We were there about ten years ago. "Little Cataloochee Valley." I think the mountain we had to skirt on that narrow gravel road was Sterling Mountain. Beach and I were holding our breath, an endless ravine on the driver's side and the wall of the mountain on the passenger's side. We dropped the hitch to our RV at the KOA in Cherokee; early the next morning with a picnic lunch and plenty of water we drove our F-250 Ford diesel through Maggie Valley and turned off into this residential neighborhood and through to this narrow gravel road. I couldn't believe this was an entrance to the national park. After miles and miles of this road, we finally hit some pavement, made a left turn onto the pavement and into the valley. On the left was the campground; we walked in because I wasn't sure how much turn-around space we would have; what we saw was a lot of primitive camping, tents and tent trailers on wheels, no more than about eight feet long; all were using lanterns for light, but saw no camp fires. We continued on crossing a little bridge with a rushing stream under it and met up with the one and only ranger for Little Cataloochee. He was a descendant of one of families who had lived in the valley. Since I am a history buff, he took the time to explain how his family came to the valley in the 1800s. We parked the truck and walked the valley and visited all the buildings that were left; they were unlocked; the old church, school house, a barn, a house circa late 1800s, etc. This was a valley of pristine beauty with totally no electricity, even I guess today, and beautiful speckled brown trout swimming in crystal clear streams. We almost had the place to ourselves. After all the crowds we saw at Cade's Cove near Sieverville, why? Aha! It must be that **** scary narrow road hugging the mountain coming into the valley. It turns out that was the same road used by the settlers of Little Cataloochee to bring supplies in before the first snow of the season in the 1800s. There is a lot of wildlife in the valley roaming in herds, primarily Elk; we did see a few black bears as we were walking across a meadow to the church. A lot of the buildings have been moved and set up behind the Park Visitors Center near Cherokee (how they got those buildings down that road is a mystery to me).
If you have the stamina, I recommend visiting. But 1) leave early in the morning, 2) keep checking the weather on the mountain and valley, 3) carry provisions with you like peanut butter and jam sandwiches, flashlights, and blankets in case you get stuck up there overnight, and 3) DON'T take your RV on that road into the valley. Let the ranger know you are there overnight if need be. Give yourself plenty of daylight on your return trip to leave the valley.
There is a book regarding "Little Cataloochee Valley" for purchase at the Park Visitors Center near Cherokee; the book tells a lot of history about the place and Franklin Roosevelt who is responsible for the community's demise in the valley.
