North Carolina Highway 226 (NC 226) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Traveling north–south through

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

, it connects the cities and towns of

Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the popular PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was original ...

, Shelby,

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

, Spruce Pine and Bakersville. It also a

scenic byway A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

in the South Mountains area and connects with the

summer colony The term summer colony is often used, particularly in the United States, to describe well-known resorts and upper-class enclaves, typically located near the ocean or mountains of New England or the Great Lakes. In Canada, the term cottage countr ...

of Little Switzerland, via NC 226A.

Route description

NC 226 begins at

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

, in Grover, approximately from the

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

state line. Through downtown Grover, it goes northwesterly, through Patterson Springs, to Shelby. In concurrency with US 74, it stays south of the downtown area, then splits with US 74 continuing north to Metcalf, where it becomes the South Mountain Scenery scenic byway. The byway, which stretches along NC 226 to Marion, is designated for its extensive views of the South Mountains. Traversing through this rural area of farmlands and forest, NC 226 goes the through Campcall and Polkville before leaving

Cleveland County Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, uneventful through Rutherford County, and crosses over US 64 before reaching the Dysartsville community in McDowell County. Soon after crossing under

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

(exit 86), NC 226 begins its concurrency with US 221 bypassing west of downtown Marion. At the US 70 intersection, travelers can follow highway signs to

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subra ...

, the highest peak east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. In Woodlawn, NC 226 splits from US 221, which continues towards Linville. A from the intersection, in Turkey Cove, NC 226 breaks-off the first of two alternate routes; NC 226A travels the historic Etchoe Pass Road, as it climbs, with several

hairpin turns A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

, up Grassy Mountain to Little Switzerland. The routing NC 226 takes, along Cox Creek, is shorter and less curvy than the alternate route, but it has a steep grade which require

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

to stay slow when they descend; one

runaway truck ramp A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, escape lane, emergency escape ramp, or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles which are having braking problems to safely stop. It is typically a long, sand- or gravel-filled lane co ...

and several turn-offs are along this stretch. At Gillespie Gap, the alternate route rejoins NC 226. As it crosses under the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

, it also crosses the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

and the county line into

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. North from the Gillespie Gap, NC 226 goes through the Grassy Creek community before entering Spruce Pine. After a short concurrency with US 19E, it continues northwesterly towards Bakersville, passing by and through the communities of Minpro, Penland, Normanville and

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. Near Bakersville, the second alternate route breaks-off; NC 226A, along Mine Creek Road, provides a bypass route instead of going through downtown area, reconnecting at Loafers Glory. In Bakersville, NC 226 connects with NC 261, which continues to Roan Mountain. West of Bakersville, NC 226 connects with NC 197, in Red Hill, then goes north to Honeycutt. Following along Big Rock Creek to Buladean, it then goes northwesterly alongside Spring Creek before ascending Iron Mountain. At Iron Mountain Gap (), NC 226 crosses the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

as it enters

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and continues as SR 107 towards

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History

Established in 1961 as a renumbering of NC 26. In 1966, NC 226 was removed from downtown Shelby, rerouted from Earl Street onto US 74 Bypass to Polkville Road. In 1994, NC 226 was moved with US 221 onto a new bypass west of

, leaving US 221 Business. In 2000, NC 226 was realigned onto new road west of downtown Spruce Pine.

North Carolina Highway 26

The first NC 26 was established as an original state highway in 1921. It traversed from the South Carolina state line, near Pineville, north along Park Road into downtown

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. Leaving the downtown area via Statesville Avenue, it continued north through Huntersville,

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, Mooresville, Statesville, Elkin,

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, and finally Twin Oaks, before finally reaching the

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state line. In both border states, the highway continued with the number 26. In 1927, US 21 was assigned in concurrency with all of NC 26, except for a few miles south of Pineville. In 1933, US 521 was assigned to the remaining piece of NC 26. In 1934, the first NC 26 was decommissioned, and the route remained US 21 and US 521. The second NC 26 was quickly reestablished in late 1934, replacing NC 19 from US 221 in Woodlawn, north through Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Red Hill, and then finally west to US 19W/ US 23 in

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

. In 1940, NC 26 was rerouted north from Red Hill to the

state line. Also in 1940, NC 26 was extended south, overlapping with US 221 to

; it then replaced NC 190 through Polkville and Shelby, ending at

. Around 1947, NC 26 was moved onto new road bypassing Little Switzerland; the old route became NC 26A. In 1956, NC 26 was moved onto new road near Dysartville, removing a concurrency with US 64 and establishing one of the earliest grade-separated intersections in the state. In 1961, NC 26 was renumbered to NC 226, because of the coming establishment of

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) and US 23 in ...

North Carolina Highway 190

Junction list

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline
NCRoads.com: N.C. 226

226 Year 226 ( CCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Marcellus (or, less frequently, year 979 '' Ab urbe con ...

Transportation in Cleveland County, North Carolina Transportation in Rutherford County, North Carolina Transportation in McDowell County, North Carolina Transportation in Mitchell County, North Carolina