suggestions wanted for native ground cover in sun

I've got an area of lawn that is almost too steep to mow. I'd like to replace the grass with a native ground cover. The area is on an east facing slope that gets full sun and runs along a main road, so I'm wondering if road salt would be a factor. The site is in Zone 5a and the soil is well drained to dry, in NH. I'm open to shrubs or perrenials, although I'm avoiding red cedar as my neighbor has apple trees. Thanks.

Probably the easiest thing to do would be just stop mowing, allow the grass to grow long, and add some native perennials that can compete with the grass - rudbeckia, tall asters, baptisia, etc. However, if you want to eliminate the grass completely and start fresh, you could carpet the area with Antennaria, dwarf asters, Geranium maculatum, heucheras, and Phlox subulata hybrids, but I'm not sure how they'd cope with road salt.

Thanks June, I'm looking into those now.

Or you could try using things that are vines and allow them to grow along the ground instead of on a trellis. You could also plant Lonicera prolifera (Yellow Twining Honeysuckle). As many as you need. This plant doesn't know if it wants to be a shrub or a vine. I have 2 of them and love them. They don't grow too awfully tall, but they go out like a ground cover. Using the Lonicera prolifera and something like Clematis virginiana. You don't say how big an area you're using. Oh where you are? I got my last one from Prairie Moon. Their end of the season sale they had in May. Or if you're in IL, Possibility Place in Monee has them.

If the area is steep, you probably don't want to start completely knew, as erosion would be a problem. A friend had a similar problem here, and she planted plants directly into the grass, removing a 10-12 inch circle of sod for each plant to get them started. Just so you know, for Cedar Apple rust, you won't want any Rocky Mountain junipers types either (Juniperus scopulorum). They are susceptible too. Little bluestem would be nice, and after the first year, you would never ever have to water it. But it is a clumping grass, not a spreader.

Thanks terryr and Leftwood. I live in NH, its either zone 5a or b, depending on the chart. I had not yet considered vines, that's a possibility. I've ruled out all junipers as my neighbor has apple trees and my dad had told me his cedar apple rust horror story. And I'm so glad I asked this question because I know the lawn, while really thatchy is great at preventing erosion, so I'll probably go slow with replacing it.

Just so you know, Juniperus chinensis, Juiperus x media and Juniperus horizontalis do not get cedar apple rust. That would be virtually all spreading types of junipers. Grey Owl and Holden Arboretum are the only exceptions that come to mind, although there must be a few others.

Thanks Leftwood, I missed that info when I researched. J. horizontalis may work really well!