Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 031 October 2013 | Page 26

downtown mooresville farmers market saturdays 8am-12pm thru end of oct.
open 7am tues-sat

in house fresh baked breads
coffee
morning pastries
chocolates
confections
pastries
cakes & pies
SPECIALIZING IN FRENCH PASTRY
cookies
cupcakes
704-662-0270

downtown mooresville - 242 north main street – across from the charles mack citizen center

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
T

he Joyce Kilmer Memorial
Forest, near Robbinsville,
North Carolina, preserves one of
the largest stands of old-growth
trees in the eastern United States.
Part of the Nantahala National
Forest, the 3,800-acre Joyce
Kilmer Memorial Forest is a
paradise for walkers, with trails
that lead beneath giant trees,
some of which are more than
300 years old.
This tract miraculously
escaped the lumbering of the
1920s which resulted in the
clear-cutting of much of the
surrounding areas. Today, the
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is
home to more than 100 species
of trees, including virgin stands
of sycamore, basswood, oak, and
yellow-poplar. The largest tulip poplars are more than 20 feet in circumference and over 100 feet tall. Beneath these giants, the forest floor is carpeted
with wildflowers, ferns, and moss-covered logs.
An easy, two-mile trail winds through the Forest, forming a figure-eight. At
the center is a plaque commemorating the poet Joyce Kilmer, for whom the
forest is named. Kilmer was a World War I hero and author of the famous
poem, “Trees.” The Forest was dedicated to him in 1935 by the US Forest
Service.
Location
From Robbinsville, take NC 143 West. After about 12 miles, turn
right on Joyce Kilmer Road (SR1134). Go two miles and turn left
at the signs for the Forest. www.grahamcountytravel.com

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Dashboards and Saddlebags The Destination Magazine™