North Carolina
Grandfather Mountain
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| Just one of the beautiful overlooks along the way |
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| Foscoe View - just one of many views |
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| The hike winds its way along a scenic ridge |
Parking Coordinates: 36.122485,-81.829306
Length: 9.2 miles round trip if you start at Profile trailhead and reach both Calloway Peak and MacRae Peak
Difficulty: strenuous (cables and ladders present to assist in especially difficult areas)
Payoff: stunning views (and many of them), fun rock scrambling
Parking Fee?: no, not if you park at the Profile trailhead and hike in
Rock Scrambling?: yes
Free Camping?: "back country" campsites around, but possibly a fee to get a permit to camp
Pet Friendly?: yes, sort of. Your dog won't be able to do the ladders, but many of the views along the ridge would be manageable with a dog
Rock Scrambling?: yes
Free Camping?: "back country" campsites around, but possibly a fee to get a permit to camp
Pet Friendly?: yes, sort of. Your dog won't be able to do the ladders, but many of the views along the ridge would be manageable with a dog
Hawksbill Mountain
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| view of Table Rock and surrounding mountains |
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| an overlook point |
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| part of the path to the peak |
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| another view of Table Rock from Hawksbill |
Parking Coordinates:
Length: .83 miles (1.66 miles round trip)
Difficulty: easy-moderate
Payoff: gorgeous views of table rock and surrounding gorge area
Parking Fee?: no
This hike was a quick one, albeit primarily uphill, but provided some amazing views. The best part was that at the top of the mountain, there was far from just one overlook point. Overlooks exist to both sides and provide great views of the gorge. We were able to scramble down the "overlook side" of the mountain a ways because of the presence of large, bare sheets of rock. It was a chilly day when we arrived and we saw one other couple. I'd imagine that it would be more popular in the summer, but because of all the space at the top, I can't imagine that there would be any trouble in finding a good picnic spot.
Linville Falls, Chimney View, and Erwin's View
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| Natural chute of water |
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| The upper portion of the falls from Linville Falls Trail |
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| Erwin's View of the lower portion of the falls |
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| Erwin's View looking down the gorge |
Parking Coordinates: N 35° 57.026' W 081° 56.005'
Length: .4 miles to Linville Falls, another .3 to Chimney View and another .1 to Erwin's View (1.6 miles roundtrip if you go to all points)
Difficulty: easy
Payoff: gorgeous views both closeup and from afar of mountains, a gorge, and a waterfall
Parking Fee?: no
This little hike has some great payoff for such an easy walk. From the parking area you'll start a downhill walk until you reach the falls area. From there, you can make another .3-.4 mile stroll uphill to see some of the falls and gorge overlooks. We arrived on a cold, gusty winter day and saw a handful of other people. In the summer, I would imagine that this area would be quite crowded. All of the overlooks have rock walls bordering the cliffs - I wasn't a big fan of that, but if you have small children, it might be nice.
Parking Fee?: no
This one isn't a hike, but I feel that it should be included because of the beautiful views. From the parking area, it's a quick stroll down a paved path to a beautiful overlook that affords veiws of both Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountain. To get there from the Linville Falls trailhead, drive about 4 miles further down the dirt road until you see a sign for "Wiseman's overlook."
Parking Fee?: no
Rock Scrambling?: no
Free Camping?: no, but paid camping nearby
Pet Friendly?: not sure. You may be able to bring your dog when the area is closed to motor vehicles because it is not technically a "trail," but I'm not entirely sure. I did see two dogs being walked while I was biking.
Rock Scrambling?: no
Free Camping?: no
Pet Friendly?: ??
Parking Fee?: no
Rock Scrambling?: some - primarily rock ledges to walk up with cables to help, but no real area where hands are needed
Free Camping?: Fees for lodge and nearby campsites. Small fee for back-country permit.
Pet Friendly?: no
Parking Fee?: no
This little hike has some great payoff for such an easy walk. From the parking area you'll start a downhill walk until you reach the falls area. From there, you can make another .3-.4 mile stroll uphill to see some of the falls and gorge overlooks. We arrived on a cold, gusty winter day and saw a handful of other people. In the summer, I would imagine that this area would be quite crowded. All of the overlooks have rock walls bordering the cliffs - I wasn't a big fan of that, but if you have small children, it might be nice.
Looking Glass Rock
Mount Mitchell
Wiseman's View
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| Views from Looking Glass Rock |
Parking Coordinates:
Length: ~6 miles total (this is an out-and-back hike)
Difficulty: moderate
Payoff: gorgeous views
Parking Fee?: no
Max PatchParking Fee?: no
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| A bit of the fields with the mountain views in the distance |
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| A sea of clouds at Max Patch |
Parking Coordinates: Max Patch Road (I don't have better coordinates yet, sorry)
Length: 1.4 miles to do the short loop
Difficulty: easy
Payoff: gorgeous views, a nice picnic spot
Parking Fee?: no
This one is quite a nice reward for the small amount of work that goes into hiking less than a mile to the cleared summit. The trail is very apparent from the parking area and extremely easy to follow.
Parking Fee?: no
This one is quite a nice reward for the small amount of work that goes into hiking less than a mile to the cleared summit. The trail is very apparent from the parking area and extremely easy to follow.
Mount Mitchell
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| View from along the Mount Mitchell Trail |
Parking Coordinates: 35.753024, -82.221247
Length: ~12 miles total (this is an out-and-back hike)
Difficulty: strenuous (if you take the Mount Mitchell trail from the campground). You could also just drive to the top.
Payoff: highest peak East of the Mississippi, presumably nice views (I went on a drizzly day)
Parking Fee?: no
Parking Fee?: no
This hike begins at the Black Mountain Campground. To get to the trail head, you'll need to walk into the campground. You'll see a little building with showers and bathrooms almost straight ahead. A sign denoting the trail points to the left as you stand facing the bathrooms. Walk up that trail (it's a bit confusing because it is not actually the Mount Mitchell trail at that point) for just a few tenths of a mile and the trail head for the Mount Mitchell trail will be on the right. The trail is fairly consistently uphill and the terrain changes as you ascend. There is no real rock scrambling that requires hands, but it does get rockier towards the top. Trail blazes are blue and it's fairly well marked, although less well marked at junctions (where one would actually be needing the blazes!) It does follow the same trail as the Mountains to Sea Trail (white blazes), so sometimes you'll see white and blue blazes together. The top is quite built up, as there is a road leading to near the summit. It's a bit of a let down from the hike, but still interesting.
Wiseman's View
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| Casey and I at the overlook |
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| A view of one overlook area from a different overlook point |
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| Linville Gorge |
Parking Coordinates:
Length: very short (handicap accessible) walk to the overlook
Difficulty: very easy
Payoff: gorgeous views without a hikeParking Fee?: no
This one isn't a hike, but I feel that it should be included because of the beautiful views. From the parking area, it's a quick stroll down a paved path to a beautiful overlook that affords veiws of both Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountain. To get there from the Linville Falls trailhead, drive about 4 miles further down the dirt road until you see a sign for "Wiseman's overlook."
Tennessee
Cades Cove
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| side path to a homestead |
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| view from the road |
Parking Coordinates:
Length: 11 miles
Difficulty: easy (can be walked [before 10 AM on Wednesdays and Saturdays seasonally], biked, or driven)
Payoff: gorgeous views, interesting old homesteads and churches, good chance of seeing wildlifeParking Fee?: no
Rock Scrambling?: no
Free Camping?: no, but paid camping nearby
Pet Friendly?: not sure. You may be able to bring your dog when the area is closed to motor vehicles because it is not technically a "trail," but I'm not entirely sure. I did see two dogs being walked while I was biking.
Clingman's Dome
Parking Coordinates:
Length: .5 miles one way (1 mile out and back)
Difficulty: upper end of easy (short and paved, but steep)
Payoff: gorgeous views with information posts
Parking Fee?: noPayoff: gorgeous views with information posts
Rock Scrambling?: no
Free Camping?: no
Pet Friendly?: ??
Mount LeConte
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| the trail |
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| the lodge atop the mountain |
Parking Coordinates: 35.63014, -83.44936
Length: 5.0 miles one way to lodge (5.5 miles to "true" summit) - 10-11 miles out and back
Difficulty: moderate
Payoff: gorgeous views, interesting trail, lodge at the topParking Fee?: no
Rock Scrambling?: some - primarily rock ledges to walk up with cables to help, but no real area where hands are needed
Free Camping?: Fees for lodge and nearby campsites. Small fee for back-country permit.
Pet Friendly?: no
Is there any way I can get in touch with you? We are making a documentary of virginia and need some southwestern hikers.
ReplyDeleteHello! I apologize for the late reply - I had a bit of an unintentional hiatus from hiking and only just rechecked this blog. Let me know if you would still like to get in touch.
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