Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center

The visitor center sits right at the foot of the Cherohala Skyway in Tellico Plains, serving as the formal launch point for a 43-mile National Scenic Byway that crosses through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests. The center is owned by Monroe County, Tennessee, and funded through a National Scenic Byway program grant. Staff hand out free maps and can tell you current driving conditions on the Skyway — genuinely useful, because high-elevation weather can change quickly, and once you're up on the ridge, cell coverage is minimal and there are no services for the full crossing.

Practically speaking, this is also your last reliable stop for clean restrooms and picnic tables before committing to the route. The Skyway climbs from roughly 900 feet near the Tellico River to over 5,400 feet at the Tennessee–North Carolina state line, and there are no fuel or food options along those 43 miles. The gift shop on site is run as a not-for-profit operation. If conditions look marginal — fog, ice, or steep-grade warnings — the staff here will say so plainly, which saves a lot of riders from a committing turn that gets difficult higher up.