Suwali-Nunnaki

The first trail up the mountain from Old Fort to Ridgecrest followed the Catawba River. It was called the 'Suwali' trail. It may have been in use by the Cherokee thousands of years before the Spanish explorers in 1550. The gap traversed by the trail was know as "Suwali-Nunnaki". The first road followed this trail. It is believed that a section of this trail is still preserved and visible running through Catawba Falls Campground, on Catawba River Road. Click on picture for a full size view. Come and walk the trail.

In the early 1800s, the route between Old Fort and Ridgecrest was changed. The stage coach traveled beside Mill Creek to the mouth of the Little Swannanoa River by the Old Fort Picnic Grounds, and followed it to the Swannanoa Gap. The Western Turnpike occupied the same roadbed.

When the Western Carolina Railroad was built a new stage road followed the railroad through the Gap. It later became NC 10. Next came US 70, which curved around the North side of the hills and ran past Point Lookout, which in turn, overlooked the Royal Gorge. 

In 1962, a section of I-40 was started, running straight up the slope from Old Fort along the ridge between the two waterways, south of the Kitasuma Peak, and through the gap to Ridgecrest, a new "Suwali-Nunnaki" (Story taken from article by Binkie Adams, The News Bulletin, Old Fort, NC.)

For a complete history of Old Fort click here.