Archived Outdoors

Missing link of Benton MacKaye trail solved

out mackayeA dicey section of the long-distance Benton MacKaye hiking trail that forced hikers to walk along the side of a narrow highway in Graham County will soon be re-routed off-road as a proper trail should be.

 

The 300-mile trail, named after the visionary behind the famous Appalachian Trail, traveled along the shoulder of U.S. 129 in the Fontana area for a short distance — namely between Deal’s Gap and Twentymile ranger station, where the trail then took off into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The section of road-walking is being replaced by a new route through Fontana Village Resort property.

“This is the culmination of a nine-year effort to find a permanent solution to the hazard presented by a road walk along Route 129,” said Project Leader Dick Evans. The new trail configuration will follow the route of some other existing trails in the area, plus a newly constructed section that should be completed by summer.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.