Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

Experience one of the Appalachians few remaining virgin hardwood forests with trees growing for almost 500 years to reach towering heights over 150 feet. Just a short stop away from The Dragon and Skyway, this is a great place to stretch those muscles on the breathtaking trail at the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  

Can you say big?  While not as large as the Redwoods in California, these hardwoods are most impressive at 20 feet around and some of the largest trees you can see in the Eastern United States. 

On our last visit we pulled into the paved parking area right around noon and were greeted by a member of the Forest Service staff under the informational pavilion.  The trail is well marked with maps readily available, so no worries if a ranger isn’t present.

The full trail is 2 miles long and made up of two primary loops that form an elongated figure eight. The lower loop is about 1.25 miles with the upper loop clocking in at .75 of a mile.  While most people head over the bridge to the left to start the trail, we prefer heading out on the right.  This is an easier incline route saving the steepest part for downhill on the way back!

The two loops intersect at the middle where you can find the official Memorial plaque to Joyce Kilmer.  He was a soldier and a poet (yes, Joyce is a dude) that was killed in action during WWI.  He wrote that poem about Trees that starts out ….. “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree…..”

We finished the full two miles in an hour with photo op stops along the way.  It took about 35 minutes on the lower loop and 25 minutes on the upper loop.  We were walking at a pretty good clip so allow somewhere between 1- ½ hours.

You can hike all or a portion of the trail but if you want to see the big grand daddy trees, be sure to complete the upper loop called Poplar Cove.  Most of the larger trees can be viewed on this upper loop so keep going once you get to the Memorial plaque.

The trail is packed dirt with quite a few tree roots and rocks to step over. A sturdy and comfortable pair of hiking type shoes is recommended.  The views of the towering trees and lush forest undergrowth are set against the sound of babbling Lake Santeetlah Creek making for a memorable experience.

Getting There…….

There are two routes to reach the entrance of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  Both routes are well marked, on paved two lane roads, and easily reached by motorcycle or car.  What route you take really depends on what end of Lake Santeetlah you start from. 

From Robbinsville: Head North on US 129 for about a mile then turn left onto NC 143 West.  Travel about 12 miles and take a right turn on Joyce Kilmer Road SR 1134.  Go about two miles and turn left into the forest entrance.

From The Dragon on US129:  Heading South on US 129 turn right onto SR 1134/1147 then take the next right onto Joyce Kilmer Road SR 1134 following the signs to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  The road meanders around the west end of Lake Santeetlah for about 6 miles.  When you reach the stop sign just go straight into the entrance of the forest.  If you turn left at the stop sign (instead of going straight) and travel 2 miles you will reach NC 143 W at the start of the Cherohala Skyway.  This is a great short cut when riding back from the Dragon that takes about 8 miles total from US 129 to NC 143 and saves mileage if you don’t want to head back into Robbinsville.