Normal may still be a ways off in some cases, but the recovery has been remarkably swift. From what I’d seen of Hot Springs, a town that I’ve been leading hiking trips to for years, I was certain it could be years before we would return to hike on the Appalachian Trail, which runs through downtown.

And yet come May, just seven months after Helene, I found myself in Hot Springs at the town’s reopening, a reopening that included a hike on a favorite stretch of the AT, from Tanyard Gap into downtown. Two weeks later I was back in the mountains, for a weekend of hiking in Panthertown Valley. And next weekend this celebration of mountain towns and trails will continue, with a weekend of hiking in Ashe County.

This will be the third of our Return to Western NC events, and by “our,” I mean the communities involved working with the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong unit. Hometown Strong works to help communities in the state’s 78 rural counties in a variety of ways, including helping them promote their recreational assets. My day job is with Hometown Strong, and helping to organize these events is how I spend part of my time. Enough about that. Let’s talk about our next Return to Western NC hiking weekend, in Ashe County.

Ashe County, for the unaware, is in the far northwest corner of the state. The mountainous area is unique in that it’s home to the Amphibolite Mountains, steep and rugged mountains covered in dense forests of northern hardwoods, including a type of aspen and sugar maples that blaze orange come fall. It’s a different experience than you’ll get in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests to the south. And because there’s significantly less public land in these mountains, the opportunities to hike here are limited. Which makes an event like this one on June 27 and 28 that much more special.

Three hikes are planned for the weekend:

Friday, June 27

Return to Western NC: Hike Paddy Mountain, 2:30 p.m., West Jefferson. Last year, the first segment of the nascent 40-mile Northern Peaks State Trail opened in West Jefferson. It was promptly closed by Hurricane Helene. But thanks to volunteer-led efforts, the trail has reopened, and we’ll get to hike it as part of our Return to Western NC weekend in Ashe County. Jordan Sellers with the BRC will lead this 3.6-mile loop hike, which utilizes long switchbacks to ease its way up Paddy Mountain, gaining nearly 350 feet in its first 1.3 miles. Passage is through a Rich Cove Forest. What’s that mean? Join us to find out. Learn more and sign up here.

Saturday, June 28

Return to Western NC: Hike Elk Knob State Park, 9 a.m., Todd. On this 4-mile out-and-back hike we top out on 5,520-foot Elk Knob, which offers incredible views to the north, of the Southern Appalachians in northern North Carolina and southern Virginia. And the 2-mile hike to the summit, gaining nearly 1,000 vertical feet, relies on well-designed trail to ease the impact of that elevation gain and to usher you safely through some of the mountain’s rockier sections. Learn more and sign up here.

Return to Western NC: Hike Pond Mountain, 2 p.m., Pond Mountain is a 2,900-acre game land made possible by the Blue Ridge Conservancy and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Stunning views dominate the 5,000-foot summit plateau, but so does water. According to the Blue Ridge Conservancy, the area got its name from surveyor Peter Jefferson (Thomas’s son), “…because of the many natural ponds that dotted the mountain’s high ridgeline. The historic ponds point to the mountain’s special significance as an important water resource. Several important streams and creeks originate on Pond Mountain, including Big Laurel, Ripshin and Big Horse Creeks, all of which flow into the New River, a National Heritage River and one of the oldest rivers in the world.” Learn more and sign up here.

In addition, there’s an outdoor concert Friday evening in downtown West Jefferson featuring the Whitetop Mountain Band, a popular family-based band with deep roots in mountain music. All the more reason to come up for Friday’s Paddy Mountain hike and make a weekend of it.

Learn more about these hikes, the concert, lodging/camping and more by going here.

See you in West Jefferson!

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The first weekend in November our GetHiking! group traditionally has a grand finale in Hot Springs, NC, hiking the Appalachian Trail from Garenflo Gap into Hot Springs on Saturday, and from Tanyard Gap into Hot Springs on Sunday. 

It’s a magical time of year: peak color has come and gone, and with it the masses of hikers who come for the color. Temperatures are in the low 50s, it’s typically a dry and sunny time of year (though one year we did have snow near Tanyard Gap) and there’s usually some lingering color. In addition to the hiking, we take advantage of Hot Springs’ hospitality, from an evening at Big Pillow Brewing, to buying gear we didn’t know we needed at Bluff Mountain Outfitters, to the apres hike soak in the town’s namesake hot springs. It’s a great way to cap a year of hiking.

Alas, we didn’t have a chance the to doff our cap in 2024. Hurricane Helene made a mess of the North Carolina mountains and seemed especially intent on wreaking havoc in Hot Springs. Such a mess that we wondered if we’d even be able to end 2025 in Hot Springs.

Turns out we will. Soon, in fact.

Hot Springs, in addition to its playfulness, can also take itself damn seriously. Ever since the rain stopped late last September, Hot Springs has been feverishly working to reopen. And it will May 2-3, with the Town & Trail Festival. 

Town & Trail is sponsored by the nonprofit ReBuild Hot Springs, formed to help businesses and residents get back on their feet. The festival will include live music, storytelling, vendors, a duck race, a Hiker Fashion Show, and more. It’s the “and more” that has me the most excited.

For the past seven months I’ve wondered about the condition of the trails in the area, especially the AT, which runs down main street. When I contacted event organizer Sonya Askew about the event wearing my day job cap as a rural advisor with the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Hometown Strong unit, I asked if, a) any trails were open; and, b) if so, were there plans for guided hikes as part of the weekend. Yes, she said, a number of trails had been reopened. But no, they didn’t have any hikes planned yet.

“I can fix that,” I told her.

Actually, all I did was make a phone call, to Lindsey Barr, owner of Blue Ridge Hiking Co. Based in Asheville, the outdoor retailer and outfitter — founded by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2008 — also has a bunkhouse in Hot Springs. “Sure,” Lindsey said, “we’d love to lead some hikes.” Blue Ridge is donating the services of four guides to lead the following hikes:

Friday, May 2

• 9 a.m. — Garenflo Gap into Hot Springs on the AT, 7 miles, trending downhill but with a climb or two in between. Moderate difficulty.
• 2 p.m. — Big Laurel River, 5.6 miles, a gradual downhill out, a gradual uphill back. Moderate difficulty.

Saturday, May 3

• 9 a.m. — Tanyard Gap into Hot Springs on the AT, 5.6 miles. Moderate difficulty.
• 2 p.m. — Lover’s Leap, 2 miles,. Moderate difficulty.

Each hike is limited to 8 hikers and there is a donation required for each hike of $50 ($25 for the shorter Lover’s Leap hike). There is also a $5 shuttle fee for the three hikes that require shuttles (Lover’s Leap is all hiking), and a $5 fee for U.S. Forest Service fees. Donations go directly to ReBuild Hot Springs.

If you’ve been itching to get back to the mountains to hike, this is a great way to start — and to help a community hammered by Helene. Learn more about each of the hikes and sign up by going here. And learn more about the Town & Trail Festival itself here.

I will be sweeping all four hikes and can’t recall being more excited about a weekend in the mountains. 

Hope to see you there.

The post A return to Hot Springs appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The winter sky is dry and clear, the temperature cold, invigorating. It’s the perfect weather for a long mountain hike. Then, your car loaded with gear and enthusiasm, you find your travels and day-hike dreams shattered by those two little words on a barricade baring access to the trailhead: 

Road closed.

It happens in the Southern Appalachians this time of year. It happens frequently on the Blue Ridge Parkway, off of which you’ll find 369 miles of hiking trail, including a couple hundred miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. It happens along 105-mile Skyline Drive through Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. National Forest access roads can close after a good snow, and while snow removal on highways and roads is generally pretty, short closures can happen. And more than weather can keep you from your destination: construction, accidents, landslides can all close roads, or at least reduce traffic to stop-and-go, increasing your time behind the wheel and minimizing the time your behind is on the trail. 

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get current information on road conditions in the Southeast. Below, we list the major road systems we use to access trails and provide a link and a description of the kinds of helpful road information you can find. 

• Blue Ridge Parkway. The thing about the Parkway is that very little of it is maintained in winter: when it does snow or an ice storm hits, the parkway is closed until it melts. Even if there hasn’t been a storm through in a week or more, the parkway, especially its higher reaches — say, from Mount Pisgah west to Waterrock Knob, or from Asheville to Mount Mitchell — can stay closed for long stretches, depending upon the weather. A super-handy feature on the BRP website is a map showing real-time road closures. Stretches of the parkway showing green are open, if it’s red its closed, if it’s yellow it’s under an advisory (fog, for instance). In a column on the left side of the screen you can click on one of 14 areas along the parkway and drill down to that area, simplifying your search. This information is also available in a chart broken down by crossroads and mileposts. Here, you can tell the reason for the closure as well. NOTE: This is also where you can keep tabs on what sections of the Parkway remain closed because of Helene. Short answer: In North Carolina, a lot. 
• Skyline Drive. Virginia’s Skyline Drive does not have a similar real-time road-closure option online. Rather, for road conditions on this 105-mile road through Shenandoah National Park, call: 540-999-3500, option 1, option 1
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There aren’t a lot of roads in this half-million-acre National Park, and many of the roads therein have seasonal closures (find those here). Follow current road status updates on Twitter at SmokiesRoadsNPS. Updates are available for Newfound Gap Road (US-441), Little River Road, Laurel Creek Road, and Cades Cove Loop Road.
• NCDOT. North Carolina’s real-time road conditions map includes various layers: you can check by type of road (Interstate, US highway, State Route, Secondary Road), by county, by traffic cameras. You can check to see where there’s current congestion, from construction, from accidents, whatever. And, as is the case with the National Park Service and the Blue Ridge Parkway, this is the place to find out what roads remain closed as a result of Helene.
• VDOT. The Virginia Traffic Information map also includes a variety of layers. Among the helpful tools we especially like is one that lets you judge congestion by traffic speed. Click on “Speeds” and roads where traffic is proceeding at 40 percent or below the posted speed limit will appear black; if people are driving between 40 percent and 60 percent of the speed limit the road will show red, 60-80 percent yellow, and 80 percent or above will show as a green road. There’s also an overlay for Precipitation — rain, ice, snow, a mix — and for road conditions.
• TDOT. Tennessee’s SmartWay program is where you can find weather-related issues and Traffic Delays by degree: click on the Traffic Delays function and the roads appear green for No Delays, orange for Moderate Delays, red for “Traffic” Delays, a deep crimson for Heavy Traffic Delays. It also includes a Waze function with real-time info.
• SCDOT. South Carolina’s 511sc site provides some of the same information plus driving directions, including the quickest way to reach the beach.

Unless you’d rather be listening to podcasts in gridlock than hiking, make friends with these resources and use them before heading out on your next adventure.

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In a nutshell

Here are the key links mentioned above to help you effectively, quickly and safely navigate your way to the trailhead.

• Blue Ridge Parkway: Realtime Road closure map
• Skyline Drive: call 540-999-3500, option 1, option 1.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 
• NCDOT: Real-Time Traffic Conditions here
• VDOT (Virginia): Virginia Traffic Information
• TDOT (Tennessee): SmartWay
• SCDOT (South Carolina): 511SC 

The post Don’t let a closed road ruin your day appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We include hikes in the coast/coastal plain, in the Piedmont, and even in the mountains, or at least the mountainous regions that remain fairly accessible in winter.

Like any lists of favorites, it has evolved. An early favorite gets replaced not necessarily because it’s any less appealing, but likely because we’ve since hiked a new trail that we’re excited to share. They’re all good hikes, well worth a visit over the next three months.

Coast/coastal plain

1. Jones Lake State Park, 4 miles, Elizabethtown (southeast of Fayetteville). According to “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” (Hike No. 42, or go here for more information) the trail has a total elevation gain of 3 feet (it all happens within a 10-foot stretch on the lake’s north side, where the trail encounters an old irrigation ditch). Part of the trail — through the longleaf pine forest (some interloper pines and understory turkey oaks as well) — is on a sandy forest service road that’s bright and warm on a sunny day. Part — a narrower, packed gravel trail — goes through a dense bay forest rich with sweet, loblolly and red bays. And there’s a cypress swamp as well, all rimming 224-acre Jones Lake, a curiosity in itself, being one of a half million elliptically shaped lakes peppering the southeastern U.S., a phenomenon of unknown origins called a Carolina bay.

2. Neusiok Trail, Croatan National Forest, Havelock. 20.1 miles, with shorter options. (Trip No. 42, “Backpacking North Carolina,” Hike No. 5, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina, or go  here.”) The Neusiok, much of which runs through a swamp, has a limited hiking window; if you don’t hit from late November into mid-March, you’ll be sorry (and also plagued by every flying, stinging pest the state has to offer). Wintertime temperatures in the 50s and overnight lows near freezing make this the perfect coastal escape, regardless of whether you like going long (the whole 20.1 miles) or simply chewing off a section or two. An especially rewarding hike on a cool, sunny winter’s day. Note: the Pine Cliff Recreation Area at the northern terminus remains closed due to hurricane damage in 2018. You can access the trail from the nearby equestrian trailhead.

Piedmont

3. Uwharrie National Forest, Birkhead Wilderness, Asheboro, 7.4 miles. (Hike No. 36, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” Trip No. 35, “Backpacking North Carolina,” or go here.) There’s a starkness to the Birkhead Wilderness, a 5,160-acre notch on the northern tip of the Uwharrie National Forest southeast of Asheboro, that makes it ideal for winter hiking. Although not a particularly mature forest, there’s a dearth of understory that makes for good, long sightlines in this portion of the ancient Uwharrie mountain range that’s a bit mellower elevationwise than to the south. A good, long hike for people who may not think they’re up for a good, long hike. Note: You can also start from the Tot Hill Road Access on the north end of the wilderness; the 2-mile hike to the loop (and 2-mile hike out) makes for an 11.4-mile hike).

4. Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, Orange County. 2.9 miles. (Hike No. 20, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina or go here). Normally, you’d expect to spend a good hour in the car to find a spot as remote as the Johnston Mill Nature Preserve. But thanks to the 1999 efforts of the Triangle Land Conservancy, this 295-acre preserve remains intact amid the encroaching sprawl of Durham and Chapel Hill. Your escape from the city happens quickly: From the main trailhead off Mount Sinai Road, you descend through dogwood, red cedar, sweetgums and loblollies into a floodplain forest rich with the rare: four-toed salamanders, Thorey’s grayback dragonfly, green violet, bloodroot, stemmed yellow violet and columbine. Walk along New Hope Creek to the Beech Loop, a bluff trail that gets its name from the sizable Fagus grandifolia that dominate the hillside. Later, check out remains of the Johnston Mill and homestead dating to the early 18th century. An especially foot-friendly tread (trail surface) makes this a particularly good venue for less able hikers.

5. Pilot Creek Trail, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle, 6.6 miles (out and back). Learn more and plan a hike here. When this list first appeared we recommended the trails accessed at the summit of Pilot Mountain. But since 2012, those trails have been discovered: on nice weekends it can take a half hour or more just to score a parking spot up top. Now, our favorite Pilot Mountain trail is Pilot Creek, which starts from an access off Boyd Nelson Road north of the park and works its way along the north flank of the mountain to connect with the Grindstone Trail. Pilot Creek offers much of what hikers flock to Pilot Mountain for: rocky terrain and some moderately challenging climbs. You won’t get the views (it sticks to the base of the mountain), but you won’t get the crowds, either.

6. Latta Plantation, Charlotte, 4.2 miles. (Hike No. 28, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” or go here to learn more.) So much hiking, so close to town. Sixteen miles of trail explore this 1,343-acre preserve on the north side of town; we recommend a loop that includes the Hill, Cove and Split Rock trails, a loop that features a rare Piedmont prairie, a type of grassland common in the region prior to the European invasion but rarely found today. This being winter, you’ll miss out on the wildflowers common to a Piedmont prairie (such as the smooth coneflower), but you will get a sense of the vast open spaces that today we typically associate with the West. Some good shoreline and cove hiking on this loop as well.

Mountains

7. Mount Sterling, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 18.1 miles. (Trip No. 17, “Backpacking North Carolina,” or learn more and plan a hike here). Of course, part of the thrill of winter hiking is the chance to experience some winter. You’ll have a good shot of that on this loop in the Great Smokies, which starts below 3,000 feet and tops out in a balsam forest atop 5,823-foot Mount Sterling. The summit happens early on, after a little more than six miles of hiking (the last 2.2 miles of which gains 1,700 vertical feet). After that it’s a mostly downhill ramble down Mount Sterling Ridge Trail and Pretty Hollow Creek, with a return through Little Cataloochee. Lots of natural beauty interspersed with signs of the park’s cultural past. A most worthy 18-mile day (though there are shorter options).

8. Doughton Park: Basin Cove Loop, Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, up to 20+ miles. (Trip No. 11, “Backpacking North Carolina,” Hike No. 54, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” or learn more and plan a hike here.). Another backpack/day hike option, where you should, at least through mid-month, find some color on a trip that starts at the base of the Blue Ridge escarpment. Hike in the easy 1.5 miles to the campground (establish base camp, if you’re backpacking), then behold numerous options, including: 3.4 miles up Basin Creek to the old Caudill Cabin (16 people living in one room) or head up the 2.8-mile Bluff Ridge Primitive Trail to Bluff Mountain, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and additional exploring along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Especially nice, again, with the seasonal BRP crowds diminished.

9. Schoolhouse Ridge Loop, Wilson Creek, Mortimer. 5.6 miles. (Trip No. 10, “Backpacking North Carolina,” Hike No. 68, “100 Classic Hikes in North Carolina,” or go here.) January can be a dicey time of year for backcountry exploring in the mountains. The higher you get, the greater the chance for snow and ice — more a problem for driving than hiking. Good reason to say low (between 1,500 and 2,400 feet), yet still reap the benefits of a mountainlike trip. Good reason to visit the Wilson Creek area. One thing about Wilson Creek is the number of creeks that penetrate this rugged section of the Blue Ridge escarpment below Grandfather Mountain, creeks that often present challenging crossings. Not so much the case on the Schoolhouse Ridge Loop. Though it does have multiple crossings of Thorps Creek early on, none are challenging. After that, it’s carefree mountain hiking.

10. Linville Gorge: East Rim, Nebo. 14.1 miles, with shorter options (Trip No. 7, “Backpacking North Carolina,” or go here.). Out-of-town visitors are always looking to do “name” adventures — something the folks back home probably have heard of and would likely be impressed by. Linville Gorge is one of those places in North Carolina, an area known for its rugged beauty, falls and 2,000-foot deep (in spots) canyon. A great way to explore this wilderness is from along its East Rim. More adventurous types can start at the south end of the gorge and within two steep miles be atop Shortoff Mountain (from there, the hiking levels considerably as you head north). Or, take Forest Service roads up to the Table Mountain access where you can quickly climb 3,680-foot Tablerock Mountains (great 360 views), check out The Chimneys (popular with climbers) or take the Spence Ridge Trail, down into the gorge (it’s the easiest trail down). Great photos that come with bragging rights.

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More hikes

Looking for more hikes you can hike on your own? Our store includes guides with everything you need to know to successfully take a hike on your own, including a detailed route description, map, logistics and an overview of the hike. Browse for your next hike, here.

The post 10 of our favorite winter hikes appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The mountains of Western North Carolina in particular continue the long road to recovery from Hurricane Helene. But progress is being made: more than 600 roads already have been reopened by N.C. Department of Transportation crews and contractors, including I-40 near Old Fort and in downtown Asheville; I-26 in Henderson and Polk counties; U.S. 221, U.S. 321 and U.S. 421 in the Boone area; and,  U.S. 70 and U.S. 25 in Asheville. DOT reports, as of Tuesday, that nearly 600 roads remain closed, and in some areas traffic on roads that are open is restricted to recovery efforts. Also as of Tuesday, about 13,000 residents remained without power.

The good news is that many areas have recovered enough to begin welcoming visitors. And those visitors are crucial to the recovery effort: fall is a key tourist period in the mountains and and the dollars you, as a visiting hiker, bring play a role in the area’s recovery. 

Where is it safe — and appropriate — to visit? Some resources to help with your decision:

• VisitNC.com The state’s tourism bureau has created a website that that identifies key mountain communities identified by color: Red communities remain closed to visitors, but you can visit the green ones. Click on the open-for-business communities and you’ll find a link to the local tourism department  or chamber of commerce, where you’ll find information on what’s open and the challenges you may face. For instance, the Ashe County Chamber of Commerce site includes an Emergency Fall Leaf Looker’s Route map, which shows roads that are open and includes three “Reminders” that apply to any visit to the mountains this fall:
  • Fill up your gas tank before you leave home
  • Stick to the main highways listed
  • Bring a donation to drop off or volunteer

Also keep in mind that lodging is at a premium; with many rooms currently taken by emergency workers.

You’ll notice on the map that while the central mountains discourage visitors, the far western mountains are more open.

• Virginia is for Lovers The Virginia Travel site offers a one-stop resource page for visiting Southwest Virginia. Check it out here.
• DriveNC.com NC DOT’s road closure site is an essential read before heading to the high country. This is especially true for hikers, for while main roads are beginning to reopen, many of the secondary roads we use to reach remote trailheads are not. This is a mandatory check.
• Pisgah National Forest All of the Pisgah National Forest remains closed. You’ll find a list of locations and closed roads here. Many of our favorite places in North Carolina are on this list.
• Nantahala National Forest The far western part of the state wasn’t as severely hit and that shows by the closures list dated Oct. 11. With a handful of exceptions, the Nantahala is open. Learn more here.
• Appalachian Trail You can find a current rundown of closures here. Basically, the AT through the Pisgah is closed (as of Oct. 15), but it’s open in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. Trouble is, the AT winds in and out of the Pisgah and Cherokee north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In Virginia, the AT is closed to the south but begins to open around Grayson Highlands, with advisories for storm damage and limited emergency services. Find an updated rundown here.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Portions of the park remain closed, including US 441/Newfound Gap Road — but not because of Helene. That road was closed briefly because of forecast snow and ice. Learn more here.
• North Carolina State Parks. All NC State Parks west of I-77 remain closed, and will be at least through the end of October. Details here.
• Virginia State Parks. Portions of the New River Trail and Claytor Lake State Park remain closed; Grayson Highlands State Park has reopened but has certain restrictions. Learn more here.

Important note: Just because a town may be welcoming visitors that doesn’t necessarily mean the nearby trails are open. Aside from the instances indicated above, you’ll need to do additional inquiring for trail specifics.

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