Erwin's outdoor pull is almost entirely tied to the gorge and the mountains. The Nolichucky River draws serious whitewater paddlers, the Appalachian Trail runs through the area, and Unaka Mountain offers one of the more unusual forest environments in the Southern Appalachians. The town itself adds a piece of genuinely strange American history — the 1916 elephant hanging — plus a Federal fish hatchery worth an hour of anyone's time.