More SugarGroveMagazine articles:

Blood Sweat & Gears

A 100-mile bicycle route with 13,000 feet of climbing . . .

Sugar Grove Store

Find books of local interest, movies, crafts and more.

Western Watauga County Road by Road:
North Fork Road Zionville

Flowers at top of North Fork Road near Sugar Grove North Carolina Watauga County

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2007
All Rights Reserved
See links to article references at the end of the article.

Part 1    Go to part 2

August, 2007

North Fork Road connects to Beaver Dam Road very near the Tennessee / North Carolina border and ends at Old Highway 421 in Zionville. It is a road of well-kept homes, gardens and lawns and an occasional Christmas Tree farm. The top of the road offers breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Corn on North Fork Road near Sugar Grove North Carolina Watauga County

Western Watauga County is still rural in appearance but it attracts many new citizens and visitors each year.

In August, 2007 National Geographic named the Boone, North Carolina / Watauga County area as one of the 50 best places to "Live and Play" citing:

"Low-key Boone, at 3,333 feet (1,016 meters), is higher than any major town east of the Mississippi River. (Downtown views of the Blue Ridge Mountains are spectacular.)"
~ NationalGeographic.com/adventure (see link below)
No Fishing on North Fork Road near Sugar Grove North Carolina Watauga County

Watauga County is also home to Appalachian State University's nearly 15,000 college students. Many flock to Sugar Grove and western Watauga County during the Summer and Fall months for rafting, hiking, bicycling and exploring.

The population of the county swells during the summer months with vacationers and summer residents. Many enjoy the more rural Sugar Grove area to escape the traffic and get access to hiking trails and rivers.

 

 

Black Eyed Susans on North Fork Road near Sugar Grove North Carolina Watauga County
Turn in the country road on North Fork Road near Sugar Grove North Carolina Watauga County

The North Fork Road drive offers a peaceful look at community life and the tree-lined road offers the cooler temperatures that many visitors look for in the area.

As with many back road drives in the Sugar Grove area in western Watauga County, front-wheel drive vehicles are recommended even in good weather and 4 wheel drive vehicles may be needed in rainy or snowy weather.

 

Go to Part 2 of this article

Links to references in this article: