Tourism Welcome From The Director
Blaina Tallent Best
As the summer peak season comes to an end,
Monroe County Tourism is now shifting gears
to prepare for the largest influx of visitors that
come to enjoy Monroe County’s gorgeous
fall views. Mid-October to early November
is a magical time on the Cherohala Skyway
National Scenic Byway. The mountain air gets
a little crisper with warm, but not-too-warm
days and cool nights. The foliage becomes
a gorgeous canvas made up of different shades
of yellows, greens, oranges, and reds. The
landscape is populated with sugar maples,
hickories, sweetgum, scarlet oaks, red maples
and nearly 100 other species of native trees,
all showing off the most vibrant of colors.
Everyone from near and far arrives to take
in the breathtaking views and experience a
drive above the clouds!
During the months of October and
November, Monroe County will welcome
over 100,000 visitors. A lot of those visitors
will be headed to do some leaf peeping
on the Cherohala Skyway, but others are
drawn to Monroe County for our unique
experiences. There are so many wonderful
things that you can do in Monroe County,
home to both the Cherokee National Forest
and Fort Loudoun State Historic Park.
Having a National Forest and a State Park
in one county is a pretty special thing. Not
to mention, we are also home to Tellico
Lake in Vonore and our beautiful river in
Tellico Plains. The array of things that you
can do vary from hiking, rafting, fishing,
water sports, shopping our downtowns in
Tellico, Vonore, and Madisonville and our
official Main Street in Sweetwater to visiting
the Lost Sea Adventure (America’s largest
underground lake). We are a very blessed
county with over 30 events happening in
Monroe County from now until Christmas.
The second Monroe County Tourism
Partnership meeting will be held on
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 6 p.m. at the
Monroe County Chamber of Commerce in
Madisonville. We would love to have owners/
managers of local restaurants, attractions,
lodging facilities, and shops to join forces
with us to ensure Monroe County continued
success.More details can be found on our
Facebook event page under VisitMonroeTN.
Monroe County’s Bicentennial is still
underway. The celebrations continue as the
Monroe County Bicentennial tent will be
traveling to different events throughout the
County from now until late November. The
Official Bicentennial Ceremony will happen
in front of the Monroe County Courthouse
on November 16th at 1 p.m. We also have
available commemorative coins, lapel pins,
yard signs, and t-shirts at the Monroe County
Archives to help everyone celebrate this
historic year.
To keep up with all of the fun things happening in Monroe County please visit us: www.monroecountytourism.com
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest (VisitMonroeTN).
8 MONROE LIFE FALL 2019
/www.monroecountytourism.com