend, Tennessee, with the mission of preserving various aspects of the region's culture. Cherokee Death Cat) is a large cat similar to a mountain lion or cougar, with tan-yellow fur, six legs, and large yellow eyes. Measuring fifty-four miles long and nineteen miles across at its widest point the park consists of slightly more than half a million . Early Precambrian rocks, which include the oldest rocks in the Smokies, comprise the dominant rock type in the Raven Fork Valley (in the Oconaluftee valley) and lower Tuckasegee River between Cherokee and Bryson City. 8. It is possible those that have vanished in the Smokies were the victims of bears or wild hogs. She hid under the pelt of a large cat and got turned into the half-woman, half-beast we hear about in this famous Appalachian myth. Today. And there are many places in the park that can send a chill down your spine if you're in wrong place at the wrong time. Dont let a pregnant woman see a dead person or the baby will have a birth mark. The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park proved much more complex than the creation of its predecessors, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, which were already federally owned. The park also has some matchless scenic drives, including ridgeline roads where you can gaze out at the seemingly endless expanse of undulating peaks. Fort Mountain, a Georgia State Park near Ellijay GA, contains the ruins of an 850-foot-long stone wall that is said to have been constructed by the mysterious tribe. Over 19,000 species have been documented in the park, including more than 100 species of native trees, over 1,500 flowering plant species, more than 200 species of birds, and over 9,000 different species of insects. Subscribe to Lonely Planet newsletters and promotions. The sources of several rivers are located in the Smokies, including the Little Pigeon River, the Oconaluftee River, and Little River. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Photo by Caitlin Riddell/The Points Guy) Hiking. Aside from crowds of hikers, campers, and general tourists, there's a dark side to . Is it a bear? Their eyes were supposedly so sensitive to the sun that they remained nocturnal, which is why theyre called moon-eyed.. To punish him, the witch set her sights on the man, giving him a beating that had Jacksons men begging to leave. Watch out for slippery rocks, and dont swim or wade in park waters (falls and drowning are among the leading causes of injury). Wear a buckeye in your bra to ward off rheumatism. Residents of predominantly Union Cades Cove and predominantly Confederate Hazel Creek routinely crossed the mountains to steal one another's livestock. Dont cut your babys hair before their first birthday. Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Range of Life Spread across 500,000 acres in the Southern Appalachian range, the park is a four-season wonderland, famous for both its colorful spring wildflowers and the fiery blazes of autumn. Similar reports came in over the next few days, and the sensational story was soon picked up by the local newspaper. Shults had another reason to be secretive: he was using gold from his mine to counterfeit coins! According to Cherokee legend, long ago, before the Cherokee moved into the Smokies, there was a race of small, bearded white men who lived in the mountains. Theorists have also turned to other supernatural explanations, including aliens, Wendigos, Bigfoot, and portals to other dimensions. The City of Morganton, North Carolina even recently helped to improve the Brown Mountain Overlook on North Carolina Highway 181 for the purpose of attracting curious visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the ghost lights. Mollusks, millipedes, and mushrooms reach record diversity here. The Great Smoky Mountains is in the Appalachian Mountains and is America's most visited National Park. Predictions are based on observations of species. She talked Betsy into breaking off the engagement with Joshua. A short time later, the poltergeist said she was going to leave but promised to return in seven years. Over the following year, the oddities continued. [34] The coyote is not believed to be native to the range, but has moved into the area in recent years and is treated as a native species. [67], Most Cherokee settlements were located in the river valleys on the outer fringe of the Great Smokies range. Some 100 species of native trees find homes in the Smokies, more than in any other North American national park. [50] Other species include the shovelnose salamander, blackbelly salamander, eastern red-spotted newt, and spotted dusky salamander. Read our Privacy Policy. You may also like:National and state parks are reopening in the US in phases - heres what we know7 reasons staycations are going to be our saviour in 2020This corner of northeastern Utah is the wilderness only locals know about, This article was first published August 2018 and updated May 2020. It is the most biologically diverse National Park in the United States. Plants and animals common in the southern US thrive in the lowlands. Read on to find three of our favorite Smoky Mountain ghost stories. Open the window when someone dies and cover the mirrors so that their soul can leave. The story of the Bell Witch is one of the most popular examples of Appalachian Mountain folklore, and it began in Robertson County, Tennessee. [27], The mean annual temperatures in the higher elevations in the Smokies are cool enough to support forest types more commonly found in the northern United States. Although much of the tribe was forced west along the Trail of Tears in 1838, a fewlargely through the efforts of William Holland Thomasmanaged to retain their land on the Qualla Boundary and today comprise the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. [10] Other post-hurricanes, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989, have caused similar damage in the Smokies. more information on current conditions Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details, Great Smoky Mountains National Park: The Range of Life. Michael Rivers, lead investigator of the Smoky Mountain Ghost Trackers and an author who has written extensively about Appalachian folklore, says that the Appalachian Mountains are ripe with paranormal activity. Whether our collective imaginations are running wild or were really sensing something otherworldly, stories of ghosts, UFOs, terrifying man-sized animals, and other hair-raising tales abound in these Blue Ridge Mountains. They allegedly talked for three nights about the past, the present, and the future, explains Fitzhugh. Most of the forest is a mature second-growth hardwood forest. But be forewarned. The Asian Jumping Worm is a non-native species, great for fish bait, but destructive to habits and food sources for species in the Smokies. Almost 95% of the park is forested, and about 25% of that area is old-growth forest. Expand. Beautiful collection of photos with an overview of wildlife, wildflowers, old-growth forests, mountain streams, walking trails, geology, and history. The fact that the UFO sightings, men in black presence, and the Silver Bridge disaster all happened during the Mothman sightings intrigues many people, says Wamsley. READ MORE: The 7 Best Caves & Caverns in North Carolina. The Smokies, along with the Unicois, provided the main bulwark dividing the Overhill Cherokee villages in modern Tennessee from the Cherokee Middle towns in modern North Carolina. The park's abundant rainfall and high summertime humidity provide excellent growing conditions. Want to know where to go to see fall in all its finery? The highest point on the entire 2,200 mile span of the AT is the parks own Clingmans Dome the top of Old Smoky made famous by singers like the Weavers and Hank Williams. People soon began traveling to the Bell farm to experience the supernatural phenomenon for themselves. Weather and an array of habitat conditions supports a wide range of living things. It stated its purpose was to kill John Bell.. The newspaper named the mysterious creature the Wampus Cat, and the name stuck. It covers a section of Tennessee and North Carolina in the Southern USA that was once home to the Cherokee, and later by Scotch-Irish settlers. THE SCARIEST TRAIL IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS . The lights, claim the legend, are the ghosts of grieving women still searching the mountainside for the bodies of fallen warriors.