Eight months of work by the Roan Mountain Citizens Club and many others paid off in a big way this month.
On Saturday, Oct. 15, in Gatlinburg, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy voted unanimously to designate Roan Mountain as the 41st Appalachian Trail Community. Roan Mountain joins Unicoi County as the only two official AT communities in Tennessee.
“It is a pretty big achievement for us,” said Roan Mountain State Park Manager J.R. Tinch, who is also a member of the Roan Mountain Citizens Club. “For us to be the second community to be designated in Tennessee, it says a lot about what we have going on in the community and what we have to offer.”
The AT runs for an estimated 2,190 miles, and the part that travels through Roan Mountain cuts right through the scenic Carver’s Gap and the Roan Balds.
“The part of the section we have going over the Roan Highlands is one of the most scenic if not one of the most popular sections of the entire trail,” said Tinch. “Once you hit the Roan Highlands, you are on top of the Balds, which means you have a 360 degree view of the mountains as far as you can see.”
Being a Appalachian Trail Community comes with many perks for the Roan Mountain , said Tinch. Roan Moutain will now be in Appalachian Trail publications, like AT Journeys, which will list local grocery stores, restaurants, and other businesses to help hikers know what amenities are available to them in the area.
“It will help the locals here who depend on visitors to support their businesses,” Tinch said.
Along with driving tourism to Roan Mountain, the designation could also assist the community when applying to receive grant money, Tinch added.
Before being considered by the ATC to become an official A.T. community, an application had to be submitted by representatives from Roan Mountain. Roan Mountain also had to meet a set of criteria before being designated. Atop the list of criteria was having an advisory committee made up of locals who supported becoming an AT community. That committee was made up by a group of influential people including, Roan Mountain Citizens Club President Brian Tipton, Tinch, Carter County Commissioner Mike Hill, Jim Chambers with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club,  Kelsie Tipton, a Citizens Club member, Joe Miller, owner of Bob’s Dairyland & Mini Bob’s Resturant, Roan Moutain State Park Ranger Keifer Helle, Carter County Tourism Director Kayla Carter, Bill Watson, owner of Painted Hills Farm Bed & Breakfast, Shelley McKinney, and Ann Campbell, owner of Roan Mountain Bed & Breakfast .
The above criteria was just one of many the that Roan Mountain had to meet.
The Roan Mountain Citizens Club stated in a release that: “Communities are selected based on their friendliness to the hiking community, the amenities available to hikers, community dedication to stewardship and protection of the trail, as well as the desire to educate and promote the trail through community events and partnerships. Roan Mountain is a perfect candidate for this designation. We are a small town with a big heart, consisting of supportive local businesses, organizations, restaurants, schools, churches, and the beautiful Roan Mountain State Park.”
Carter, who has through-hiked the Appalachian Trail, said that she hopes the designation will help foster more involvement from the community in a place that she considers the “most beautiful southern section of the A.T.”
“I personally hope this means locals will take more pride in their public lands,” she said. “We need to educate our youth about stewardship and this a great example to set in the Roan Mountain community.”
Following the designation, Carter was approved to be the Roan Mountain Appalachian Trail Community Ambassador.
Commissioner Hill, who was a part of the designation movement, echoed Carter’s sentiments about community involvement.
“Community initiative is such a precious thing,” Hill said. “We’ve established this; it’s a thing now. They’re wanting more support, maintenance, volunteerism for the next generation. That’s where Kayla (Carter) comes in; she’s on the next generation board, and she is awesome. This is a big win for the Roan Mountain Citizens Club. One of the questions that I received from (the ATC) was ‘what took you folks so long?’ … This is such a great thing and a great way to showcase what Carter County has to offer.”
In the future, Roan Mountain will hold events to celebrate the Appalachian Trail along with educational programs to info people about the AT.