Great Smoky Mountains

To our West is Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Straddling the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina, it is the most biologically diverse areas in the world. Home to hundreds of native plants, many used by the Cherokee Indians

for medicine, and some even used by the modern pharmaceutical industry. It also is home to nearly 1,600 Black Bears, mountain lions, white-tailed deer, raccoons, and, just recently, the re-establishment of Elk herds. The same reasons that make it such a haven for wildlife make it a haven for the outdoorsmen. The Smoky's boast nearly 800 miles of hiking trails ranging from short jaunts, to multiday wilderness endurance test. With nearly 200 miles of native and stocked trout streams, it features some of the best fly fishing in the U.S. These same streams also provide world-class whitewater year-round. In fact, the U.S. Olympic whitewater team, as well as several medalists, call this area home.