Things to do / Travel Guide
Obviously in a region like the southern Appalachian Mountains, you have manifold opportunities to spy wildlife and nature from the National and State Parks and Forests. For the nature lover, this region is the place to see black bears and bald eagles, and oak and hickory forests. Appalachian forests are some of the most diverse in the world, with more than 150 tree species, and numerous species of animals, birds, and fish.
The parks include Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park first and foremost; however, there are also smaller parks, such as the Greenbrier River trail in West Virginia and Douthat State Park in Virginia. Forests include the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson National Forests in Western Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina.
Typical Wildlife in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Remember back to your childhood, all the Richard Scarry animals - raccoons, skunks, foxes, woodchucks, beavers? Well, these are the very same animals you'll come into contact with most on a trip to the woods and mountains of the southern Appalachians. “What do animals do all day?” is a question you'll find answered in these wild lands.
Other animals, of course, include the black bear, the bobcat, the grey wolf, and the coyote. Many of these predators have been making a comeback in recent years, from endangerment just a few decades.. Snakes include the copperhead and the timber rattler, which both are poisonous, as well as non-poisonous garter snakes and black rat snakes. Cute little (and harmless) salamanders hide beneath leaves and rocks, to the delight of children.
Birds you'll possibly see include the bald eagle, the ruffed grouse, the mourning dove, the raven, and the hawk. Larger birds include wild turkey, several kinds of owls including the great horned owl, and the wood duck. Warblers are well-represented songbirds, but you'll hear the tunes of plenty other birds in the region too.
Typical Plant Life in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Tree cover can be divided into two categories, based on elevation. At higher elevations, you won't see as much diversity; at lower elevations including the various coves (valleys), diversity peaks.
The mountains and the ridges are covered with sugar maple, beech, birch, and basswood. In drier areas you'll see the oaks and hickories; the great chestnuts are long gone on account of disease, but saplings and roots live on along the forest floor. While fall is fabled for its foliage, don't discount the spring, when the meadows and the forests sport their multicolored flowers in abundance. Thickets of mountain laurels are prevalent throughout the Appalachians, and with these trees' umbrella-shaped flowers they're quite a sight.
The lower in elevation you go, the more yellow buckeye, white ash, and red maple you see. Smaller trees and shrubs include dogwood, spicebush, witch-hazel, and ginseng. Edible blueberries and teaberries also flourish in places.
Nature Spots in Roanoke, Asheville, Smoky, Blue Ridge, Shenandoah and Southern Appalachian Mountains
Nature-Wildlife
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