From Hiking to Rafting, Recreational Options Abound
Published Mar 03, 2008
A day on one of the region’s many lakes can be positively sublime for anglers.
Outdoor adventures can range from mild to wild in southwest North Carolina, north Georgia and southeast Tennessee.
The region has an abundance of lakes, streams, waterfalls, mountains and cliffs, which are ideal venues for hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, hunting and fishing.
One of the most idyllic spots is Tennessee’s Ocoee River, which offers world-class whitewater rafting and canoeing. The Ocoee rapids are so demanding that the river served as the site of the canoeing and kayaking competitions at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
Another desirable destination measures 300 miles long. The Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park is a footpath that eventually will stretch from Signal Mountain near Chattanooga through the Cumberland Mountains to Cumberland Gap, where Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia converge.
“We refer to this footpath as a 300-mile emerald necklace with some pearls attached to it that are beyond price,” says Mack Prichard, a Tennessee state naturalist. “It is still under construction, but large portions of the Cumberland Trail have been completed and are open to the public for hiking and backpacking.”
Prichard says the idea of the 300-mile trail has been on the drawing board for more than 10 years.
“Several outdoor enthusiasts approached then-Gov. Don Sundquist in 1996 about the trail idea,” Prichard says. “They told the governor that the Appalachian Trail was too far away, and Tennessee and Kentucky have just as good terrain for an ideal hiking path. The governor was convinced, and work began soon afterward.”
Other top adventure spots in this scenic part of the Southeast include the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia and the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.
“This is a beautiful part of the world,” Prichard says. “Just take a look outdoors and you’ll see for yourself.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by staff
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