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Big Bear Cabin is located within 5 minutes of the Orchard at Altapass, 10 minutes of the areas best gem mining, 15 minutes of the nationally acclaimed Penland School of Crafts, 10 minutes of the beautiful Linville Falls Recreation Area, 25 minutes of Mount Mitchell, 45 minutes of the ski slopes, 20 minutes of Grandfather Mountain and 10 minutes of Linville Caverns.
 

Roan Mountain State Park
Roan Mountain identifies a town, state park and a series of mountains on the North Carolina/Tennessee border, creating two sections of Roan Mountain NC and Roan Mountain TN. Less than an hour from Bear Den Campground and Big Bear Cabin, Roan Mountain State Park is one of the High Country’s most stunning destinations. Roan Mountain as a geographic feature is actually not one mountain but a ridge of mountains ranging from Roan High Knob at 6,286-feet to Carver’s Gap at 5,500-feet, making it the highest mountain range in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Most remarkably, the Roan Mountain range stretches for five miles and features a series of “balds,” or treeless mountain tops, where the wind sweeps across fields of thick, waving grass amidst wildflowers and unique vegetation.

Roan Mountain’s “balds,” spruce-fir forests, and Catawba Rhododendron gardens make it an ecosystem unlike anywhere in the world. The balds are natural features maintained by the Forest Service and offer some of the most picturesque views in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Standing atop the Round, Jane, Grassy Ridge and Hump Mountain Balds evokes an alpine-like sensation. You may even get the urge to sing a tune from the Sound of Music! Scientists speculate that the Roan Mountain balds originated due to animal grazing, beginning with prehistoric animals, such as mastodons and mammoths, and continuing with elk and bison.

Remnants of the ice age, the spruce-fir forests of Roan Mountain are the only remaining of their kind that once dominated the Southern Appalachian forest. Red Spruce, Fraser Fir, Grey’s Lily and other species usually found in Canada and far northern latitudes comprise the Tundra-like vegetation that survived from the ice age solely atop Roan Mountain.

World famous for its spectacular Roan Mountain Rhododendron natural gardens spanning 600 acres of Catawba rhododendrons, the world’s largest rhododendron display, Roan Mountain Tennessee shelters the brilliant purple flowers which bloom around the third week in June. Every June for the past fifty years, thousands of people visit Roan Mountain State Park for the Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival to walk among the tall, dense shrubs and their multitude of blooms. Take the family to enjoy free admission, food, over 100 arts and crafts vendors, mountain music, clogging, folk demonstrations and an unparalleled display of natural beauty.

Roan Mountain TN is a wonderful place to visit any time of year. Hike the Appalachian Trial, which spans the balds of Roan Mountain TN on its way to Maine, cross country ski, or fish the waters of the Doe River for mountain trout. Roan Mountain State Park features picnic shelters, swimming pools, tennis courts, children’s play area and extensive hiking trails that wind through the rhododendrons and others that lead to Roan High Bluff Overlook. In the summer, the amphitheater features music, entertainment and the Rhododendron Festival.

Directions
To reach Roan Mountain from Bear Den Campground take a right out of the campground, heading west, toward the junction with Altapass Highway/ NC 1121. Take a sharp right onto NC 1121 and remain on NC 1121 for 2.8 miles. Turn right on Tempie Mountain Road/NC 1122 for 1.5 miles. At junction with US 19E, take a right and follow for 28.5 miles, crossing into Tennessee (keeping left at a few junctures to stay on 19E). Turn left at TN-143 and follow the signs for Roan Mountain State Park.

To reach Carvers Gap on the Roan Mountain NC state line for access to the Appalachian Trail, proceed through the park and up the mountain, or turn right at Carvers Gap and continue to the summit parking lot for a $3 parking fee.
 

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