blog: Noon Day Sun

Posted 10/13/09

With over a 411 foot drop, North Carolina's Whitewater Falls is the highest in the Eastern United States. While Whitewater distinguishes itself because of its immense height, there are some 250 other water falls-some nearly as large as Whitewater-near by. In fact, this area, just south of Asheville and accessible from the Blue Ridge Parkway, is known as the land of the waterfalls.

These many falls are usually accessed via NC Route 64 as it barrels into the Nantahala National Forest.

Along this drive are numerous towns you'll want to visit and explore. Most are quite beautiful, they cater to tourists, and the food and accommodations are of the highest quality. (Especially check out Highlands and Cashiers, pronounced cash-ers.)

The Nantahala National Forest is the largest in North Carolina and one of the largest on the East Coast. Nantahala means "noon day sun." It's easy to understand the derivation of the name: as you drive or bike or hike the Blue Ridge Parkway or other routes, it is only around mid-day that the sun manages to squeeze through spaces in the usually dense canopy of trees and forest growth.

The numerous waterfalls, an attraction not to be missed, are created when the warm clouds from the Gulf of Mexico flow north and slam into the Nantahala mountains. The mountains trap the clouds, which in turn drop about a 100 inches of rain annually in the forest. And since the forest is tree and rock face-representing about a 5,000 foot drop into the Nantahala gorge-it's not so hard to understand how NC is blessed with such an abundance of stunning water falls.

Nearby is Sliding Rock, a long and long-since smoothed natural rock slide into a frigid pool, even in summer. But thousands visit Sliding Rock Park every year to do just that: slide down over silky smooth rock into a refreshing pool.

If you are in Western North Carolina, the Nantahala National Forest should be at the top of your destination list.