"Since our roads are only fit for covered wagons." That was Sam Williams at a Tellico Plains Kiwanis Club meeting in April 1958. He was explaining why the club should organize a wagon train to call attention to the need for a road over the mountains into North Carolina. According to Charles Hall's account, the room laughed at first and then got serious. On July 4 of that year, 67 covered wagons and 325 horseback riders made the 42-mile trek to Murphy, N.C.
That road is the Cherohala Skyway, and it was dedicated on Oct. 12, 1996, thirty years ago this month. On Saturday, Oct. 24, the 10th annual Cherohala Skyway Festival celebrates the anniversary on the grounds of the Charles Hall Museum & Heritage Center. Charles Hall was the Kiwanis member who stayed out front of the campaign from that 1958 meeting until the dedication. So the festival is the town marking a road it campaigned for over nearly four decades. That makes Saturday a good day to drive TN-165 and see what the campaign produced, with one change to a popular side trip this fall.
Thirty-Eight Years From Wagon Train to Ribbon
The local history, written by the Monroe County Advocate & Democrat and reproduced on the county tourism site, shows how slowly the road came together:
- 1958: Kiwanis members start talking about a road connecting East Tennessee and western North Carolina, and the first wagon train rolls to Murphy on July 4.
- 1960: The largest wagon train in the event's history sets out with 105 wagons and 776 riders. On that trip, Robbinsville Mayor Smith Howell first announces that the road will run from Tellico Plains to Robbinsville.
- 1962: Hall and others go before Congress. They had found that the route could be built entirely on federal land through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests, and the Federal Highway Administration makes its first appropriation later that year.
- 1967: In the wagon train's 10th anniversary year, construction is finally underway.
- 1982: More construction contracts are being let, and a Cherohala Commission has been appointed to promote and plan the highway.
- Oct. 12, 1996: Dedication follows a delay of about 13 years spent working with 21 environmental groups that had concerns about the road.
The name comes from that 1962 discovery: "Chero" from Cherokee and "hala" from Nantahala. The finished road cost more than $100 million. When asked about his part, Hall gave credit to others: "I had a lot of good help on this. I didn't do it alone, I was just the one out front."
The Museum Hosting Saturday Holds That Record
The anniversary connects to this museum for a reason beyond the name. The Charles Hall Museum describes a collection of more than 15,000 artifacts plus thousands of local photographs and documents, including exhibits on the Wagon Train and the Skyway. Museum admission is free on festival day. The festival keeps those exhibits funded. In its festival preview, the Advocate & Democrat reported that the museum is not family owned, is governed by a board of directors and has to fundraise to stay open. The paper reports that profits go to the museum's operating costs and to the community partners who help run the event.
The same Advocate & Democrat preview quotes Pam Hall Mathews, president of the museum board and the event's coordinator: "It's like a community reunion where both locals and visitors come together to enjoy the festival and explore the museum's incredible collections."
Music is organized around the Josh Graves Music Tribute, which the paper says is funded in part by a Tennessee Arts Commission grant. The tribute features Tim Graves & The Farm Hands and the Graves brothers, Tim and Tedd. The rest of the lineup includes Appalachian Smoke, Tim Decker & Tennessee River, Just Us Bluegrass, local band Wilson & Cross and the area's Junior Appalachian Musicians. The festival's music page doesn't list set times, so plan to stay a while instead of arriving for a particular band. Deb McCarter runs the clogging stage, and Jim Brooks Music plays for square dancing.
Saturday's Logistics, in Order
The festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free.
- Breakfast first: First Baptist serves a free pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 10 a.m., so you can eat before the gates open.
- Parking costs $10 a car on Saturday. Discounted $5 tickets are sold at the Charles Hall Museum through Friday, Oct. 23, which is tomorrow for anyone reading this on Thursday.
- Where to park: General parking is in the field behind the museum, and shuttles run all day. Handicap parking is between the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center and the Tellico Plains Public Library.
- The lot at the museum entrance is reserved for performers, food trucks and sponsors. The festival's parking page also lists a drop-off and turnaround at the Visitor Center.
- Walk in at 122 Bank Street, next to Tellicafe.
- Bring cash. The festival asks for it by name.
Kids' activities are free. They include horse-drawn wagon rides, hayrides, a petting zoo, the Tellico Plains Police Department's Little Train, Volunteer Federal Savings Bank's sawdust dig for treasures and cash prizes, craft stations from Monroe Area Council for the Arts and Tender Heart Ministries, and the Tellico Plains KOA Game Zone.
What the Road Looks Like at 30
The Tennessee section of the Skyway is about 25 miles long, and North Carolina's is about 19. Crossing takes roughly two hours, with 15 scenic overlooks, wide shoulders and grades as steep as 9%. Elevation climbs from about 900 feet at the Tellico River to more than 5,400 feet at Haw Knob on the state line. Plan around the county's own warnings: cell coverage is minimal, restrooms are scarce, and food and fuel are only available at the two ends, in Tellico Plains and Robbinsville.
That 4,500-foot climb is what makes Oct. 24 a good day for the drive. The county's seasonal guide says leaves can start turning in September at the highest elevations and keep changing into mid-November lower down. This year's regional reports follow the same pattern. In September, the Knoxville News Sentinel put peak color at the highest Smokies elevations in early October, with color moving downhill through late October and early November. ETSU's Oct. 9 fall color report found color widespread across the Southern Appalachians and called mid- to late October a strong window. It named wind, not drought, as the main risk and said drought stress was becoming less noticeable. Those are regional forecasts, not a Skyway report. If they hold, though, the best color on Saturday is more likely in the middle of the climb than at the top overlooks.
Dry conditions have eased without fully clearing. In the U.S. Drought Monitor data valid Oct. 6, about 56% of Monroe County was rated abnormally dry, the lowest category, and none of the county was in moderate drought or worse. The Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center on Highway 165 is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and has free maps and current driving conditions. It sits next door to the Hall Museum, so stopping in before you head uphill is easy.
Indian Boundary Is Open. Citico Creek Road Beyond It Is Closed.
Many people turn off the Skyway at Indian Boundary. The Forest Service lists the recreation area as open, with its lake and the 3.6-mile lake loop trail. The usual drive onward is a different story this year.
According to a Forest Service alert last updated Oct. 13, a major flood in the Citico Creek watershed washed out large sections of Citico Creek Road. The road is impassable and closed to motor vehicles from Indian Boundary to about Camp 11. Double Camp Campground is closed, and Jake Best Campground remains open. The alert has been in effect since July 23 and lists no end date.
Repairs will take a while. The Forest Service's road construction table lists a phased closure of Citico Creek Road for Federal Highway Administration construction, starting in fall 2026 and running through December 2027. If Indian Boundary is your stop on Saturday, plan to go back out the way you came in.
Before and After the Drive, in Town
Food is only available at the ends of the Skyway, so plan meals around downtown Tellico Plains. These spots appear in the county's places-to-eat directory, and several were stops on a July 2026 Tellico Plains outing. Call ahead to confirm Saturday hours, since festival day changes the usual routine.
| Stop | Address | Fits best |
|---|---|---|
| Tellicafe | 128 Bank St. | Next to the festival entrance |
| Trout Mountain Coffeehouse & Inn | 100 Scott St. | Coffee before heading uphill |
| Tellico Grains Bakery | 105 Depot St. | Picking up food for the overlooks |
| Peach Street Grill | 108 Peach St. | Sit-down meal |
| Tellico Brewing | 202 Southard St. | After the drive |
| Red Chimney Pizza | 708 Veterans Memorial Dr. | Late dinner on the way out |
Tellico Outfitters, at 109 Scott St., lists its downtown shop hours on its own site as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, so it's open throughout festival hours.
The next weekend fills up quickly. Tellico Plains Fall Fest runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. That evening, Halloween in the City brings trick-or-treating to College and Tellico streets in Madisonville from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a free movie behind the courthouse. Sweetwater's Historic Halloween runs 5 to 8 p.m. at the Depot Visitors Center, 305 Walnut Street.
Jim Swafford works across Monroe County, from Tellico Plains out to Vonore and Sweetwater. If Saturday's drive up TN-165 raises questions about land or homes near the Skyway corridor, such as road access, well and septic, or how far a given property sits from town, I'll give you straight answers and a clear plan for next steps. Let's Connect.
