Travel date: September 2016 & August 2020
Written by: Brandy Caitlyn
Many of us in life have the urge to travel and find places that are different, unique and mysterious. You may want to see things that wouldn’t be the “normal”.
So, what’s is the blog about today? The mysterious “Road to No Where”. It sounds intriguing, I know!
Most asked questions just might be;
- Does it really go no where?
- What’s so special about it?
- How old is it?
- What does it look like?
This blog will give you anything you need to know about the “Road to Nowhere” and what to expect if you decide to take on this adventure. I will give you my experiences for you to have a first hand scoop.
My travel dates were in September 2016 and August 2020. This is a wide range of days between my visits, but it seems this place just sits in the same timezone throughout the years.
The Road to Nowhere is literally a road that is placed in the North Carolina mountains. The road winds through the mountain past amazing views and beautiful nature. The road then just “ends” at a tunnel.
When you get to the “end” of the road you will see a small parking lot off to the right where you can park your vehicles that you traveled with. The reason for this parking lot is because the rest of the Road to Nowhere is impassible by vehicle and only accessible by foot.
You will see that they have polls blocking the road for vehicles to not enter the remainder of the road that enters into the tunnel.
Knowledge Bomb Block
- The Road to Nowhere is located in the North Carolina mountains, just outside a small town named Bryson City.
- The road to Nowhere is in the “Smokey mountain national park”.
- They have a famous sign posted that says “The Road to Nowhere – A Promise Broken”.
- This road is a result of an instance that occurred in the 1930s-1940s. The government created the Fontana Damn and the national park on Swain county land. They drowned towns and roads to create this damn area. The government promised that they would create a separate road (the Road to Nowhere) for families to travel on and other individuals. The families were relying on this road to see their families cemetery and plots.
- To this day the employees of the park, do still take the families over the lake to see their families plots.
- The road to nowhere could not be finished due to difficulties and the production was stopped many years ago.
My Personal Experience
I have two separate experiences of this location but they are very similar. The first time I went with some family and the second time I took my sweet boyfriend AP.
Me and my boyfriend set out on an adventure to see the road to nowhere. He had never seen it before!
We throughly enjoyed the road that winds through the mountain admiring the view and the sites along the way.
As we approached the road to nowhere we parked at the little lot next to the point you cannot drive anymore. We got out to track into the area!
While we parked we saw backpackers getting ready to go deep into the Forrest and camp.
We also saw the national forest rangers saving a sweet baby bear that was sickly. They had placed it into a transport device and were carrying it out of the woods.
They advised many people reported the bear and it lead them to helping it!
When we started walking up to the road to nowhere it was nothing you would ever imagine. It is massive, it towers over you in it’s beauty and age!
We climbed up the front of it through the woods to stand on top of the front! It was nature filled and interesting.
We walked through the tunnel admiring the graffiti and laughing at the things people put. We looked at the foundation cracking above us and the dirt ground we were walking on.
After we walked through the long tunnel we exited out of the other side. Looking out you see a dirt path that just winds away from you.
We went up to the top of the other end of the tunnel, this was easier to walk up on. It is very high in the air and just awesome to experience!
The best part? You don’t have to pay! You can just see it and all of its beauty!
We took our time exploring and enjoying the view. We didn’t walk out like the backpackers but one day it would be awesome to try! Even though it is a road to nowhere it may always end to something.
My boyfriend described his experience as;
Unique and that it is a great piece of history with a great story.
Exploring the road to nowhere with my boyfriend was my best experience. Having a person that you travel with and enjoy life is unbeatable.
I always advocate for people to get out there and find new places to explore and enjoy. If you see wildlife that seems sick or injured (or hanging out near people areas a lot) reach out to the Forrest rangers so they can check on the animal.
As always, respect the earth. Respect nature. And #LeaveNoTracesBehind
Much love, B.
References;
A Travel Loving Momma 