Hike to Panther Top Fire Tower

The Panther Top fire tower is located in the Nantahala National Forest outside of Murphy, NC. To get there you get off of US 74 then turn onto panther top rd and continue till you see the signs for the tower. Once you get there the hike is about .75 there mostly up on the way to the top of the tower. The trail is an old road so it is very wide and smooth and uphill. When you get there the tower is perched on a small knob allowing for a 360 degree view of the mountains. The tower itself is only open on the stairs you can not actually get into the cab of the tree because it is locked off at the top. The tower was originally used up until the 1980s.