Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree… 

The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Robbinsville, North Carolina, preserves one of the largest stands of old growth trees in the eastern United States. This 3800-acre Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, which is part of the Nantahala National Forest, is a paradise for walkers, with trails that lead beneath giant trees, some of which are more than 300 years old. 

This tract in the Little Santeelah Creek valley miraculously escaped the lumbering of the 1920s that led to clear-cutting much of the surrounding areas. The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is home to more than 100 species of trees, including virgin stands of sycamore, basswood, oak and yellow-poplar. The largest tulip poplars are more than 20 feet in circumference and over 100 feet tall. Beneath these giants, the forest floor is carpeted with wildflowers, ferns and moss-covered logs. The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is open, with few second growth trees such as are found on land that has been lumbered.

The only way to see the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is on foot, along a National Recreation Trail. This two-mile easy walking path is a figure-eight, at the center of which is a plaque commemorating the poet, Joyce Kilmer, for whom the forest is named. Kilmer was a World War I hero and author of the famous poem, "Trees" which begins, "I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree."  The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest was dedicated to him in 1935 by the U.S. Forest Service.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Hours of Operation
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Admission Fees
*Prices are subject to change without notice & from what is listed on this website.

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest Location
Off Highways 129 or 143

Graham County NC Travel and Tourism Authority
PO Box 575 / 15 North Main Street
Robbinsville, NC 28771
1-828-479-3790; 1-800-470-3790
http://www.grahamcountytravel.com/
info@GrahamCountyTravel.com