Alas, to work I had to go...of course I couldn't complain about the view from the office on this day.

Lake Cherokee was a pleasant surprise I discovered while working at the site, located in far western North Carolina near the town of Murphy. Arriving a bit early for my shift I decided to go for a quick stroll around and found a wonderful variety of wildflowers as well as a pleasant lake side path which winds out to the dam which creates Lake Cherokee. The lake itself is small, formed from a small tributary which flows into neighboring Hiwassee Lake. The site has a nice picnic area and a large fishing pier which hints at the fact that this might e a fairly busy place in the summer months. As it was, I was able to enjoy a nice mile loop around the park taking time to 'smell the roses' as it were. This album is essentially a wildflower gallery with a few shots of Lake Cherokee thrown in for good measure. It was a great way to kick off a day of work...

Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 35.065171, -84.163650

Route Type: Double Out-and-back

Difficulty: EASY (Petzoldt Rating: 1.70 )

Hike Length: 1.5 miles Hike Duration: 0:45

Trailhead Temp: 65'F Trail Traffic: 1-5 people

Min. Elevation: 1,549' Max. Elevation: 1,580'

Total Vertical Gain: 100' Avg. Elevation Gain / Mile: 67'

Lake Cherokee, Cherokee County (6-15-13)

Lake Cherokee Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my short walk at Lake Cherokee as depicted a la Google Earth...
Lake Cherokee Hike Route Map
The approximate track of my short walk at Lake Cherokee...
Cherokee Lake in the early morning sun, quite a tranquil spot I thought...
The first part of this "hike" actually followed the access road to the picnic area, all of the following flowers were found along this stretch...
Queen-anne's-lace (Daucus carota)
Crown Vetch (Securigera varia)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
White Milkweed (Asclepias variegata)
Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Carolina Horse-nettle (Solanum carolinense)
Pale Beardtongue (Penstemon pallidus)
Common (or Southern) Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa)
After a half mile, flower-filled walk along the entrance road I passed through the picnic area itself...
A huge fishing pier juts out into the lake from the picnic area...
Empty of fisherman on this morning, the pier offered a nice spot for a wandering photographer to spend a few minutes...
Looking towards the lake outlet, along which I'd be walking out to the dam in a very few minutes...
After enjoying the pier I headed out along the quarter mile path to the dam...
Still in the shade on my side of the lake the opposite shore shone through the trees...
Spotted Pipsissewa (Chimaphila maculata)
Another small pier provides a look across the inlet...
Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
The morning sun starting to break through the tree tops...
Whorled Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia)
Before long the dam at the north end of the lake came into view and it appeared to be populated by a few fisherman...
Despite a few odd looks from the resident fisherman I managed a couple shots of the old dam at the north end of the lake...
North of the dam is Hiwassee Lake which is much, much larger than the view from this spot suggests...
I'm not generally a morning person but I have to admit that it does have its perks...
Alas, to work I had to go...of course I couldn't complain about the view from the office on this day.