If there’s one hike you place on a bucket list in Western North Carolina this year, make it the scenic figure-eight trail that loops through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Robbinsville. It’s no exaggeration to say the trees here are the biggest in the state, or that there are more varieties of massive old trees in one spot in this ancient forest than anywhere else in the Tar Heel State.
The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is located at 5410 Joyce Kilmer Rd., Robbinsville, NC 28771. It’s open year-round. Admission is free. Learn more at this link on the official website of the U.S. Forest Service.