How I’d Redo my Trip to Franklin in North Carolina

One day, my grandfather told me about his trip to the charming little town of Franklin, North Carolina. He told me about the little churches on the hills with epic views of the mountains, and he spoke about a quaint downtown with lots of unique shops. This, however, was nothing like what I saw. I couldn’t believe it but I missed the town completely. To make matters worse I also missed the little town in the Highlands as well. So I am just gonna have to plan another North Carolina road trip and make my way back into the mountains, not like you ever have to twist my arm for a little bit of adventuring. 

The plan for the day was to drive the scenic Highway 64. The day was absolutely perfect, with the sun shining through the lush green trees on the windy mountainous route. There were glistening bodies of water, babbling rivers, and scenic mountain scenery. The number one reason we were on the road was to chase some waterfalls, and this road made it easier than ever to see some of the state's coolest waterfalls.

Dry Falls was a blast to hike down to, and it felt positively magical when we walked behind it. Bridal Veil Falls was another highlight and possibly the easiest waterfall we have ever traveled to since it is literally on the road. We stopped to peak at these incredible sights plus many more, but things went wrong when we lost cell service, and our GPS map was then lost. 

Without a direction, we aimlessly traveled down the roads until a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a little bar on the top of my phone screen. We quickly plugged in the address to the next waterfall, and I assumed I would be going straight through Franklin and the Highlands. I turned out to be wrong. We got to see some rather nice neighborhoods but missed the idealistic charming downtowns that my grandfather described to me. When we got through to the other side my wife said “Where were the churches, or the main street downtown?” I was left without an answer other than the sad realization that we missed it, and it was now miles behind us.

Knowing what we missed, I would have certainly planned the route better and intentionally taken us into the lovely little town of Franklin, North Carolina. I would explore the idyllic town while exploring the various shops and dig deeper into the history. Surrounded by the mountains, the views are stunning everywhere you look, and I still can’t believe I missed it.

Highlands is another spot that would have been amazing to explore and this became evident to me when we found a similar little town of Cashiers, which was an amazing find within the mountains but I would have also loved to see the Highlands as my grandfather described it to me.

Mistakes happen, so the only thing to do is just go back and enjoy Franklin, North Carolina. I am really ok with it because it just gives me another good excuse to plan another North Carolina road trip. If you know of any great places that are a must-see in Franklin or the Highlands then make sure you check out our nomination page that way I don’t miss all the best spots this time.