East Tennessee Border - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 736

Firstsettledin1818,CadesCovegrewwithinitsfirstfourdecadesintoaself-sufficient
community of nearly 700 souls, then sank into a secluded decline before its absorption by
the park. An 11-mile loop leads through the old community, past sturdy, mud-mortared log
cabins; stout old churches hand-built by their congregations; a number of barns; a black-
smith shop; and a water-powered mill where stone still grinds corn into meal. Visitors to
Cades Cove get a vivid sense ofhowthese folks made their way in the world a century and
a half ago.
5. Newfound Gap Road
The 34-mile Newfound Gap Road (Rte. 441) crosses Great Smoky Mountains National
Park between Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina. A virtual by-way in
the sky, the road follows a mountain path so tortuous that at one point it has to loop back
over itself to gain altitude. Beginning in a lowland Smokies environment of tulip trees,
basswoods, magnolias, and sycamores, the road climbs through a typical northern hard-
wood forest of yellow birch, American beech, and sugar maple. By the time it reaches the
top of the nearly mile-high gap, the trees consist mainly of red spruce and Fraser fir, sug-
gesting the forests of Canada. In this alpine clime a seven-mile spur road, followed by a
short footpath, leads to the top of Clingmans Dome, the park's highest point.
Star Route
OCOEE SCENIC BYWAY
This venerable byway follows Rte. 64 through the Cherokee National Forest for 26
miles between Ocoee and Ducktown. Highlights along the journey include views of
Chilhowee, Sugarloaf, and Big Frog mountains; the overlook by the dam at Parksville
Lake; a scenic seven-mile spur (Forest Road 77) whose leaf-canopied corridor yields
to wide-open vistas at the summit of Chilhowee Mountain; and a six-mile stretch of
gorge, where rafters brave the roaring white water of the Ocoee River as it rushes be-
neath towering cliffs.