Craggy Mt. Mitchell Falls

You can put your mind at ease, the title is not announcing a horrible natural disaster, it is just my way of condensing Saturday’s activities! Read on for a better explanation!

Craggy Pinnacle

We headed out around noon to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Asheville. Up to this point we had only traveled south toward Brevard. After dropping J at the regional airport for her yearly summer trip to Colorado, Dale and I headed to our first stop, Craggy Pinnacle Gardens and Flats. There are many, many beautiful stops on the BRP, but to keep things manageable we selected three locations with hikes less than two miles each.

After a quick stop at the picnic area we headed out on a short 1.4-mile round-trip hike to the top of the 5,892-ft. summit, Craggy Pinnacle. The trail weaved its way through tunnels of rhododendron, gnarled sweet birch trees and wildflowers. Once we reached the top we enjoyed panoramic 360-degree views.

Mt. Mitchell

After leaving Craggy Pinnacle, we headed towards Mt. Mitchell, about 25 minutes further north. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. Fortunately you can drive up to the visitors center then walk a short distance to the peak. We loved the views but I think even better is the Balsam Trail. We saw a sign at the entrance to the trail so we took it, and we are so glad we did. The dense forest, mosses, decaying trees, large rocks and cave-like areas were so beautiful. Dale and I both agreed that it may be the most beautiful walk yet! I am sorry I didn’t get better photos, you’ll just have to wait for Dale’s video!

Linville Falls

Our last stop was Linville Falls, about one hour north of Mt. Mitchell. This was a beautiful hike through the woods to one of the most-viewed falls on the parkway. We arrived late in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours on four different trails that gave us a different vantage of the falls and the river.

It was a really great day. The weather was perfect. We got to talk with all sorts of people. Every stop was worth the effort. We took a quicker route back to Asheville so that we could get home sooner. The max speed on the parkway is 45 mph, and there are many curves and tourists as well. It took about seven hours to do everything I’ve described above, and about one our driving home. We stopped in Marion, NC to find food. We were starving. A quarter pounder with cheese at 8pm is not recommended. Ha!

You can see a few more photos on my photos page.