About Steve Woody House
The Woody name appears in several places in Cataloochee, and the Steve Woody House is the one you reach in the upper valley, past the main cluster of buildings.
The place
Steve Woody was one of the valley's farmers, and his place sits among open fields at the upper end of the road. A house, barn and outbuildings stood together here, as on every farm in the valley, with the farm's fields falling away below. Today the open ground is part of the valley's meadow landscape, and the Cataloochee Valley Viewpoint gives a wide look over the fields where elk graze in the early morning and evening.
Getting there
The NPS directions: take I-40 exit 20 in North Carolina, go 0.2 miles on Route 276, turn right onto Cove Creek Road, and follow the signs 11 miles into the valley. The road is gravel, winding and narrow with steep drop-offs and no guardrails, and takes about 15 minutes on the gravel. There is no timed entry or reservation system for Cataloochee.
- Time: about 45 minutes from Maggie Valley.
- Facilities: limited; restrooms at the campground.
- Wildlife: keep at least 50 yards from elk.
- Road: open year-round, weather permitting.
Reading the landscape
The valley held more than a thousand people in the early 1900s. The farms here were large by mountain standards, with cattle, apples and cabbage going to market, and the open meadows you see now are the old farm fields kept clear by the park. Compare the Woody place with the Caldwell House and Messer Barn, which are on the lower road.
Several Cataloochee trails were still closed after Hurricane Helene in October 2026; see the park conditions page. From Asheville, I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge is one lane each way.
Good to know
- Do I need a parking tag?
- A Park It Forward parking tag ($5 a day, $15 a week or $40 a year) is required for any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Entry is free, and federal passes such as America the Beautiful do not replace the tag.
