Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock is also part of the Cherokee National Forest, but lies chiefly within the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock was first designated a wilderness by the 1975 Wilderness Act. The original 14,033 acres were increased to the present 17,013 acres by the 1984 North Carolina Wilderness Act. The Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness is made up mainly of the Little Santeetlah and Slickrock Creek watersheds, which are joined by a common ridgeline at their headwaters. These basins are extremely steep and rugged, with elevations ranging from a low of 1,086 feet at the mouth of Slickrock Creek to over 5,300 feet on Stratton Bald.
Rock outcrops are common, and numerous drainages and cascading streams dissect the terrain.
A dense hardwood forest, some of which is virgin, blankets these slopes. The forest is broken only by occasional grass or heath bards along the high ridges. Black bear and wild boar are common to these woods. Citico Creek was designated a wilderness by the 1984 Tennessee Wilderness Act. It contains 15,891 acres.