Every Wednesday through Thanksgiving, GetGoingNC.com will feature a hike in North Carolina that just about anyone can do. It won’t be a long hike (though we may throw in a recommendation for going long), it won’t be strenuous hike (there could be a hill-climb option as well). The hikes will be timed to coincide with the changing colors of fall. This week, the 2.6-mile out-and-back trail to the top of Hanging Rock, in its namesake state park.

Hanging Rock State Park
Distance: 2.6 miles.
Type of route: Out-and-back.
Getting there: From I-40 in Winston-Salem, take U.S. 52 north. Take the Germanton/N.C. 8 exit and turn left on N.C. 8. Go 25 miles through Danbury. Two miles north of town turn left onto Hanging Rock Road/SR 2015. The park entrance is two miles. Here’s a map.
Map: A trail map is available at the Visitor Center, at the trailhead. And here.
Highlights: Great 360-degree view from Hanging Rock’s craggy summit.
Why it’s easy and what you’ll see: The trail is short and deceptive at first (it’s paved). But it soon turns to natural surface and does gain some altitude — more than 400 vertical feet. There’s good incentive, though, to reach the top. From the top of this open summit you can see Winston-Salem to the south, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and north (into Virginia), and the rolling Piedmont to the east: If it’s not autumn in one direction, it will be in another. If you’re up for more after topping out, return to the parking lot and try the Indian Creek Trail: within a little more than a half mile it treats you to a pair of waterfalls: Hidden and Window.
Be forewarned: that the last, short push to the top may require navigating some small rocks/boulders. Be forewarned again: There are steep drops on the top; if you take small children keep ‘em on a leash.
More info: Call the park office at 336.593.8480, or visit the Web site.

For other recommended autumn hikes and to find out where fall is peaking in the state, visit
RomanticAsheville.com and Ray’s weather.

Photo: The view from Hanging Rock west to Moore’s Knob. For a longer, more solitary hike with great views take the 4.3-mile Moore’s Wall Loop Trail.