The Cherohala Skyway is located in southeast Tennessee and southwest North Carolina. The skyway connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with Robbinsville, North Carolina, and is about 50 miles long.. The Cherohala Skyway is a wide, paved 2-laned road maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The elevations range from 900 feet above sea level at the Tellico River in Tennessee to over 5400 feet above sea level at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line at Haw Knob.
The road was opened and dedicated in 1996. The road has been designated a National Scenic Byway. The road cost over 100 million dollars to construct.
The Cherohala Skyway crosses through the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. The name “Cherohala” comes from the names of the two National Forests: “Cher” from the Cherokee and “ahala” from the Nantahala.
The Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, is a product of a grant from the National Scenic Byway program. The visitor center was opened in September 2003 and is owned by Monroe County, Tennessee. Management of the visitor center is in partnership with the US Forest Service, Monroe County, Tellico Plains, and the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association. The gift shop in the visitor center is a “not-for-profit” gift shop.
Maintenance of resources along the Cherohala Skyway is by the highway departments of the appropriate state and/or the US Forest Service.
The Cherokee and Nantahala National Forest through which the Cherohala Skyway traverses are managed by the US Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
http://www.westernncattractions.com/cherohal.htm
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