Cowee Mountain Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

View: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ /5
Trails: None
Picnic Tables: None

Cowee Mountain Overlook is hands down one of the top ten overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway. If you are traveling north after starting near Cherokee, North Carolina, and are ready to give up, having already pulled into many underwhelming and / or overgrown overlooks, this is what you have been waiting for. The only other superb overlook on the last 40 miles of the Parkway is at Waterrock Knob.

View from Cowee Mountain Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The greater-than-180° vista at Cowee Mountain Overlook offers layers of mountains and valleys. The overlook is so far above the ground below that most trees will never grow tall enough to reach the parking area and eventually block the view. I say “most,” because there are three trees creeping into the scene. A Ranger with a handsaw could cut these down, for they aren’t that big. I can only hope that something gets done before it is too late, but the trees were there during my first visit to the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2015, and they were still there in late 2020. However, it’s hard to complain when you compare this to the rest of the overlooks on the Parkway.

This is a westward facing overlook, so your best photo opportunity will be in the morning or early afternoon, unless you are looking to watch a sunset (I hear it’s the best sunset spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway). As mentioned, the view is extremely wide, so one photo can never do it justice. The following are two panoramic photos taken from the overlook.

Panoramic view from Cowee Mountain Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway (click to enlarge)

Panoramic view from Cowee Mountain Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway (click to enlarge)

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