Wonderful little section of the Blue Ridge Parkway southwest of Asheville. The forest was destroyed by a 1920s fire, leaving behind a valley of grasses and a sandy soil that felt like it belonged west of the Mississippi. The name comes from the stumps left behind, but the nature and views are anything but dead. This is a unique piece of western North Carolina that needs to be experienced.

There is a winding stream cutting through the valley, and falls on either side, the upper one offering a spectacular view from the top.

The upper falls. Note the person on the rocks below for scale…

The lower falls…