West Virginia, Grant County

Smoke Hole Road. Jeanne Mozier describes this quintessential Appalachian “shortcut”: 

My husband Jack and I were amazed when we stumbled onto Smoke Hole Road, hugging the side of North Fork Mountain and Smoke Hole Canyon for eleven heart-stopping miles.  

Carved by the South Branch of the Potomac, the rugged 1,421-foot canyon is a forested treasure house of spectacular views, abandoned log cabins, caves and rare rock formations.  

The narrow gravel road runs through the Monongahela National Forest from SR 28 west of Petersburg to U.S. 220 at Upper Tract. 

See Mozier, Jeanne. Way Out in West Virginia: A Must-Have Guide to the Oddities and Wonders of the Mountain State. 4th ed. Charleston WV: Quarrier P, 2014. Pages 3 and 363.