Map Places Nearby Blue Ridge Parkway . The Blue Ridge Parkway extends 469 miles along the crests of the Southern Appalachians and links the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the Shenandoah National Park, crossing the North Carolina and Virginia state line at mile 216.9. The Cherokee National Forest consists of 630,000 acres with numerous recreational opportunities.
Visitors can enjoy camping, swimming, picnicking, hiking, biking, fishing, and scenic drives.
The Forest hosted the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak events. Entrance Rapid on the Ocoee River - Playboating on the river that has it all, and then some. The Nantahala National Forest lies in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina between Waynesville and Murphy. It offers a wide variety of recreational activities such as biking, camping, fishing, hiking, river activities and driving the Mountain Waters Scenic Byway. These wilderness areas are in the Nantahala and Cherokee National Forests.