Tellico Plains, Tenn.: A mountain town worth exploring—especially on two wheels
The central square of Tellico Plains is tucked away amid a small gathering of shops and restaurants. Though there’s not much by way of hustle and bustle, one can happily spend an afternoon in town.
Start with a late breakfast or early lunch at Tellico Grains Bakery. Forget eggs and sausage, grab one of the bakery’s bananas foster or blueberry scones, saucer-sized cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants, a Benton’s bacon and cheddar biscuit, or fresh quiche.
Signature sandwiches are offered fro 11 to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday—the day the bakery gives its wood-fired oven over to pizzas. Everything that comes from Tellico Grains is extraordinary, and yearning taste buds will inevitably draw one back for more.
Get a little lunch at the Tellico Square Café and a scoop of Mayfield Ice Cream from the Down Town Creamery, or head out to local institution, Tellico Beach Drive-in, where a chili dog and a shake won’t put a dent in the wallet and children of all ages frolic in the river. There’s even a rope swing.
The Charles Hall Museum, located next to the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center, is half an antique shop and half dedicated to the evolution of the telephone and Bellsouth. The museum’s collection comes almost entirely from former Tellico Plains mayor Charles Hall, who served for forty years. Hall was an owner of the Tellico Telephone Company, which explains the vast number of wall phones, rotary phones, phones in all shapes and sizes and colors, telephone insulators, telephone switchboards, telephone linemen safety kits, and, in general, more telephone related items than one can shake a stick at. There are also displays of guns, coins, tools, furnishings, and numerous treasures of local history. It is a museum unique enough to seek out.
A sunny day should be spent in the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, which encompasses 145,000 acres and where elevations range from 5,400 feet at Haw Knob to 900 feet in Tellico Plains. The ranger station is located by the Tellico River on a road just off the Cherohala Skyway. Staff there can provide information about camping, fishing, hunting, and hiking—it’s also where serious gold miners go for permits to sluice or dredge. Multiple river access spots are located along the road, allowing for at least a temporary claim to part of the river for swimming and sunning. Farther on, one of the best waterfall views from a vehicle there is can be had at Bald River Falls. Keep going up the road to get to the fish hatchery. Head to wherever the pickup truck is parked and ask the hatchery staff for a handful of feed for the fish. And remember, when planning one’s day out, call ahead to Tellico Kats where they will fix up a picnic to go.
Back in town close out the night with dinner at Tellicafe, where the fried trout fills a plate, or Nut N’ Fancy, where there’s outdoor dining and chicken wings. Other restaurants such as the Tellico Fish Camp and Walt’s BBQ, tend only to be open on the weekends
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