Autumn comes to Tennessee

I went up to the Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN to walk the dog tonight and was surprised to find that fall has made its way over the mountains into Tennessee. The trees up on Unaka Mountain are, to quote Bob Ross, happy little sparklers (If you know that reference, be afraid).

There are three main lookouts on Unaka Mountain. The first and best known is the Beauty Spot -- this is most easily accessed from Rock Creek Road in Erwin. It's a natural bald that offers terrific views in almost every direction. The second is a wonderful, but less known lookout known as Horseback Ridge -- which is best accessed from the Unicoi/Limestone Cove side of the mountain. The third overlook is the Unaka Mountain Overlook which lies in between Horseback and the Beauty Spot -- but the short acsess road to this lookout is in terrible shape -- even by Unaka Mountain standards! Unaka Mountain Overlook is about a mile past Horseback Ridge heading towards Erwin.

They've been working on the Unaka Mountain Road, and it's actually in pretty good shape (except for the small stretch of road to the Unaka Mountain Overlook). Still, it's usually a good idea to take a high clearance vehicle (truck, SUV, jeep) to navigate this rough road. Click here for a post listing all there is to see and do on Unaka Mountain.