The Tennessee River Valley's eastern region of mountains is a cool place to be when summer temperatures soar. Chilling out on Brasstown Bald is among the best heat-beating bets in the Southeast.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 3, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rising to a lofty 4,784 feet above sea level, Brasstown Bald is Georgia's highest point and offers not just a refreshing retreat from the heat but an opportunity to explore an alpine environment that seems altogether exotic in the Peach State.
Brasstown Bald is located on the northernmost point of the Russell-Brasstown Scenic Byway, a 40-mile loop that winds through the picturesque valleys and mountain gaps of the Southern Appalachians.
The stunning vistas, water features and captivating landforms that the byway connects visitors to makes it a most appealing road trip any time of year, but especially in the hot months when temperatures in the Southern Appalachian high country are comfortably lower than anywhere else in the region.
Scenic Awe Away from Summer's Simmer
From the observation deck and museum complex atop Brasstown Bald, visitors can see four states and gaze in amazement at a 360-degree view of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountain vastness and Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest arboreal grandeur.
The 8,000-square-foot museum features interactive cultural and natural history exhibits. A short film about the dramatic weather and changing seasons at Brasstown Bald plays regularly in the mountaintop theater. Because of the copious rainfall, higher elevations and cooler temperatures, many of the plants and animals found on Brasstown Bald are more similar to those endemic to mountainous regions hundreds of miles north.
In fact, some of those species are found nowhere else but in North Georgia.
Bald, Not Barren
The "balds" of Southern Appalachia are picturesque, biodiverse swaths of grassy and low-bush meadows at higher elevations – typically located at elevations above 4,000 feet.
No one knows for certain the origin of these treeless areas. One theory is that the Cherokee Indians cleared land and burned vegetation to provide lookouts, camps and hunting areas. Another explanation is that the European settlers cleared these flat areas for farming and pasture. Still another theory points to natural causes – a combination of elevation, severe climate, and fire may have combined to produce and maintain these balds.
Whatever their origin, they are an unforgettably pleasant place to hike and explore when in other places it feels too hot to move.
Brasstown Bald also serves as the headwater wellspring of the Chattahoochee, Coosa, Savanna Rivers – as well as the Hiawassee and Nottely Rivers, which are major tributaries of the Tennessee River.