Serenity of the mountains and streams just north of Roan Mountain State Park off US Highway 19.  Big Bear Crossing is quiet and peaceful, a place where you can enjoy nature and see the stars at night.  Only nine miles from Roan Mountain State Park and 12 miles from Elizabethton Tennessee.  Elizabethton has shopping and restaurants, including several major grocery stores, a super Wal-Mart and Lowe's.  Most of U.S. Highway 19E is four lanes to the north, and follows the Doe River gorge to Elizabethton.  From there, you can continue north to Bristol and Interstate 81 or follow U.S. Highway 321 to the west to Johnson City and Interstate 26.  U.S. 19E to the south is a nice two lane road to Roan Mountain and then to the ski areas of North Carolina.  U.S. 321 heads east to Boone North Carolina.  U.S. 321 is a north-south highway.  An interesting note is that the junction of 19E and 321 in Elizabethton is the northernmost point of U.S. 321 so it is south in both directions.  You can travel 321 south to Boone or 321 south to Johnson City.  That bit of information might win you a prize on a game show but if you ask for directions at one of the merchants on that corner, be sure they point in the direction you need to travel. 

Turn off 19E south of Elizabethton TN onto Tiger Creek Road to Big Bear Crossing.

This is high country in Tennessee.  Only a few miles from North Carolina and in the same Blue Ridge Mountains.  We didn't want to spoil the mountain and views so utilities are underground and the roads are well constructed to high standards but are unpaved to maintain the mountain atmosphere.

The climate is relatively mild.  The temperature is generally about ten degrees cooler than the Tri-Cities area but is not as cold as the higher mountains to the south.  James "Tiger" Whitehead used to live in this area and was a legendary bear hunter.  He reportedly took many bears (99) and many of them were off this property and back toward Ripshin Mountain to the east.  Bears still roam these hills.

Snow on Ripshin Mountain, Tax Day, 2008 (April 15)

A stream runs through the length of the property, and provides pleasant building sites with a natural water feature.  We strictly follow all Tennessee conservation rules to protect the stream, Tiger Creek and the surrounding land.  Our objective is to use the land but leave it in better condition than when we arrived. 

You can own a piece of paradise, high on the ridge, or down in the valley by the year round brook, out in the boondocks but not far away.

For more information about Big Bear Crossing, contact tlrinker@google.com