Benton McKay Trail / Cherohala Skyway
Scenic Driving in Cherokee National Forest | Hiking a Section of the Benton McKay Trail | January 2023
By our last full day in Tellico Plains, we had sort of run out of things to do nearby. Additionally, Curtis had a meeting at 1 which made it difficult to drive further to do things — and since we would be leaving the next day we didn’t feel like driving too much anyway. After a slow start to the morning, we decided to just go on a scenic drive up nearby Starr Mountain, which is a part of Cherokee National Forest.
When researching the area, we saw a trail on AllTrails in this area listed as Yellow Creek Falls Trail, but the falls turned out to be right beside the road and there was no trail to be seen. Instead, we just parked in a pull out and walked down the road a little. The area was so green and vibrant, and it was the warmest day we had here so far, such a shame we weren’t able to do more with it! But we enjoyed our walk while wearing short sleeves, and once finished we decided to see if we could drive up and over the mountain. The road did indeed go up and over, but the condition worsened and it was very slow going. I’m always so thankful that Curtis is comfortable driving roads like this, because without him we simply wouldn’t be able to see and do as much as we do! We made it back safely, and even inadvertently got a new county to the West, so this mini adventure wasn’t a total flop.
We returned to our cabin, and just to enjoy more time outside we went for a walk up the nearby hill. It was listed as being accessible to cabin guests, and offers a nice view over Tellico Plains and of the surrounding mountains. It would’ve made a nice spot to watch sunrises and sunsets, but we were simply too lazy to leave the warmth of the cabin for those.
We made it back to the cabin a half hour before Curtis’ meeting, giving him plenty of time for lunch and to prepare. Then, 5 minutes before it was supposed to start it got cancelled, and since we still had several hours of sunlight left on this beautiful day we decided to go out again and do something!
For our second outing, we chose to drive back up the Cherohala Skyway, since we had enough of the sketchy forest roads for the day. We drove up to where the Benton McKay Trail crosses the road, parked in the lot there and started walking North. The top of the skyway looked completely different than it had 4 days ago, with every last bit of snow now melted. It was super windy as well, but the trail stayed below the ridge so we were shielded from it. The “hardest” part of the section of trail that we walked came almost right away when we came across a part of the trail that had been washed out, and we had to switchback steeply down and back up the deep crevice. After that, the trail was mostly flat and very easy and enjoyable to walk. We let Charlotte decide how far we went, and she decided it was time to turn around when we reached Strawberry Hill. Curtis ran up to bag the peak, then we returned the way we came. Nothing super eventful, just a nice short walk on a long distance trail that we could maybe see more of one day!
And that wrapped up our week in Tellico Plains — a place we knew nothing about beforehand, that we found only because it had the least expensive rental, and where we ended up making several great memories. I wouldn’t say we feel any need to return since we exhausted the nearby hiking trails that interested us, and that the amount of time we had was perfect for balancing exploring and working/relaxing from the cabin. Who knows, maybe we’ll find ourselves here again if we decide to drive the entirety of the Cherohala Skyway! Overall, I’m glad we are able to experience the Appalachians this way, by planting in one area for a week and doing as much as we can before moving on. Because there’s always more out there to explore!
