Wayah Bald, a high open summit in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin, North Carolina, has long served as a prominent vantage point. Its Cherokee-derived name recalls the red wolves that once lived here, and spear points found on the bald show indigenous people used this ground for hunting more than 11,000 years ago. In 1937 the Civilian Conservation Corps built the stone observation tower as a fire lookout. The bald later became a well-known trail junction where the Appalachian Trail meets the Bartram Trail. After major repairs in 2009 and 2010 and severe wildfire damage in 2016, the tower reopened in 2018 with its wooden upper section restored close to the original.