Cool trails for biking. Close to travelers rest... beer, pizza, tacos
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The Black Rock trail in Grandfather Mountain was a bit disappointing. It was much harder than I was led to believe. It was dark and strewn with small boulders just waiting to snap your ankle. And, it didn’t really go anywhere. This trail is advertised by the park as being a good place to see wildlife and I did see a deer within the first fifty feet of the trail. But that was it. I’m going to try other Grandfather mountain trails tomorrow.
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Actually a 3-mile hike (2.95 on Garmin and iPhone). First two mikes a moderate climb. Then a bit more rocky and rigorous. Nothing too bad. I’m 65 with an arthritic knee. View is tremendous!
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Mostly roads through the woods. Nothing exciting and not challenging
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Great hike, close to town, easy to navigate, with a rewarding view. There are toilets and hand washing in the camp right past the bridge just beyond the trail head. Not great for running, since it's covered, moderately rocky, slick, steep, and with downed trees. Many streams en route, bring a steri-pen. Glad we used Gaia- we got a few hundred feet down a trail offshoot on the way down and had to backtrack. Some bushwhacking near the summit but underneath a clear path. Is the view to the SE an old volcano crater?
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A nice relaxing loop. Will add the leg to Cone Mansion for a nice long easy hike.
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Very easy trail. Can get confusing with all the trails. If unfamiliar take a photo of trail map at trail head.
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Hike to the top of Sam’s Knob was totally worth it. Nice boggy area near Flat Laurel Creek. All stream crossings were rock-hop-able.
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This hike is not for the faint of heart. Had to end up calling emergency services for an assist. The rim trail on the east is worth the trip but unless you really want a challenge avoid the gorge trail. Lots of steep descents and ascents around stream crossings, lots of rocks on the trail and trail easy to lose in places.
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Excellent hike through Rhododendron‘s,mountain laurel,fields of ferns along streams. Relatively flat. Some beautiful areas. Not much elevation changes
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Nice hike it got strenuous at the sawtooth trail but other than that a good hike with some nice views.
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It was a good hike but uphill most of the way. Some parts were steep and not much views mostly in the green tunnel.
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The hike to the Upper Falls is a little difficult, but worth it once you get there. The other issue is this trail is heavily used. There were many side trails that had been made by people trying to avoid muddy wet spots. It caused a little confusion on which way to go and what was the main trail vs. a denture. The Lower Falls has wooden steps all the way down. While impressive I went on a warm summer afternoon and there were tons of teenagers swimming. I like the fact that this old timey form of cooling off is so available, but if you expect a serene and picturesque waterfall wait till a cold day.
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Great scenic drive completely gravel. Saw plenty of 2wd cars. Not sure how cars make it as there are lots of exposed rocks and deep ruts! Definitely worth an overnight.
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Great scenic drive completely gravel. Saw plenty of 2wd cars. Not sure how cars make it as there are lots of exposed rocks and deep ruts! Definitely worth an overnight.
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Not a particularly tough hike, but tons of spring wildflowers.
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Really love this hike. Waterfalls and sweeping mountaintop views all within 6 mile loop.
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I would not call this hike “easy” as there is quite a bit of elevation gain in a short distance. It is a nice hike though!
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The hike itself is pretty uneventful. The trail itself consists of a forest access road wide enough for a Jeep or a truck. The distance is pretty spot on at 5 miles one way and there is quite a bit of elevation change. I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a “difficult” rated trail. The suspension bridge and the lake at the end make it worth while though. Nice places to camp by the lake if you’re up for it.
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The difference between this hike and the identically named trail marked as “easy” is that this one includes the Johns Rock Loop. Even with that included I wouldn’t rate this as hard, maybe moderate. I’m not in great shape and didn’t think it was that tough. Well worth doing. Cool river views, waterfalls, and the lookout on Johns Rock is awesome.
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Very steep in the second half. Avoid when raining, as the descent could be quite dangerous. Awesome view though.
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Lots of fallen trees but overall trail was clear. Steady climbing ascent to pinnacle mountain with some stair climbs right before summit. From summit to ridge, very easy breezy, mosty flat. This is the more remote part of the hike so keep an eye out for wildlife. Connects back to table rock trail for a steep descent back to parking lot. Overall great ~4hr day hike if you stay on the move and keep a pace.
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Quite challenging. We’ve only done it counter clockwise so the decent to and through the rocks at the end is steep and you have to figure your way through the rocks. Clockwise is a steeper climb. Great payoff at the top of Pinnacle, especially when the leaves are down, as you can see a 360 view.
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Nice challenge. Great place to eat at the top. You never know if the falls will be big and restrict you at the end or slower and allow a further climb right to the base of the falls. I think the “easy” rating is a bit understated. It is technically easy but quite strenuous.
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Great pay-off with double falls at the end. Tough climb for a bit with no steps making for a realistic hike. Awesome views when leaves are down. Connects to Jones Gan Hospital Rock trail but you must cross the falls. I haven’t tried that yet.
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Great hike with the entire family. Very popular spot - few more people than I expected, but still a fun and interesting hike through diverse terrain.
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I didn’t hike this trail. I accidentally tapped a star and now I can’t delete it.
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This trail was seriously tough with the high elevation change, and actually its 3 miles in 3 miles out not 2.7. However this trail was also very cool. I did it on a cool, wet and foggy day and it made for some spectacular views of the mountains in the fog. The higher up the mountains i got, the foggier it got! Near zero visibility at the top! Made trying to look out off of looking glass rock at the top impossible but thats also what made it cool! Sloughed my cooler up the mountain with me and had lunch as i stared out into the foggy abyss. 10/10 would do it again, just on a dryer day. Since it was so wet, it was a mudhole going up the mountain and made some of the fallen trees difficult to navigate without slipping off the face of the trail. I was pretty muddy by the time i got down.
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There is a new trail to overlook deck to see Pinnacle Falls. Unfortunately you can’t get off the trail or overlook deck or you get fines. But there is old trail and it is still good to follow to the base of Pinnacle Falls. Except briers and few fallen trees.
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Early winter mornings are perfect for this hike. Complete solitude with my pup on the way up and at the top! Met many groups coming up as we were descending. Some of the granite surfaces were very slick from the freeze/thaw cycle.
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The trail was nice and the waterfalls looked great! There was no bridge crossing Panthertown Creek between Frolictown Falls and Granny Burrell Falls!! You have to wade through the creek or go around to the other trail. The water level is knee deep!!
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We arrived planning to do an entirely different hike from this trailhead, but we were not expecting the 8-12" of snow that was still on the ground. It was raining steadily as well, so naturally we had the trails to ourselves!
This was an enjoyable alternate hike, and this area was beautiful in the snow. This wasn't the day for a view of the Falls due to the fog, but any day hiking here is a good one!
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This is a good walk for some exercise but not much in the way of scenery hence the four star rating. It starts an ends at the Davidson River Campground parking lot and is 5.6 miles long. Across the bridge the left onto the exercise trail along the Davidson River for a mile then right at the Art Loeb trailhead. The trail is initially steep and steadily uphill before it moderates somewhat after about half a mile. The Art Loeb section is 1.7 miles and intersects FR 5002 where you turn right and head downhill for a pleasant stroll that will bring you to a gate across the road at the Schenk job corps property. There's a sign depicting a hiker with No Throughfare written on it. Through the gate take an immediate right onto a grassy road which almost immediately becomes dirt and gravel and follow that until you see a trail on your right that will reconnect with the exercise trail on the Davidson and then left and return to the parking lot. There are a few trails connecting to the exercise trail from the Schenk property so if you miss the first one you'll still have a few more opportunities. This is a pleasant walk with a nice up and then a gradual downhill and good trail conditions throughout with no stream crossings or obstacles.
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A challenging climb to the summit but the view makes it well worth the effort. I was a little disappointed in that I missed the fall color change but that aside it’s a great hike... When you finish be sure to travel towards sliding rock and view the Looking Glass Waterfall...
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The trail was pretty wide and moderate for about 1.9 miles from red gate to end of the wide trail. Then the trail became difficult because it was narrow and switch back all way down through the gorge to the overlook deck for about 0.6 mile. There were two spur trails off the main trail to see two unnamed waterfalls so be careful to explore there due to slippery and steep.
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10.8 miles, 3000 foot elevation gain, very steep climbs/descents, tough terrain, very remote - no cell service, beautiful scenery and views of river and gorge. Recommend counter-clockwise route. Take GPS map, free download availabe from Avenza maps app. Can be occassionally easy to lose trail if not careful and have GPS.
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A nice, short hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The entire way is on a gravel carriage road that is closed to vehicles. The woods have grown up around the summit tower, but there are still distant views over the treetops. The trail passes through large open fields which reminded me of England. Rated three stars because of crowds.
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Family friendly round trip hike with gradual slope. Went just as leaves were turning colors for the fall. Beautiful waterfall! Worth it !
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Great views from Walker Knob, Greybeard was socked in with clouds so not much to report there. Trail was very muddy from recent rains, would like to try it again in better conditions.
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Hiked on 10-7-18. Was hoping for more fall color but it is a little later this year. Hiked this same hike a few years back on first Friday of October and colors were at peak. Easy hike. Mostly flat. Very muddy after any rain at all. A lot of secondary trails have been made by hikers to go around the bigger mud holes. Falls had much less water on this trip compared to a few years back. Can get crowded on weekends. I hiked out to falls about 4:30 PM and passed more people than I could even count who were returning from the falls. When I arrived there were only two couples at the base and a few people above the falls. Within 10 minutes they were all gone and I had it to myself.
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Great trail. I’ve been hiking this one for years, teook my nine-year-old daughter for the first time this past weekend. Trail is still well-maintained. Challenging with a nice view at the end.
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This is a very pretty waterfall, and a nice, short walk from the parking area. On this trip, we went at too busy of a time, and it was nearly impossible to get a photo without other people in it. Still, make a point to take the user trail over to Little Moore Cove Falls, which is much less crowded.
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