2 Best Sights in The North Carolina Mountains, North Carolina

The Blowing Rock, after which the mountain town is named, is a cliff, which at 4,000 feet looms over the Johns River Gorge about 3,000 feet below. If you throw your hat over the sheer precipice, it may blow back to you, should the wind gods be playful. The story goes that a Cherokee man and a Chickasaw maiden fell in love. Torn between his tribe and his love, he jumped from the cliff, but she prayed to the Great Spirit, and he was blown safely back to her.

Near Highlands and Cashiers, Whiteside Mountain is one of the highest continuous cliffs in the East. The sheer cliffs of white granite rise up to 750 feet, overlooking the Chattooga River in the Nantahala National Forest. A 2-mile loop (moderate) takes you to the top of the cliffs. The cliffs are also popular with rock climbers. Peregrine falcons nest here, and the cliffs are closed to climbers during falcon mating season.