The high crest near the Tennessee–North Carolina state line at Stratton Gap — where the Cherokee National Forest hands off to the Nantahala, and the Skyway gets its name.
You're on the roof of the drive now, up near the state line, and this is the spot to explain the road's peculiar name. Cherohala. It's a made-up word, and a clever one: CHERO, from the Cherokee National Forest behind you in Tennessee, and HALA, from the Nantahala National Forest ahead of you in North Carolina. The Skyway is the seam that stitches the two together, right along this high crest.
Somewhere along this stretch you cross from Tennessee into North Carolina without a single sign to celebrate it — just a gap in the ridge called Stratton, over four thousand feet up. Notice the trees have changed: down low it was oak and hickory, but up here you're into the cool, dark, high-country forest — spruce, birch, and fir that feel more like Canada than the Carolinas. That's what a mile of elevation does; climbing this road is like driving a thousand miles up toward Canada without ever leaving the South.
Stop and breathe the air up here — it's genuinely cooler, often ten or fifteen degrees below the valley. And keep your eyes open for weather: the crest makes its own, and fog can roll in and swallow the road in minutes. If it does, slow down and put your lights on. Then carry on toward the high overlooks — the best views on the whole Skyway are just ahead.
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
