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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This is a great area to horseback ride with lots of marked and unmarked trails through the mountains.
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Brisk, sweet ride on rails-to-trails path through countryside and cityscape, ending with excellent, fresh food and locally roasted coffee. Trail sometimes through channels deep into the rock, sometimes above fields and over roadways. Passes old quarry, horses, and cattle, and historic markers. Lots of green until Etown, then follows roadway and dips behind the scenes in interesting ways Restaurant 100 yards from trail, also taproom, ice cream, pizza, etc nearby.
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I would give it 4 stars if the loop was open. The descent was blocked up and you had to go down and back on the return side, but overall it was a fun, easy hike. We all played in the stream a little. The stairs to the bottom to view the waterfall were rough but no worse than any other I’ve been on for this type of hike.
Basic bathrooms and good picnic tables at the parking area.
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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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Well maintained trail. Temp was so much cooler than in Statesville. Not too much room for private lunch on top.
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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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This was a vigorous walk up
to Elk knob. Most of the hike is a hill but not steep and well groomed. There are a couple of views on
the way up. Hike was worth it as there were flaming azaleas and beautiful viewsat
top.
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What made this hike nice was it was right at the campgrounds. very fairly steep up-and-down sections with a short nice section along the river and pond.
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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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This is a really hard hike, only because the trail is chunky stones ranging in size from golfball to softball. If you go wear sturdy hiking footwear. The view, once you get to the top is quite wonderful! But there are lots of great views in this area without chunky stones for miles.
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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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Great little section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Segment 5.
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Not a particularly tough hike, but tons of spring wildflowers.
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It was much harder than I realized! It was beautiful out, flowers blooming and birds flitting about. We saw a nest with two chicks and eggs, with the momma bird screaming around us to leave. We climbed Lower Mt. Cammerer trail forever, had lunch at the junction of the AT and then proceeded up to the Mt. Cammerer trail junction. After that it’s all a blur...
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Great place to make your own trails, pretty grown up though.
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The Scales are a magical place. An enclosed fenced area and well taken of. The AT goes thru the Scales and there is also a rough 4-wheel road, about 4 miles in length that provides access.
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Good hike. There are areas where you can get down to the lake. There are restrooms near the boat dock.
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It takes some effort but the views from the tops, including Spy Rock and Cole Mountain, along with the spring wildflowers and Crabtree Falls make this a wonderful hike. Highly recommended,
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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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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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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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I'm starting Physical Therapy for my knee so this is a great hike which doesn't stress the knee. Walking along an old logging rail track the gentle uphill from the trailhead to Walnut Bottoms provide great views of the creek. The Midnight Hole is 1.5 miles from the trailhead and, in warm weather, is a great (very cold) refresher. I rated the walk, 11 miles round trip, as a four. And that's only because I prefer being higher up and getting the great views.
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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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Hike was easy at first and became moderate as we traversed rocks to get to the top. It was very busy but we were still able to do it with no problems. Not for the faint of heart as the views at the top are unprotected, but absolutely amazing! Pet friendly!
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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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stars
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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stars
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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