Hazel Creek

If you’re willing to expend a bit of your bulk outboard motor oil, then you can ride across Lake Fontana to Hazel Creek. At one point, the area surrounding the creek was home to Cherokee and pioneer Appalachian communities which turned into logging towns. The area was not heavily populated, which made it easier to force out the locals in order to incorporate the land into the Great Smoky Mountains National park.

Today, Hazel Creek is now a back country campsite and historical area. Historical sites within the Hazel Creek area are: Calhoun house, Hall Cabin, Ritter Mill site, Adams-Westfeldt Mine site, Proctor Cemetery, and Bone Valley Cemetery. The Proctor Cemetery is of particular note because it is the site where the cabin of Moses and Patience Proctor, the first white settlers, stood.