Granite City, Nantahala National Forest

Granite City – Home – Parks & Forests – Camping – Hiking – Links – Adventures

‘Granite City’

Granite City is what we guess you’d call an “unsanctioned” area in the Nantahala National Forest south of the Highlands-Cashiers area. The collection of outcroppings and slot canyons lies at the top of a hill, necessitating a short but very steep and strenuous climb to get to it.

We weren’t there for any serious climbing on our visit with my brother Tim and his wife, Tara, early in August 2008, but we did enjoy tramping around the rocks.

We’ve not seen Granite City in any Forest Service publications, but we found it in a book Tara bought in Black Mountain. It is apparently well known to climbers and cavers; one cavers’ group newsletter cites a pair of caves at Granite City, but we must have overlooked them.

Google maps knows Granite City. It’s 1.7 miles south of Cashiers off N.C. 107 on Whiteside Cove Road, S.R. 1107. The trailhead is 6.6 miles down Whiteside Cove from N.C. 107, on the right, where there is room for two cars to park. (We came from the south, acessing Whiteside Cove Road from N.C. 107 and Bull Pen Road, S.R. 1603.)

Cashiers is in Jackson County.