Carter County is Tennessee's Mountain Playground

The natural beauty and bounty of Carter County, Tennessee, has beckoned visitors for centuries, ever since the area was populated by the Cherokee. From the Watauga River, brimming with trout, to the tranquil waters of Watauga Lake, to the mile-high Roan Mountain, to the Appalachian Trail, there is something for everyone. Those helping document the riches of the area have included legendary botanists and explorers such as Asa Gray, Andre Michaux, John Bartrum, and famed naturalist, author and philosopher John Muir. 

In 1769, James Robertson, accompanied by explorer Daniel Boone, discovered lands in the Watauga River Valley at present-day Elizabethton that had been cultivated by generations of Native Americans. Some three years later, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in what is now Northeast Tennessee gathered at Sycamore Shoals to establish an independent regional government known as the Watauga Association; the first majority-rule system of American democratic government. Other nationally significant events for this area include the Transylvanian Purchase in 1775 and the Muster of the Overmountain Men during the American Revolution.

Today, Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park, which includes a replica of Fort Watauga, invites visitors to relive history and enjoy a variety of historical, cultural and recreational experiences. A 240-seat amphitheater adjacent to the fort is the site of the official outdoor drama of the State of Tennessee. “Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals” is performed each July.

Billed as both an historic and antique shopping district, Elizabethton’s quaint atmosphere lures folks from their vehicles for a leisurely stroll along the Walking Tour where unique points of interest and a diversity of downtown shops and eateries are waiting to be explored. The sporty set will enjoy an invigorating run or bike excursion along the Tweetsie Trail, but the relatively flat terrain is also perfect for a casual hike. Downtown businesses support evening activities such as classic car shows, motorcycle rallies, karaoke, and open mic nights.

A must see when visiting downtown Elizabethton is the Doe River Covered Bridge. Built in 1882, the white clapboard bridge spans 134 feet. The surrounding grounds serve as a park, picnic, festival and live entertainment area, with weekly music events throughout summer and the Covered Bridge Festival the second weekend in June.

Enthusiasts of local legends and lore will want to stop in at 526 East Elk Avenue where they are likely to find Scott Bowers, the Carter County historian and owner of Elizabethton Escape. Bowers delights with a plethora of tales about the county’s storied past. He will gladly share his knowledge of Abraham Lincoln’s father who lived for a few years in Carter County before moving to Kentucky. His accounts of floods, iron mines, logging camps, and divided loyalties during the Civil War, as well as the death of President Andrew Johnson during a visit to his daughter’s home in Elizabethton, are colorful and captivating. 

For southern-style, home-cooked meals, go with the locals at Southern Restaurant at 408 East Elk Avenue in Elizabethton’s historic district. Serving large portions, the family-owned and operated establishment replicates a casual culinary experience of small-town dining from days gone by.

Simple Blessings General Store, owned and operated by Rita Wilson, is a unique shopping experience in downtown Elizabethton. This store features everything from cookware and old-fashioned candy to clothing and the works of local artisans. Inside the general store, The Lunch Bucket offers an assortment of delicious deli-style sandwiches, hot dogs, salads and their popular kettle fries.

Mapes Piano String Company is one of the oldest and most stable manufacturing facilities in Carter County.  Mapes is a producer of high-quality piano and guitar strings and began production in Elizabethton in 1950 and has since grown into a 200,000 square-foot complex covering four city blocks.

The company got its start in 1912 with Stephen Mapes, who was a prominent piano string manufacturer in New York City. In 1918, the company was purchased by John Adam Schaff—the great grandfather of the current owners. During the past century the company has upheld its tradition of producing a high-quality product, a tradition carried forward by businessman Bill Schaff along with two brothers, Frank and Bob, and three children, Mark, Regina and Stephanie.

Towering above the river valley, 6,286-foot Roan Mountain rises from approximately 2,500 feet at its base. Most visitors approaching Roan Mountain from the Tennessee side take U.S. 19E from Elizabethton, a road that climbs through the small communities of Valley Forge, Hampton and Crabtree to the village of Roan Mountain, nestled at the base of the mountain.

Travelers who continue will reach the North Carolina border in five miles, but those wishing to proceed to the top of the mountain should follow the signs for Roan Mountain State Park.

Turn onto Tennessee Highway 143 and in four miles find the entrance of Roan Mountain State Park, a resort park developed in the 1970s. Visitors can enjoy camping and a variety of recreational activities, and cabins are available for rent. As the road winds its way upward, the views open to reveal astonishing vistas back into Tennessee. At the top of Roan Mountain, the road to the right stretches for three miles along the crest of the ridge.

The original road to the top was built in the 1870s to transport guests from the Roan Mountain Inn, located at the Roan Mountain railroad depot, to the Cloudland Hotel on top of the mountain. The right fork leads to a parking lot that overlooks Tennessee and to the former site of the hotel that brought Roan Mountain its greatest fame around the turn of the twentieth century. The left fork leads to the Rhododendron Gardens, perhaps the most popular natural feature of Roan Mountain today. 

The gardens offer more than 200 acres of Catawba rhododendron, the largest such expanse in the United States. Visitors flock to see the magnificent crimson-red colors in mid-June. Other smaller species in the Rhododendron Gardens are equally rewarding. Gray’s lily is a rare red flower with a black-spotted throat. Michaux’s saxifrage, mountain ash, elderberry, gooseberry, mountain avens, and many other plants thrive in the lush gardens.

Rivaling the Catawba rhododendron in splendor is the flame azalea that blooms in abundance in late spring. Native to the Appalachian area, this deciduous shrub tops out around five feet tall and seven feet wide. The showy shrub ranges in color from yellow to orange to deep red. and is especially stunning in multi-colored clusters.

Past the gardens, there is a loop road, and at the far end of the loop is a trail that leads to Roan High Bluff, which marks the beginning of a series of high rock cliffs and ridges that highlight the southwest end of the mountain. 

Roan Mountain is famous partly because of the large areas called balds that remain free of trees for no apparent reason. The first bald past Carver’s Gap is Round Bald. In fact, Roan Mountain’s continuous stretch of grass balds in the largest in the world.

The Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival—held the third weekend in June—started in 1947. Originally, the festivities took place on top of Roan Mountain but in recent years the weekend celebrating the unparalleled display of natural beauty of the Catawba Rhododendron bloom has been held at Roan Mountain State Park. The festival features a variety of traditional music and an array of old-time folkway demonstrations.

Jennifer Bauer, park manager at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area, recounted the fascinating natural and social history of the marvelous highland landscape in her book Roan Mountain: History of an Appalachian Treasure. A Maryland native, she was introduced to the wonders of Roan Mountain by her biology professor at East Tennessee State University. She fell in love with Roan Mountain and never left, working as an interpretive specialist at Roan Mountain Sate Park for 21 years before accepting the park manager position.

At an altitude of over 1,900 feet, Watauga Lake holds the distinction of being the highest reservoir in the Tennessee River system. It is managed for many uses, including flood control, power generation, water quality and aquatic ecology. Below Watauga Dam is a wildlife observation area where visitors can view unique species of wintering waterfowl including buffleheads, mallards, American black ducks, gadwalls and ring-necked ducks.

The geography and climate of the region produce fast running streams and rivers. Numerous scenic waterfalls in Carter county include Laurel Falls, Coon Den Falls, Jones Falls and Twisting Falls.   

Climbing, crawling and sliding through Worley’s Cave is especially enjoyable if you don’t mind getting dirty. Appalachian Underground is a caving guide service devoted to education about and preservation of this beautiful environment. This is not your ordinary walk-through cave with lights and handrails. Worley’s is a living, wet cave in all its natural beauty, featuring amazing formations, columns, stalagmites and stalactites. Trips meet at the Appalachian Underground’s outpost at 105 John Sheffield Drive in Elizabethton.

The Elizabethton Twins are a minor league baseball team of the Appalachian League and a rookie-level farm club of the Minnesota Twins. The team plays at Joe O’Brien Field, which opened in 1974 and seats 2,000 fans.

More than 1,200 students attend Milligan College. Most of them reside on its 235-acre campus. In 2016, the liberal arts college was named the number two institution of higher learning in Tennessee, second only to Vanderbilt University. The Elizabeth Leitner Gregory Center for the Liberal Arts features a 300-seat theater, photography labs, and classrooms for use by the fine arts programs at the college.

One visit to Carter County, just a short drive from the Tri-cities of Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City, is all it takes to see why Carter County is known as Tennessee’s mountain playground. Economy lodging is available at a variety of locations and there are a multitude of mountain cabins available to rent. 

“I don’t want to die,” wrote John Muir in 1898, “without once again saluting the grand, godly, round-headed trees of the east side of America that I first learned to love and beneath which I used to weep for joy when nobody knew me.” Then he traveled to Roan Mountain. You might just feel the same way.