| Official Name: | Shady Valley |
| Pushpin Map: | Tennessee#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Shady Valley |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Johnson County |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 36.5192°N -81.9278°W |
| Elevation M: | 849 |
| Elevation Ft: | 2785 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 37688 |
| Area Code: | 423 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 47-67460 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1301197[1] |
Shady Valley is an unincorporated community in Johnson County, in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is just outside Cherokee National Forest. Shady Valley is also the name of the valley in which the town is located, between Holston Mountain, ""the twin city of Mountain City, Tennessee, on the northwest, and the Iron Mountains to the southeast. At 2,785 feet, it is the second-highest community in Tennessee.[2]
See also: Appalachian bogs.
After the Pleistocene ice ages, species and ecosystems that had shifted southward often survived in local refugia. As a result, cold-adapted ecosystems, such as cranberry bogs, remain in Shady Valley, far south of their usual range. Shady Valley once contained an estimated 10,000 acres (40 km) of boreal cranberry bogs.[3]
The roads that run in and around the town are popular among motorcyclists since nearby mountains provide nearly 500 pigtail curves to navigate.[4] The most popular road for motorcyclists is US-421[5],which offers many challenging curves.
Shady Valley has one small general store, a locally owned restaurant, the 'Raceway Grill', a U.S. Post Office;[6] and until 2020, Shady Valley Elementary School, now closed.[7] [8]
The town holds its annual Cranberry Festival the second weekend in October with food, a parade, and auctions.[9]