South from Cherokee and the Great Smoky Mountains, US-441 runs through the giant Nantahala National Forest, which stretches all the way to the Georgia border. It’s a fast road, mostly divided, four-lane freeway, passing through a fairly developed corridor of towns and small cities.
The biggest town in this part of North Carolina, Franklin (pop. 3,490) was founded in the mid-1800s on a shallow ridge overlooking the Little Tennessee River. Along with lumber milling, Franklin’s main industry has long been the mining of gemstones—garnets, rubies, and sapphires. Now a light industrial center, spread out around the intersection of US-441 and US-64, Franklin has a compact downtown area packed with gemstone and jewelry shops like Ruby City, 44 N. Main Street, which also has a small free museum. The Franklin Motel ($50; 828/524-4431 or 800/433-5507), at 17 W. Palmer Street, has clean, comfortable rooms and a swimming pool.
US-441 races south to Georgia from Franklin, while Hwy-28/US-64 heads southeast through the heart of Transylvania County, known as the “Land of Waterfalls” because of its many cascades. The biggest of these is 13 miles from Franklin and named, for some unknown reason, Dry Falls. From the well-signed parking area, follow a short trail that ends up underneath and behind the impressively raging torrent, a powerful white-noise generator you can hear long before you reach it. Another waterfall, known as Bridal Veil Falls, is a mile south from Dry Falls. Bridal Veil is much smaller than Dry Falls, but spills right along the road; the overhang is so deep that you can drive underneath it.
Two miles south from Bridal Veil Falls, US-64 enters the resort community of Highlands (pop. 900). Here Hwy-106 loops back to the southwest, giving grand panoramic views over the forested foothills before rejoining US-441 across the Georgia border in Dillard.
