Siler Ridge (Wayah Gap to Winding Stair Gap)
Nantahala National Forest
Cheoah District, Route 1, Box 16A
Robbinsville, NC 28771
828-479-6431
The Nantahala National Forest is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina and is the the second wettest region in the country – after the Pacific Northwest. The word “Nantahala” is a Cherokee word meaning “Land of the Noonday Sun.” In some spots, the sun only reaches the floors of the deep gorges in the middle of the day. The National Forest has 531,270 acres with elevations ranging from 5,800 feet at Lone Bald in Jackson County to 1,200 feet in Cherokee County along the Hiwassee River.
Siler Bald at 5,216 feet was named for William Siler whose great grandson, Reverend A. Rufus Morgan, helped establish the A.T. in North Carolina. The U.S. Forest Service clears and maintains the bald which has a grassy summit with spectacular (and nearly 360 degree) views from Tray Mountain to the Great Smoky Mountains. Wayah Bald, about six trail miles north, can also be seen to the north. This is a shuttle hike that starts at Wayah Gap on NC 1013 and follows the Appalachian Trail southbound to Winding Stair Gap on U.S. 64 about ten miles from Franklin, N.C.
- click to see photos from this hike on the Appalachian Trail: March 4, 2000
- click for a detailed trip report of this walk in the Nantahala National Forest: March 4, 2000 (password required)
- click to view a topo map or a profile map of this shuttle hike from Wayah to Winding Stair Gap (password required)
- click for the GA/NC Border to Wallace Gap trail map, or the Wallace Gap to Licklog Gap profile map (password required)
- click for a backtrack hike to Siler Bald from Winding Stair Gap in October 1996
- click to read a photo journal from another trip to Siler Ridge in June 2002 (password required)
- click for a backpacking trip to the nearby Snowbird Gap in February 2022
- click for a trail map of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee (password required)
- click for more information on the Appalachian Trail
- click for Appalachian Trail hiking and backpacking books
- click to access the guidebook Appalachian Trail: Georgia-North Carolina which has details on this destination
- click for other North Carolina hiking and backpacking books