Oh, mamma!

The rejuvenating nature of water is something you simply have to experience yourself, whether it’s an icy cold gulp from a canteen on a humid summer’s day or simply soaking up to your calves on a warm spring day. Water, especially this time of year, makes all the difference. Which is why, at the start of summer, we run our top 10 list of summer hikes with water — only this year, with a twist.

The Top 10 concept is arbitrary, at best, a Letterman conceit that we’ve felt compelled to stick with. We discover a new hike to add to the list, we drop a hike that once deemed itself worthy. But no more.

From here on out, we’re only adding to the list. Without further adieu, we bring you our 2026 list of Top 11 Summer Hikes with Cooling Water. We start with our most recent favorite …

1. Basin Creek, Doughton Park

Blue Ridge Parkway (Longbottom Road Access)

Water feature: Rejuvenating soak in cold mountain water after a long day of hiking. 

The intro to this post sums up why this hike makes the list. Take about a water feature earned. And there are two ways to earn it: with either the 12.6-mile Cedar Ridge/Bluff Mountain/Bluff Ridge Primitive/Grassy Gap loop, or the 17.3-mile Cedar Ridge/Bluff Mountain/Grassy Gap Fire Road loop. Plan to spend at least a half hour lolling in foot-soaking bliss at the end

2 . Morrow Mountain State Park, North Carolina State Parks, Albemarle, NC (northeast of Charlotte)

Water feature: swimming pool

A scouting trip to Morrow Mountain twentysome years ago was, I’m certain, on the hottest day recorded on Earth. How hot it was I’m not sure because the profuse sweat filling my eyes keep me from reading a thermometer. When I was done slogging up Sugarloaf Mountain, then Morrow Mountain, I was desperate for relief — relief I found in the park’s swimming pool, a genuine cement pond that was closed for renovation but has reopened for this summer. Part of the park’s original Civilian Conservation Corps construction, the pool’s inviting blue waters offer soothing recovery from even the sweatiest of hikes. Fee: $6 per day for adults, $4 for kids 3 to 12.

3. North Mills River

Pisgah National Forest, southwest of Asheville, NC

Water feature: creek crossings

We did a GetHiking! trip here in 2016 that had us spending much of our time in the mercifully cool waters of burbling North Mills River and Big Creek. Our 5-mile hike from the campground up to Little Pisgah Mountain on the Blue Ridge Parkway saw us spending all but the last mile splashing as much as hiking (the last mile was a bearish climb to the summit). It also included a pass by the Hendersonville Reservoir (probably not for taking a dip). A great hike in the right water shoes.

4. St. Mary’s Wilderness

George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Raphine, VA

Water feature: multiple creek crossings

Every time I see this hike posted by our GetHiking! Charlottesville crew I’m reminded of why I love summer so much: 10 creek crossings on a relatively short (5 or so miles) hike! Don the water sandals and quick-dry shorts and wade in. With nearly 10,000 acres, St. Mary’s is the largest wilderness on National Forest (George Washington and Jefferson) land in Virginia. If you’re looking for a great summer escape in the Charlottesville area, this is it.

5. Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area

Pisgah National Forest, Burnsville, NC

Water feature: tubing, swimming holes

Could there be such a thing as a tubing and swimming hole resort? There could and there is: the Carolina Hemlocks Recreation Area, which sits on a stretch of the South Toe River that has a ridiculous number of great places to wallow in the bracing waters that drain from the Black Mountains, the highest mountain range in the East with elevations approaching 6,700 feet. Wander through the Carolina Hemlocks Campground (36 campsites) and the majority will sport tubes and other gear suited to days on end spent frolicking in this mountain creek. And what a great carrot to dangle after hiking the Colbert Ridge Trail, which leaves from the west side of the campground, climbing 3.6 miles and gaining nearly 3,000 vertical feet on its way to Deep Gap on the crest of the Black Mountains.

6. Panthertown Valley: Schoolhouse Falls

Nantahala National Forest, Cashiers, NC 

Water feature: swimming

You have to hike in about a mile-and-a-half for this hole, but what a hike it is, past towering hemlocks and rock outcrops in an area described as the Yosemite of the East. The payoff is sweet: Schoolhouse Falls is a picturesque curtain of water dropping 20 feet into a luxurious pool, at the far side of which is a sand beach. Those of you who apply to the gradual immersion school will be especially pleased by the gentle incline that introduces you to the cold. Fed by the Tuckasegee River, it’s possible to walk behind the falls at lower flows.

7. Sliding Rock

Pisgah National Forest, Brevard, NC

Water feature: water slide/stellar spectating

Spectating? The true joy of Sliding Rock is standing in the spectator area where this smooth rock waterslide empties into a small pool and watching the surprised sliders emerge from their ice-bath landing: all smiles going into the seven-foot-deep pool, an I’ll-never-be-warm-again look of horror coming out. Located on the upper reaches of the Davidson River (rent a tube and float the river several miles downstream), this is a definite must-do for anyone seeking Appalachian swimming hole cred. A fee area ($5), with bathhouse and lifeguard. Seasonal operation.

8. Gragg Prong: Wilson Creek area

Pisgah National Forest, Mortimer, NC

Water feature: swimming

Ah, Wilson Creek — probably our favorite summertime water escape in the state, in large part because it’s dang near impossible to avoid water (which is why we generally don’t visit in winter). From the Huntfish Falls trailhead hike down to the falls, then follow the Mountains-to-Sea Trail down Lost Cove Creek. Shortly, you’ll encounter Gragg Prong and after maybe a quarter mile of climbing, a series of cold pools encased in rock. Wade in, jump in, warm yourself on the surrounding rock. Read more in a blog we wrote about the area for our friends at Great Outdoor Provision Co. Read it here.

9. Hanging Rock State Park,

Sauratown Mountains, Danbury, NC

Water feature: swimming in a mountain lake

OK, this one gets an asterisk since it’s not in what we typically think of as “the mountains;” that is, the Southern Appalachians. But it is in the ancient Sauratown Mountain range, which runs from Hanging Rock to Pilot Mountain, and it does have 18 miles of hiking that mimics the Appalachians, visible to the west. It’s also got a 12-acre lake with swimming beach, strategically located at the nexus of the park’s trail network. We especially love liking the 4.7-mile Moore’s Knob Loop Trail, working up a good glow, then dousing that glow in the lake’s cooling waters. 

10. Upper Whitewater Falls

Nantahala National Forest, Jackson County

Water feature: waterfalls. 

You can’t talk about best water-based hikes in North Carolina without mentioning Upper Whitewater Falls, which plunges 411 feet (with its sister Lower Falls, they combine to make an 811-foot drop, making it the highest waterfall east of the Rockies). There’s an easy way to view the falls, via a quarter mile paved path to the upper overlook. Or, hike down to the lower overlook for better views, or hike down even farther to an area great for swimming and also to access the Foothills Trail, which runs 77 miles along the N.C./S.C. border.

11. High Shoals Falls

South Mountains State Park, Connelly Springs

Water feature: waterfall

At just 60 feet, High Shoals Falls might not sound that impressive. But it’s not just the falls, it’s the quarter mile or so of jumbled boulders — and Jacob Fork trying to figure its way through them — that lead up to it that makes this hike so cool. Even the lead-up to the boulder field, a civil gravel path the parallels Jacob Fork, is pretty swell. It’s about a mile up to the falls (and a mile back), but the beauty of a visit to South Mountains is that there are about 40 miles of trail in all, most of which is also open to equestrians, some to mountain bikers. If you’re into solitude, once you get past High Shoals Falls, you pretty much have South Mountains to yourself.

* * *

Resources

For more information on the locations mentioned above, click the appropriate link:

1. Doughton Park/Blue Ridge Parkway
2. Morrow Mountain State Park
3. St. Mary’s Wilderness
4. North Mills River
5. Carolina Hemlocks
6. Panthertown Valley: Schoolhouse Falls
7.  Sliding Rock
8.  Gragg Prong/Wilson Creek
9.  Hanging Rock State Park
10.  Upper Whitewater Falls
11.  High Shoals Falls

In addition, you can find details on trips 3, 5 and 9 in “Backpacking North Carolina: The Definitive Guide to 43 Can’t-Miss Trips for Mountains to Sea.”

The post 11 (not 10) Top Hikes with Waterplay appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

How many organized events?

That’s tough to pin down.

Officially, the American Hiking Society acts as the clearing house for NTD events. Fill out a form on their website and your event can appear in a searchable format on their NTD page. And while the site does include a lot of events, it’s far from a complete listing. In Virginia, for instance, AHS lists a total of 19 Trails Day events. On the Virginia State Parks website, however, you’ll find 49 events scheduled for National Trails Day. 

In North Carolina, AHS lists 26 NTD events. Yet missing is the grandaddy of North Carolina celebrations: NC Trail Days in Elkin/Jonesville. This events runs four days (June 4-7), includes 3 State Trails (Mountains-to-Sea, Overmountain Victory, and Yadkin River Paddle), 2 state parks (Stone Mountain and Pilot Mountain), and hiking, paddling and mountain biking, along with other outdoor events, live music and more. 

Virginia State Parks observes National Trails Day much like it does every other day, which is so say with a boatload of activities. Start the day with a 5K at High Bridge Trail State Park at 8 a.m. Or sleep in until 9 a.m. and do the challenging 4-mile Molly’s Knob Hike at Hungry Mother State Park. There’s a Wild Cave Tour at Natural Tunnel State Park, and lots of opportunities statewide to help maintain and build trail. The day ends with an Owl Prowl Night Hike from 8-9:30 p.m. at Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

But again, these are far from all the opportunities out their to celebrate trails on Saturday. Check your local municipal and county parks, check with your local land conservancy, or just check with your buddies and throw your own National Trails Day event. On National Trails Day only one thing matters.

That you spend time on a trail.

Resources

• Find events throughout the country at the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day event page.
• Find North Carolina events here.
• Find Virginia events here.
• NC Trail Days.
• Go here for NTD events in Virginia State Parks.
• Go here for NTD events in North Carolina State Parks.

The post National Trails Day: Find an adventure this Saturday appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We generally refrain from hiking at the coast from late March through October. But once Halloween has passed and the flitting and slithering things that give us pause are subdued, our thoughts turn to the coast and some of our favorite hikes in the state. To local hikers, this is the real peak season. Pack a camera, a notebook, a handful of nature guidebooks. Camp, stay in cheap motels. Cook dinner over a camp stove, linger over breakfast, eat lunch on the go. And listen.

November especially is the time to listen to the outdoors. The seemingly constant breeze lets the trees, the grass, the plants tell their stories. Stories that began with a colorful birth in March, that celebrated the lazy days of summer, that grew melancholy come early fall and that ended, much like they began, in an explosion of color. The circle of life lived in just eight months. But what a story to be told at season’s end.

It’s a story told in one of three ways.

Long trails

If you’ve got the time, two coastal trails would love you stay a spell and listen.

• Neusiok Trail, 22 miles, Croatan National Forest, Havelock. The Neusiok runs from the Pine Cliffs Recreation Area southeast to Oyster Point Landing. No need to rush: there are three shelters/camping areas along the way where you can camp and take the time necessary to experience the pine savannah, the bay woods, the bluff overlooking the mile-wide Neuse River, the boggy areas traveled (mostly) by boardwalk. It can also be hiked in sections, the most diverse of which is the northernmost 6.8 miles, from Pine Cliffs south and east to NC 306. Read more here.

• 

  Weetock Trail, 11 miles, Croatan National Forest, Maysville. Such a tease, the Weetock. From its northern trailhead of N.C. 58 south of Maysville, it’s an open book for the first 6 miles. Maybe there’s a time or two where it plays coy and becomes discrete. But for the most part, no secrets. Then, right when you think you’ve got it understood, it crosses the gravel Jones Landing Road and spends the rest of its way trying to ditch you. This part of the Croatan has been ravaged by numerous hurricanes, the downfall covering large swaths of trail. Seemingly important swaths, because the only clues the trail shares from here on out are the unique metal-strip blazes (old newspaper printing plates) that catch the sun here and there. A challenge, but hey, who doesn’t love a good mystery? Read more here.

Easy beach hikes

Just as we love a good novel to read at the beach in summer, so, too, do we love an easy winter hike — easy in the sense that it’s simple to follow but has a compelling plot. Some of our favorites:

• Carolina Beach State Park, 9 trails, 9 miles, Carolina Beach. Carolina Beach is the Reader’s Digest condensed version of exploring the coast: in just 761 acres nestled between the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Ocean you’ll hike over forested dunes, through forests of turkey oak and live oak, around pocosins, past cypress swamps and through a carpet of carnivorous plants. The ecological sampling here is not to be matched. Learn more here.

• 

  Fort Fisher Hermit Trail (a k a Basin Trail), 2 miles, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Kure Beach. Just down the road from Carolina Beach (6 miles) is a trail that exposes you to one of the more unique views in the state: water in nearly every direction. At the midpoint, the trail passes a World War II bunker, a sturdy concrete structure that, after housing ordnance in WW II, housed Robert E. Harrill, the Fort Fisher hermit who fled here in 1956 and stayed until his unexplained death in 1972. More info here.

• Cedar Point Tideland Trail, Croatan National Forest, Cedar Point, 1.3 miles. No need to get your shoes mucky—an elevated boardwalk traverses much of the 1.3-mile Cedar Point Tideland Trail, in the wetlands where Dibbling and Boathouse creeks dissolve into the White Oak River (then, shortly, into Bogue Sound). In addition to keeping you dry, the boardwalk gives you get a bird’s-eye view of the fiddler crabs and other marsh life below. It is also an especially good spot for birding. More info here.
• Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, 4 miles, Kill Devil Hills. At 1,100 acres, Nags Head Woods wrote the book on maritime forests. It’s one of the best examples of such along the East Coast, hence the reason The Nature Conservancy elected to save it beginning in the 1970s. Nearly four miles of trail take you through densely vegetated terrain that includes 11 separate species of oak alone. Also calling the preserve home are 5 species of salamander, 14  species of frogs and toads, at least 50 nesting birds, assorted turtles, lizards and snakes. More info here.
• Patsy Pond Nature Trail, 4.5 miles, Newport. Before the European invasion, about 90 million acres of the Southeast were covered with longleaf pines. Today, that number is closer to 3.3 million. Which makes walking the Patsy Pond Nature Trail like diving into a good history book. A good history in that the forest isn’t just about the longleaf, but also about its supporting characters, including the red-cockaded woodpecker, Carolina gopher frog, bladderwort, sundew and a cast, literally, of thousands. Learn more here.

Coastal plain

There’s nothing plain about these hikes, other than their coastal plain setting.

• 

  Jones Lake State Park, 6 miles, Elizabethtown. Every time I’ve hiked here it’s been: 1) in winter, 2) 40 degrees, 3) under cloudless skies. In short, perfect. Such a great experience has hiking the 4-mile Bay Trail been that I go back every couple of years to experience the open pine forest on the west side of Jones Lake, the dense bay forest on the east side. A Jekyll and Hyde hike with a total elevation gain of 3 feet. And if I’m hungry for more I can hop across the road (N.C. 242) and continue hiking at Turnbull State Educational Forest. Learn more here.

• Merchants Millpond State Park, 15 miles, Gatesville. Every time I visit I think of the 1950s schlock sci-fi flick, “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Although there might be alligators here, there have been no confirmed Gill-Man sightings at Merchants Millpond, despite the eerie similarity in swampy surroundings. The park may be known for canoeing on its 760-acre millpond, but the hiking here exposes you to some of the same treats, including bay woods and cypress and tupelo gum swamps. A great day trip. Learn more here.
• Pettrigrew State Park, 4.2 miles. Creswell,. When it comes to hiking you can go for distance or you can go to be awed. At Pettigrew State Park on the shores of Lake Phelps, the Morotoc Trail will certainly awe you with a collection of some of the oldest and largest trees of their kind in the state. Among the ancient oddities are various bay trees, sweet gums, persimmons, and pawpaws; the trunks of some bald cypress trees measure up to 10 feet in diameter; and, poplar trunks exceed six feet. “Vines as wide as human thighs wind their ways up trees as tall as 130 feet.” You’ll also see Atlantic white cedars that reach heights of 100 feet. Prepare for the slowest 2.8 miles of hiking in your life. Learn more here.

  * * *

The post It’s a Cool Time to Hike at the Coast appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will be surveying the trail and assessing damage, but trail restoration is a very low priority in light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing western North Carolina … it is likely that sections of the trail will remain closed for a significant length of time.”

Trails are a low priority in the recovery scheme of things. An incredible amount of work needs to be done to get the communities of WNC back up and running. But when the time comes for trail restoration, we need to be ready to tackle a big job.

How big? Consider the case of the statewide MST. “As a result of the storm,” Laurenz wrote, “the entire North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed. The MST from Kuwohi [formerly Clingman’s Dome] through Stone Mountain State Park should be considered closed and highly dangerous. This is roughly a third of the entire route of the trail.”

A third of the entire 1,125-mile MST.

When the time comes, the land managers responsible for our trails will need your help. The MST has already set up a form for volunteers who wish to be part of the effort; you can fill it out here. “There will be a need for sawyers,” Laurenz wrote, “those who can clear trail and rebuild it, those who can oversee work crews, but also for those who can help support the volunteers.”

Other land managers will be in a similar position.

Take the Appalachian Trail, for instance, which is overseen by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The ATC is “part of a unique cooperative-management system, working with numbers of local, state and federal partners to ensure greater protections for the Trail.” Key to the AT’s health are the hiking clubs that help maintain it. In Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, there are a dozen hiking clubs that each maintain a section of the AT. These clubs also maintain other trails in their regions; their impact on reviving not just the AT but many other mountain trails is will be huge. 

Below are links to these 12 clubs; click on the link(s) you’re interested in to learn more about the clubs and their volunteer activities. Note: Join the club and you’ll be the first to know when these opportunities arise.

• Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club
• Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club
• Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club
• Outdoor Club at Virginia Tech
• Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
• Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers
• Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club
• Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club
• Carolina Mountain Club
• Smoky Mountains Hiking Club
• Nantahala Hiking Club
• Georgia Appalachian Trail Club

You might be surprised by the number of trails you hike that are owned/managed by land conservancies. They, too, will need your help both in repairing their damaged trails. Click the link(s) below for more information.

• Conservation Trust for North Carolina
• Blue Ridge Conservancy
• Conserving Carolina 
• Catawba Lands Conservancy
• Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina
• Mainspring Conservation Trust
• New River Conservancy

North Carolina’s State Parks will also need a hand. Volunteers for State Park restoration will be coordinated through the Friends group for that park. Those groups include:

• Friends of Chimney Rock State Park
• Friends of Crowders Mountain State Park
• Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail
• Friends of Gorges State Park
• Friends of High Country State Parks (Elk Knob, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Jefferson, New River state parks)
• Friends of Lake James State Park
• NC High Peaks Trail Association (Mount Mitchell)
• Friends of South Mountains State Park
• Friends of Stone Mountain State Park
• Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• As we become aware of specific volunteer opportunities, we will post them here on the GetGoingNC website and on our Facebook page.

The opportunities to help rebuild our trails will come, but as the MST’s Laurenz notes, that’s “a very low priority at this point.”

Be patient. The time to rebuild will come.

The post How (and when) to help rebuild our mountain trails appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

1. The temperature. Hike in the mountains and you could be starting out in temperatures in the 40s!
2. Fall color. Hike in the mountains, and high enough in the mountains (above 5,500 feet), and you could see the start of some pretty good color.

Based on those two criteria, most of our recommendations are all in the mountains. Enjoy!

North Carolina

1. Black Mountain Crest Trail

Mount Mitchell State Park

North Carolina

Might as well start at the top, atop 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, the highest point on the East Coast. Anchoring the north end of the Black Mountain Crest Trail, you can start from the state park’s snackateria and hit several peaks above 6,000 feet and see a good color show consisting of fire cherry, yellow birch, mountain ash and mountain maple. Note: the Crest rail is technically challenging, with mild scrambling in spots. Fortunately, the best view is from the nearest peak: Mount Craig.

More info here.

2. Tanawha Trail / Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Blue Ridge Parkway

North Carolina

The 13-mile Tanawha at the base of Grandfather Mountain is best known for its rocky southern half. But put in at Boone Fork and head north and you’ll spend time initially in a mature hardwood forest, later in small rolling meadows that offer intimate exposure to the Blue Ridge’s less aggressive side. You’ll also find more potential for early color on the northern end. Additional advantage: paralleling the Blue Ridge Parkway as it does, you’ll find it super easy to set shuttles — along the 13.5-mile length of the trail there are 11 access points.

More info here.

3. Linville Gorge

Pisgah National Forest

North Carolina

One of our favorite hikes in the state, the 2.2-mile trail up to Shortoff Mountain from the end of Wolf Pit Road is a good climb, but pays off in three miles of trail with repeated outcrop views up the gorge, down into the gorge and beyond, to Lake James. On a clear, crisp fall day you may not experience better color. In spots, the gorge rises 1,300 feet above the Linville River (which drops 2,000 vertical feet from the north end to the south), offering one of the most awe-inspiring views in the state. If you’re comfortable hiking in the dark (back to your car) and driving a windy forest service road in the dark, plan to be on Shortoff around sundown for one of the best sunsets around.

More info here.

4. Mountain Trail

Pilot Mountain State Park

North Carolina

Pilot Mountain, with its distinctive knob towering 1,400 feet above the surrounding countryside, is a hot spot when autumn’s colors heat up. Avoid the resulting crowds by picking up the 4.5-mile Mountain Trail from the little-used Corridor Access. The connecting Grindstone Trail takes you to the top, for great views. Another option for avoiding fall crowds: take the new 3.3-mile Pilot Creek Trail, which starts low on the north side of the park and connects with the Mountain and Grindstone trails for a trip to the summit.

More info here.

4. Uwharrie Trail: Sections 3 & 4

Uwharrie National Forest

North Carolina

So maybe you live in the Piedmont and don’t have time to visit the mountains but still want a mountain-like experience: you need to pay a visit to North Carolina’s under-appreciated mountain range, the Uwharries. Located within an hour and a half of Charlotte, the Triad and the Triangle, the Uwharries offer peaks reaching 1,000 feet (hey, it’s the Piedmont!) and one awesome view, which you can reach from the Jumpin’ Off Rock trailhead. Take the Uwharrie Trail north following a creek for a ways, then climbing Little Long Mountain for the best view in the Uwharries. Continuing north, it tops out on 1,020-foot King Mountain, the highest point on the Uwharrie Trail. Lots of good fall hardwoods along the way.

More info here.

5. Summit Trail

Elk Knob State Park

Todd

Elk Knob is the perfect early season fall destination. At 5,520 feet, it offers unsurpassed views (nearly 360 degrees), but it’s the view to the north that’s especially captivating in fall. We’ll let the park website explain why: “Elk Knob contains an excellent example of a northern hardwood forest … typically found above 4,000 feet in elevation [are] sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, and yellow buckeye.” That is, the trees that give forests in New England their vaunted glow. In addition, from atop Elk Knob you can see Three Top and Bluff mountains, Mount Jefferson, Grandfather Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Mt. Rogers in Virginia and the Iron Mountains in Virginia and Tennessee. And it’s not just the summit: the 1.9-mile hike to the top is one one of the most well-crafted trails around.

More info here.

6. Moore’s Wall Loop Trail

Hanging Rock State Park

Danbury

Mountain-top 360-degree views are few in the Piedmont. At Hanging Rock, you have two. Hanging Rock proper is just 1.3 miles from the Visitor Center, making it a popular choice for the masses who descend on fall weekends. Less popular is the 4.7-mile Moore’s Wall Loop, which, regardless of whether you hike it clockwise (our choice) or counter, requires payment in leg labor for the resulting views. Ah, but what views they are: to the west (Blue Ridge) and north (Virginia’s George Washington National Forest) you can watch the color cascading your way. Or, hiked in late October into November, look south and east to see the Piedmont light up in the distance.

More info here.

Virginia

1. Hawksbill Mountain

Shenandoah National Park

Virginia

At 4,050 feet, Hawksbill is the highest point in the Shenandoah National Park, and thus, presumably, the first place to spot fall color. Take the steep 1.7-mile out-and-back or the 2.9-mile loop trail, from MP 45.6 on Skyline Drive. Connect to the Appalachian Trail to extend your hiking time. The hike is a favorite of our GetHiking! Charlottesville group.

More info here.

2. Rock Castle Gorge

Blue Ridge Parkway

Virginia

A hidden favorite that’s surprisingly close to the Triad area. Start from the base, at the VA 605 access and get your climbing out of the way early, with a 3-mile hike up the Blue Ridge Escarpment to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here, follow the trail south for 3.5 miles through mountain meadows (the cows are friendly), until a rocky 1.5-mile descent back into the gorge. Your last 2.8 miles is a steady descent on old roadbed along Rock Castle Creek. A 10.8-mile with enough distractions to keep your mind off the fact the elevation on this hike ranges from 1,700 to nearly 3,600 feet. Along the way you’ll pass through rhododendron hells, along a frisky mountain stream, past long-abandoned buildings.

More info here.

3. Peaks of Otter

Blue Ridge Parkway

Virginia

It gets a little crowded, though the challenging terrain thins the crowds on certain trails. In fact, that’s one of the advantages here. Got a mix of hikers in your group? The die-hards head one way, the strollers another. The latter will also appreciate the civilities here: the visitor center, the lodge, the restrooms.

More info here.

4. Mount Rogers

Mount Rogers National Recreation Area

Virginia

Mount Rogers and the adjoining Grayson Highlands State Park offer a trip out West in southwest Virginia. Rock outcrops and vast open spaces offer the type of wide-open experience folks head to the Rockies for. The only place you won’t find a view? Atop Mount Rogers, at 5,729 feet the highest point in Virginia.

More info here.

The post Now that it’s fall, here’s where to hike appeared first on GetGoing NC!.