Birds, Butterflies & Blooms
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The Tennessee Overhill offers exciting opportunities throughout the year for viewing or photographing birds, butterflies, wildflowers, and other wildlife. From backwoods trails to paved scenic byways, there are plenty of vantage points where visitors can see everything from Sandhill Cranes on the Hiwasee Wildlife Refuge to the colorful warblers that skirt the mountaintops of the Cherohala Skyway. Wildflowers are tucked under the tree canopy of the Cherokee National Forest, while Daylilies and perennials can be seen at display gardens located closer to town. There are scores of varieties of butterflies that dip across forest trails and glide over open fieldds. Fall color extravaganzas, spring wildflower explosions, and winter snows form a colorful and ever-changing bacldrop for your adventures into the "wild side of life."
An added bonus is that the natural areas that are home to the birds, butterflies, and wildflowers in the Tennessee Overhill are surrounded by small towns that offer antique & outlet shopping art galleries, museums, unique places to eat, and overnight accomodations that include motels, bed & breakfasts, cabins, and campgrounds.
Birding Areas
From backwoods trails to paved scenic byways there are excellent vantage points from which to see everything from Sandhill Cranes, Blue Herons, and other lowland birds to the colorful Warblers that skirt the mountaintops of the high country in the Cherokee National Forest. For those who crave the solitude of the deep forest, there are hiking trails galore. Explorers who prefer the comforts of an automobile will find scenic overlooks where they can sit in the car and spot warblers, woodpeckers, and an occasional eagle.
Cherokee National forest
The Cherokee National Forest is home to 262 known bird species! The best time to spot a wide variety of birds is, of course, during the spring migration, which reaches its peak in mid April. Black-capped Chickadees, Ravens, Woodpeckers,, and the most popular Warblers are in plentiful supply then.
Tips
During late spring and early summer, warblers are in their breeding plumage --- their boldest, most vivid colors -- and males are actively singing to proclaim their territory. Great places to spot warblers are the Cherohala Skyway, the Chilhowee Overlooks on the Ocoee Scenic Byway, and the Hood Mountain (Big Bend) Overlook on the Hiwasee River
Cherokee National Forest
PO Box 2010
Cleveland, TN
(423) 476-9700
Cherohala Skyway
This National Scenic Byway climbs to over 5,000 feet in elevation as it connects Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC. Winding across high peaks in the Cherokee and Nantahala national forests, birders will find numerous overlooks for cars and great trails for hikers.
Viewing Information
On the trails off the Skyway, hikers can observe such northern birds as Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Winter Wrens. Other species to watch for are the Broad-winged Hawk, Common Raven, Wood Thrush, Northern Cardinal, Indigo Bunting and Eastern Towhee.
Tips
At Whigg Meadow and Mud Gap, birdwatchers can relish in the beauty of a scenic grassy meadow overlooking the mountains from an elevation of 5,000 feet. The 1.5-mile hike to Whigg is moderately difficult but for the avid birdwatcher, sighting a Northern Sawwhet Owl is probably worth the effort in late April or early May.
Cherokee National Forest (Tellico District)
250 Ranger Station Rd
Tellico Plains, TN 37385
(423) 253-2520
Click here to view a map
Blythe Ferry Unit of Hiwassee Refuge
Located between Decatur, TN and Birchwood, TN (just off Hwy. 60)
Mudflats, croplands and ponds near the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers offer outstanding views of large numbers of waterfowl, but the real wildlife spectacle here is migrating Sandhill Cranes. From November through late March, up to 7,000 of these regal, slate gray birds rest and feed on the refuge, the only sizeable gathering of cranes between Florida and their northern nesting grounds. Twenty waterfowl species may also be observed here in winter; most abundant are mallards and black ducks and Canada Geese. The Sandhill Crane and Cherokee Heritage Festival takes place on the refuge every February, a time when you are assured of seeing thousands of cranes and numerous other species.
Viewing Information
Optional views of Sandhill Cranes with a spotting scope. During site’s open months, travel on foot along gravel roads and pastures toward Chickamauga Lake. Look for cranes feeding and resting on Hiwassee Island, in cornfields or in flight. Please observe cranes from a distance. An observation tower here for year round viewing. Area open only to hunters during limited small and big game seasons; inquire with TWRA for dates.
Tips
High probability of viewing cranes and waterfowl throughout the winter, with best viewing in March. Bald eagles and northern harriers also visit in winter.
Directions
From Cleveland, TN:
Follow Hwy. 60 West to the Hwy. 58/Hwy 60 Junction.
Stay on Hwy. 60. Turn Right onto Shadden Road.
Turn right onto Blythe Ferry Lane.
Proceed one-half mile to first gravel road
Turn left onto gravel road into the Hiwassee Refuge.
From Decatur, TN:
Follow Hwy. 58 South to Hwy. 58/60 junction.
Turn right onto Hwy. 60.
Turn right onto Shadden Road.
Turn right onto Blythe Ferry Lane.
Proceed one-half mile to first gravel road, turn left.
Parking at 0.8 miles at end of road.
(901) 758-3825
(Or the Meigs County Executive’s Office)
Contact TWRA at (931) 484-9571 or 1-800-262-6704
Chilhowee Overlooks
On FS 77, near Benton, TN. FS 77 is a paved road that is part of the Ocoee Scenic Byway. The overlooks and surrounding forest provide good places to spot Warblers and other species that are found in high places. Located near the Chilhowee Lake (Lake McCamy) and campground, this Cherokee National Forest recreational area offers more than good birding and beautiful views -- it is also a good place to camp, hike, swim, and bike.
Viewing Information
During spring and fall migration and summer breeding season, watch and listen for migratory birds like Scarlet Tanagers and Blackthroated Green Warblers. During the winter months, listen for residents like Golden-Crowned Kinglets, Pine Warblers, and Carolina Chickadees.
Cherokee National Forest (Ocoee Ranger District)
3171 Hwy 64
Benton, TN 37307
(423) 338-5201
Click here to view a map
Hood Mountain (Big Bend) Overlook
On FS 108, along the Hiwassee River, upriver from Reliance, TN. Good spot to see Eagles and Warblers.
Viewing Information
The drive alongside the Hiwassee River from the Hood Mountain Overlook to the end of the paved road at the Apalachia Powerhouse is known for Blue Heron, Kingfishers, and more.
Tips
Eagles have been spotted from the Hood Mountain Overlooks for the past several years.
Cherokee National Forest (Ocoee Ranger District)
3171 Hwy. 64
Benton, TN 37307
(423)338-5201
Click here to view a map
Chota Peninsula on Tellico Lake
Site of the early capital of the Cherokee Indian Nation, Chota Peninsula today provides ideal conditions for wintering waterfowl, including geese, mallards, widgeons, scaup, loons and horned grebes. Spring and fall are good times to spot osprey, double-crested cormorants and black tern. Ringed billed gulls are common in the winter. Year round, view white-tailed deer, wild turkey and muskrat.
Viewing Information
View from Tanasi Memorial, or Chota Memorial at end of road. Refuge accessed by gravel road to right during open seasons. Refuge area closed mid October through mid February. Use caution during small game hunting seasons.
Tips
Secretive rails, sedge and marsh wrens inhabit the wet areas.
Directions
From Hwy 411 in Vonore:
Travel south on Hwy 360 (Citico Road) for 7.4 miles.
Where Hwy 360 turns right, continue straight.
Travel 5 miles and turn left at sign to
Tellico Lake Wildlife Area, Chota Refuge Unit.
For more information contact TVA (80) TVA-LAND
Managed in cooperation with TWRA (423) 884-6767
And with Ducks Unlimited (901) 758-3825
Click here to view a map
Butterflies
If you have never seen a pearly crescent spot or a red spotted purple, then you must visit the Tennessee Overhill in the warm months to view the wide variety of butterflies that dance through the forests and fields.
Throughout the Overhill
You hear a lot about monarch butterflies, but there are many other kinds of butterflies, all shapes, colors, and sizes. Their names alone conjure up images of the exotic. Tiger Swallowtail, Question Mark, Meadow Fritillary, Painted Lady, Eastern Tailed Blue, Southern White, Buckeye -- these are just a few names for the many kinds of butterflies found in the Tennessee Overhill.
Viewing Information
You can see butterflies here from early spring through fall, but if you are hoping to see Monarchs, come in late March and early April. This is when the Monarch butterflies travel through our portion of the country on their way to Mexico. Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, Monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots, flying south to the forests high in the mountains of Mexico.
Tips
Just after entering the John Muir Trail at the Childers Creek trailhead on the Hiwassee River, look to your right at the grassy area to spot large numbers of zebra swallowtails.
Tennessee Overhill
PO Box 143
Etowah, TN 37331
(423) 263-7232
Blooms (Wildflowers)
Cherokee National Forest
Early spring offers the first glimpse of wildflowers in the Cherokee National Forest and the Tennessee Overhill. That’s when trees begin to bud and wildflowers begin to peep up through the forest floor. In March and April the region erupts with violets, buttercups, bloodroot, fire pink and crested dwarf iris while redbuds and dogwood trees shed white and purple bloom across the Overhill. . Flowering is generally 6-8 weeks later at higher elevations, so you can follow spring up the mountains. These treasures can be seen from hiking trails that wind deep into the forest or along paved highways and scenic byways.
Viewing Information
Wildflowers bloom beginning at the lowest elevations in March and continue until autumn arrives in the high country. Start along the valleys and lower slopes of the Hiwassee and Tellico rivers, then explore a little higher each week until you make it to the top of the Cherohala Skyway.
Tennessee Overhill
PO Box 143
Etowah, TN 37331
Phone 423-263-7232.
Native Plant Garden at the Ocoee Whitewater Center
Doc Rogers Fields
Located in the Cherokee National Forest, just off Hwy. 64 and the Joe Brown Hwy., near Coker Creek, TN, is a historic farm field that is now planted with native, warm weather grasses. Here you can glimpse the kind of grasses that once grew in abundance in the Overhill before cultivation.
Cherokee National Forest (Tellico District)
250 Ranger Station Rd
Tellico Plains, TN 37385
(423) 253-2520
Wildflower Viewing Tips
May is an excellent month for wildflowers and flowering shrubs. Several varieties of trillium and iris scatter the forest floor along with lilies of the valley, mayapples, Solomons seal, and pink and yellow lady slippers. Purple thistles and black-eyed Susans appear in late spring. Butterfly weed, Queen Anne’s Lace and wood sorrel intertwined with patches of flowering blackberries briars are also found in the Cherokee National Forest in May. Honeysuckle vines bloom in early June and rhododendron blooms are breathtaking from mid to late June. Summer months fill the region with flame azalea and mountain laurel followed by late wildflowers including ironweed and goldenrod.
Some of the best places to see wildflowers:
Forty-one miles from the Tellico Plains entrance, near Robbinsville, North Carolina a sign directs you to nearby Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest where multitudes of wildflowers await. This incredibly beautiful area is also known for its grove of massive virgin timber.
Hike through a northern hardwood forest of American beech, yellow birch, black cherry and sugar maple at 4000- feet elevation at the East Rattlesnake Rock area along the Cherohala Skyway.
Along the Hiwassee River are an abundance of bloodroot and trout lilies. The bloodroot is a white waxy flower that can be found along Hwy. 30 and the road toward the Power House on the Hiwassee River. Pale blue hepatica grows in the same area.
Blue phlox is found along the Tellico River Road, to be followed in rapid profusion by hundreds of flowers, which bloom until early summer.
Deep rosy-pink lady’s slippers bloom in May and like to grow in high, canopied areas under the pines.
Found near many hiking trails in the open woodlands are they sky-blue dwarf iris and tiny wood anemone.
Trailing arbutus is very fragrant and this flowers pale whitish-pink petals can be found growing in open banks.
In higher elevations where it is cooler look for Red, yellow, pink and orange flame azaleas, which bloom in late spring. They can also be found at the Chilhowee Recreation Area.
In May the John Muir Trail features a wide variety of wildflowers, including jack-in-the pulpit and Solomon’s seal in the spring. "Jack" is found in a purple or green canopied "pulpit."
Important Reminder
National Forests are managed under the multiple-use concept, which calls for using forest resources in combination that will benefit the most people. Folks visiting the Forest during this lovely time of the year should not give in to temptation and pick or dig up flowers and plants. Due to the increasing numbers of people digging plants from the wild, we are losing a great number of plant species; gene pools are becoming smaller and some species are becoming endangered. Scientists have discovered many wild plants are mutually dependent on other plants in the area and cannot live without the other. So remember take a picture, instead of picking flowers. They'll last longer and everyone can enjoy the wildflowers.
Fall Colors
Cherokee National Forest
From late September to early November the hills in the Cherokee National Forest are ablaze with color. Beauty comes in many colors as trees are at or near the fall color season. The last two weekends in October are usually the best time for seeing nature's beauty pageant at its peak. Colors will peak first at the higher elevations, then slide down the mountains into the river valleys.
Tips
For up to date color predictions, contact the Cherokee National Forest Fall Color Hotline at 1-800-204-6366.
Watchable Wildlife
Cherokee National Forest
The Cherokee National Forest provides habitat for black bears, European boar, red squirrels, eastern chipmunks, and red and grey foxes, as well as a wide variety of birds. Beaver activity is easily seen along the John Muir Trail with hellbender salamanders, the largest in North America, seen resting on the river rocks.
Cherokee National Forest
PO Box 2010
Cleveland, TN
(423) 476-9700
Conasauga River Underwater Viewing Area
Springing from the rain-soaked slopes of the Southern Appalachians, this relatively silt-free stretch of the Conasauga State Scenic River supports over sixty fish species, including the federally listed blue shiner, amber darter, and Conasauga logperch, as well as the state-listed trispot and coldwater darters. An exceptionally diverse community of mussels is also present.
Viewing Information
Equipped with mask and snorkel and a field guide to freshwater fishes, identifying these secretive and colorful fish will challenge adventuresome viewers. The Conasauga River Trail offers easy walking to river access points downstream from parking area.
Directions
From junction of Hwy 64 / 411 south of Benton, TN, travel south 6.7 miles on Hwy. 411
Continue by turning left onto TN 313 (Ladd Springs Road, becomes Willis Springs Road).
Travel 4 miles, then bear right on gravel Forest Service Road 221 (Pea Vine/Sheeds Creek Road).
Continue for 4.7 miles and turn right onto parking area for Conasauga River Trail 61
Important Reminders
Always snorkel with a partner and wear safety flotation gear.
Roads may be muddy after hard rains.
Please do not disturb or collect the sensitive fauna of this river.
Cherokee National Forest (Ocoee Ranger District)
3171 Hwy. 64
Benton, TN 37307
(423) 338-5201
Hiwassee River Underwater Viewing Area
The Hiwassee River that flows above the Apalachia Powerhouse, near Reliance, TN, is a beautiful stretch of water with great diversity in both fish and mussels.
Viewing Information
There are two viewing areas on the Hiwassee River that are open for underwater viewing –one that is accessed from Hwy 68 near Coker Creek, TN and one that is accessed from the John Muir Trailhead at the Apalachia Power House near Reliance.
Important Reminders
Always snorkel with a partner and wear safety flotation gear.
Roads may be muddy after hard rains.
Please do not disturb or collect the sensitive fauna of this river.
Cherokee National Forest (Ocoee Ranger District)
3171 Hwy. 64
Benton, TN 37307
(423) 338-5201
