Pisgah National Forest

Right now I'm taking a break from writing by...writing. Hmmm. Well, I'm writing today about Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, south of the Smokies. In the book I co-wrote with Jeff Bradley, Moon Handbooks: Smoky Mountains, I emphasize that most of what a lot of folks come to the Smokies for can be found in several of the much-less-crowded National Forest Lands, including Nantahala and Pisgah.

Did you know that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the busiest National Park in the system. The reason? Mainly because it's located within a day's drive of over half of the American population.

Here's another scary fact: of all those millions of visitors each year, only a relative handful ever venture more than 50 yards from their car. Even those that camp usually camp right beside their SUVs.

Which brings me to my point--and this can be true of other national forest land near, say, Mount Lassen or Yellowstone or even Yosemite. For many visitors, the Smokies is really just "the mountains." They're coming (and this is no criticism) to set up the tents or trailer, cook over a propane stove and roast marshmallows around the fire. And that's totally fine, particularly if you're traveling with very small, aged, or disabled folks who can't really make it up to the top of Half Dome anyway. But if that's what you're coming for, then you don't need to go to an overcrowded National Park.... The facilities at the state parks are usually no more spartan than the Nationals, and sometimes they even have hot showers. And then you can always hop in the car and daytrip to see the famous sites inside the National Park...and, I suppose, just to be able to say you've been.