I'll be traveling thru mountanious N.C. this spring and would like to ask what areas, towns etc are a must see from your experiences.

Try Highland, then take the road from there to Franklin. It runs next to Cullasaja Gorge and passes Bridal Veil Falls as well. Some detail here: http://www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9046
Also tour Transylvania County, it's loaded with waterfalls.
A great source for shooting waterfalls is the Waterfall Walks and Drives books by Mark Morrison: http://www.waterfallwalks.com/
Theres a book for the area you're wanting to see.

you could spend a couple days working out of Brevard and visit falls in that area, quite a few.

Thanks guys. Btw, does anyone know if any of the ski lifts open in the summer for mountain top viewing.

A great source for shooting waterfalls is the Waterfall Walks and Drives books by Mark Morrison: Theres a book for the area you're wanting to see.

Great book, very helpful, available on Amazon. There is a park ranger station with a bookstore loaded with waterfall books, maps, videos. About a mile NE of Brevard at the intersection of rts 276, 64 and 280. Go into the park on rt. 276 about a mile or less. On the right is the ranger station.

The cliché and most viewed/photographed falls is about 2 miles up rt 276. 60 foot fall, viewing place at curb side. I literally lifted the 8x10 out of the back of the SUV, set up six feet from the car and got a great picture. Yes it is a cliché, but a lovely one.

We enjoyed www.chimneyrockpark.com and the 404 foot falls. This is ¾ mile up a rough jeep trail. It is marked wheel chair accessible, but if carrying big camera gear, only if Bobcat has started making wheel chairs. There is a fee for entrance to this park, check web site.

My wife and I stayed in a bed & breakfast in Brevard for three days last June and loved the area. 60% of the new residents in the county are retired. They came there because it is really nice, good food, clean, good value for the $, people are friendly.

Don’t know about a ski lift in the summer, but next trip we plan to stay at the Pisgah Inn. You have a room, restaurant and view at the top at a good price. See review http://www.ajc.com/travel/content/travel/destinations/northcarolina/stories/101304getawaypisgahinn.html . Caution if you are going when there is still snow. It is about a mile east of rt 276 and Blue Ridge Parkway. The signs say they close the road when it snows.
I notice their web site is closed now, so maybe the hotel is, hopefully only for the winter.

Enjoy, we did.

John Powers

Wayne, You don't need a ski lift to get to the highest mountains in the eastern US. Clingmans Dome 6,643 and Mt.Mitchell 6,684 have roads to the top. Clingmans is in the middle of the Great Smoky Mts. and Mt. Mitchell is about 30 miles north of Ashville just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

A must do is the road tour through Cades Cove. It may well be the most beautiful place in the eastern US. It's very crowded so avoid weekends and summer. Morning light in the cove is just stunning.

There are 13 roads both paved and dirt traversing the Smoky Mts. all are passable by standard car in good weather. Check with the Rangers on condition. The Rangers and office staff are happy to tell you their "secret favorite" places if you talk to them. This may not work during high season when they are overworked and understaffed.

Try to get a copy of "Mountain Roads & quiet places" before you go. Published by Great Smoky Mountain Natural History Assocition, Gatlinburg Tennessee.

If you like old log cabins, waterfalls and high mountain views you can do no better than the Smoky's and a trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Beware in the spring a sudden snow storm can close any of these roads.

If this sound interesting PM me for other details.

Don't forget Linville caverns and falls.
Great spot.

Yeah, some really nice folks at Linville Caverns. The falls are very pretty but you have to do some hiking to get a good viewpoint to shoot from.

Be careful traveling some parts of Linville Falls. Some paths are unmarked and groups are all the time getting lost out there.

Another high up place is Beach Mountain, North of Banner Elk and West (?) of Boone, NC. If you get to Beach Mountain the first week in October, the old Land of Oz theme park is open that weekend ONLY.

As long as you are north of Asheville, Peaks of Otter
(which is VA, just over the border) has some really great areas, not the least of which is the lake in back of
the hotel-there is usually a HERD of deer across the lake, they are pretty tame. One of the famous color
photogs has a shot of the lake that he sellls, I forget his
name

Thanks everyone. I checked and found a link to a NC Web Cam site. A little dark up there now, but it's a good way to follow the spring thaw and subsequent bloom.
http://www.highcountrywebcams.com/