Beautiful views at the top. Be careful on the drive up, it's 5 miles of a narrow gravel road. Watch…read moreout for wasps on the tower, I ended up getting stung by one on a railing.

A former fire tower station, Birch Knob is now a public overlook. You have a 360 degree view of…read moreVirginia, Kentucky and Ohio. The view is really great. That said, had I known the condition of the dirt/rock road I would not have gone up there despite having AWD. The road started out fine but deteriorated and there were some really bad spots that were either washed out and rocky or rutted. Trying to avoid these spots sometimes led to the brush scratching against my car. Thankfully, someone had chain sawed a few trees that had fallen across the road. I had the 6 plus mile road to myself-the only nice thing about the ride up. When you get to the top there is a small area for parking and a pit toilet-which I did not use. Then you have to walk up hill path to get to the steep metal stair case that brings you to the overlook. This place is definitely not for anyone having trouble walking! At the top the view was great, however, I didn't stay long as there were biting flies and mosquitoes tormenting me! The view: five stars. The drive up 1-2 stars. Hard to put an overall score. If you have an ATV, the experience will be much, much better! There is a hiking trail there too. Didn't check it out. The place is kept pretty clean-saw very little litter during the ride up and at the top.

Toured the Carter Mansion today ($7 per person) Tours are not everyday. Call Sycamore Shoals, or…read morecheck their Facebook site for tour days, and time. We got to see every room in the house, except the basement, which has wood floors. A painting over the fireplace was pretty cool. It was painted over with white paint years ago, and while the restoration group was taking paint "samples", they realized something was under the white paint, which turned out to be a painting. Only one piece of furniture was original to the house, which was a chair. We checked out the family cemetery, and walked down to the Watauga river which is actually in front of the house. This is the oldest framed house in Tennessee. Interesting piece of history.

To the uninitiated, it might seem that Southwest Virginia is a pretty small niche to build a museum…read morearound. However, the region's history is robust and merits consideration, and this place offers a nice window into it. A repurposed mansion once belonging to the gentry of the region, it offers three floors plus a basement of exhibits. A variety of subjects are covered; those expecting to hear about coal mining won't be disappointed, but other aspects of American migration, natural history, and global and political affairs are covered. It's only a $5 fee, and I found it well worth it as both aesthetic and intellectual engagement.

Quite an attractive old building, this three-story building was once the residence of a few…read morewell-to-dos. It now contains a number of displays highlighting the history of the area. $5 per person gives you access to the museum, and we found that to be a bargain. It's also nice to walk around the surrounding streets and see some of the other historic homes on "the hill."

So they give tours about every hour or so. I think it was about 45 minutes. They had 2 tour guides…read morewhile we were there . But our tour guide complained alot about his life. We did joke around about some things, but at least pretend you enjoy your job. They had a couple cute doggos that greet you while you are there. They also have a little store with a lot of different kinds of rocks if that is your thing.

Had great time at this cavern. We were greeted warmly by the staff.. walk inside building and…read moredecent sized gift shop with lots of gemstones and different things to see. We were only ones there at time and we had great conversations with staff before we started our journey into cave. I think we paid 13-15 a person fairly cheap for cave. So our guide took us thru a door down a ramp and into the start of cave tour. Even saw a salamander under some of rocks at start of cave. Lots of walkways and formations to see.. lot of history too. On way back our guide have us each a flashlight and let us see cave our way with lights off. It was so cool! There is different types of tours where you can crawl thru holes in caves and thru water but I just wanted easy walking tour lol.. definitely a must see.. glad we came!

This thing rocks......literally....side to side as you walk on it. I walked about 1/4 of the way…read moreacross, and wondered if I was going to fall in the Clinch River. Makes me wonder how often these things are inspected.

I little piece of history spanning a beautiful river. Great photo op and my kid loves it.read more

While visiting in the area we stopped at the Fort Watauga replica at the Sycamore Shoals State Park…read morein Elizabethton, TN near Johnson City, TN. It is located along the Watauga River. Fort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee. The fort was originally built in 1775-1776 by the area's frontier government, the Watauga Association, to help defend Watauga settlers from Native American (primarily Cherokee) attacks, which were in part instigated by the British. Fort Watauga was originally named Fort Caswell after North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Watauga Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park 1651 W. Elk Avenue Elizabethton, Tennessee FREE Park. Free to view and tour the Fort Watauga, and FREE to tour the Visitors Center. The visitors center was not open when we stopped there but we did walk around the Fort.

The Lincoln Theatre was opened in 1929 and its history is quite fascinating. My friends live in…read moreMarion and wanted me to see the local offerings. We went into the theater shop midday and they asked the lovely woman running the theater if we could have a tour? She was in the middle of getting ready for that night's Rocky Horror Picture Show, but in true sweet Southern hospitality, cheerfully let us in so we could look around and she could talk to us about the establishment. The theatre was lovingly restored in the 1980s by locals who turned it into a nonprofit. PBS broadcasts its Song of the Mountains show here monthly. The woman we spoke to was working on grants to bring in movies and other performances to the theater. It would be a great venue for all of the above. As I had an early flight home the next day, we didn't come back to see the show, but I truly believe this is a gem to be checked out in Marion.

Perfect venue in a small town, have seen great entertainment here! All seating has great views,…read moreprices are reasonable

It was amazing!! The worker was so nice to us. The upstairs tour is amazing! The museum was a very…read moreinteresting place, I saw so many historic items, clothes, and a China cabinet. Definitely coming back.

We happened to be in town on a weekend when the museum was closed, which was a small letdown…read morebecause the building has that inviting, lived‑in look that makes you want to step inside and wander for a bit, but even from the sidewalk you can feel the weight of its long history and the marker out front fills in enough of the story to make the stop worthwhile in that quiet Jonesborough way where the past is always just under the surface. It reads, "Built in 1797 by Dr. William P. Chester of Lancaster, Pa., it has been continuously occupied as an Inn, a hotel and an apartment house. Among the guests here have been three presidents of the United States, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson, as well as John Sevier, Governor of Franklin and first Governor of Tennessee. President Andrew Jackson held a reception for his friends on the porch of the Inn in the summer of 1832." It is marker number 1A-90 and it was erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The Museum is a reminder that Jonesborough has always been a crossroads for travelers, politicians, and everyday residents, and even though we couldn't go inside this time, the marker gives you enough context to appreciate the building's long life and to look forward to a return visit when the doors are open again. [Review 99 of 2026 - 598 in Tennessee - 25289 overall]

Was it carved by Cherokee Indians to honor their chief, or by wind and rain....I suspect the…read morelatter, but you can be the judge yourself. Just north of the rock, is an old abandoned store where you can pull over, and take a look, and snap a photo.