Scenic Drives

Upper Yadkin Way - Mountain Scenic Drives

The Upper Yadkin Way byway takes motorists on a scenic adventure through the state’s northern foothills. The route’s eastern terminus is near the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir in Goshen at the intersection of N.C. 268 and Resevoir Road (S.R. 1178). Follow N.C. 268 west toward Goshen. The reservoir was formed in 1962 for flood control and recreation and named for North Carolina Gov. W. Kerr Scott, who served from 1949 to 1952.

Pastures and farmland can be seen along this segment of N.C. 268 between Goshen and Ferguson, which follows the Yadkin River from the mountains through the foothills. The Yadkin River rises in Watauga County, near Blowing Rock, to the west. It eventually becomes a part of the Pee Dee River bordering Montgomery and Stanly counties.

Wilkesboro and Wilkes County were named for John Wilkes, an English political leader who supported American rights in the Revolutionary War era. The county was formed in 1778 and nearby Wilkesboro, the county seat, was laid out in 1801.

Not far from N.C. 268, in southwest Wilkes County near the town of Ferguson, is the grave of Thomas C. Dula. He is perhaps best remembered in the folk song “Tom Dooley,” and was hung in Statesville for the murder of Laura Foster in 1868. Patterson, founded in 1851 with a textile-based economy, was named for Samuel F. Patterson, a prominent state official. The Morgan School at Patterson Reserve is named in honor of Samuel Legerwood Patterson and located on the plantation lands he gave to the school.

The upper Yadkin River in Caldwell County is known as “Happy Valley,” and was the site of prominent early settlers’ residences. South of Patterson is Fort Defiance, the restored 1790 house of Gen. William Lenoir, a Revolutionary leader and hero at the Battle of Kings Mountain. The house stands on the site of a frontier fort of the same name. It is open for tours the first and third Sundays of the month from April through November.

The byway’s eastern end is located at the intersection of N.C. 268 and U.S. 321 north of Lenoir, at the edge of the Pisgah National Forest. Now the Caldwell County seat, Lenoir was named for Gen. Lenoir. A few miles to the north is the resort community of Blowing Rock.

Length: 25 miles
Driving Time: 40 minutes
Counties: Wilkes, Caldwell

courtesy of NC Department of Transportation

added: September 15, 2009

updated: September 25, 2009