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Quiet Beauty of Mountain Winter: A Photo Essay

Daybreak at Elakala Falls in West Virginia’s Blackwater Falls State Park on a perfect winter morning.

Our contributing photographers braved the chill to capture the calm of the cold months. 

Photo Above: Daybreak at Elakala Falls in West Virginia’s Blackwater Falls State Park on a perfect winter morning. Courtesy of Nicholas Moore

Roan Mountain on the Tennessee-North Carolina border after a fresh snowfall. From the photographer: “I was lucky enough to capture the fog blanketing the valley behind a row of coated evergreens with the tangerine of a winter sunrise lighting up the scene.”
Roan Mountain on the Tennessee-North Carolina border after a fresh snowfall. From the photographer: “I was lucky enough to capture the fog blanketing the valley behind a row of coated evergreens with the tangerine of a winter sunrise lighting up the scene.”
A young whitetail buck wakes up to soft morning light after spending the night in a frost-covered Cades Cove field in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A young whitetail buck wakes up to soft morning light after spending the night in a frost-covered Cades Cove field in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tennessee’s Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1839. From the photographer: “I have photographed this church over the years but rarely with fresh snow. I waited patiently for the sun to crest the steeple and clicked the shutter.”
Tennessee’s Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church, founded in 1839. From the photographer: “I have photographed this church over the years but rarely with fresh snow. I waited patiently for the sun to crest the steeple and clicked the shutter.”
Tiny crystalline beauties frozen to the edge of a car window in east Tennessee. From the photographer: “Did you know that snow isn’t white? It’s clear, but when light reflects through it, it ends up looking white, especially when you pile millions of flakes on top of each other.”
Tiny crystalline beauties frozen to the edge of a car window in east Tennessee. From the photographer: “Did you know that snow isn’t white? It’s clear, but when light reflects through it, it ends up looking white, especially when you pile millions of flakes on top of each other.”
A belted kingfisher scans Reedy Creek along the Kingsport Greenbelt in Tennessee for fish on a snowy January day.
A belted kingfisher scans Reedy Creek along the Kingsport Greenbelt in Tennessee for fish on a snowy January day.
A shapely tree in Townsend, Tennessee, just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, stands on a hillside draped in fresh snow as storm clouds retreat in the background.
A shapely tree in Townsend, Tennessee, just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, stands on a hillside draped in fresh snow as storm clouds retreat in the background.
The view atop Devil’s Courthouse in North Carolina during a winter evening sunset over the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 422). From the photographer: “It was a treacherous hike up the icy pathway for a few moments of stunning scenery.”
The view atop Devil’s Courthouse in North Carolina during a winter evening sunset over the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 422). From the photographer: “It was a treacherous hike up the icy pathway for a few moments of stunning scenery.”

The story above first appeared in our January / February 2026 issue.

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