Currently only one trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, at the Folk Art Center, is designated as accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The BRP Foundation is funding two projects this year to make more trails on the parkway accessible; one at Price Lake in the Julian Price Park in North Carolina and another at Abbot Lake at the Peaks of Otter in...
Learn MoreChristine Hoyer has been named Employee of the Year at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The award, which recognizes outstanding work of park employees, was presented at a public ceremony at park headquarters in Tennessee on May 7. Hoyer is the Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator in the park and she is in charge of four main park volunteer programs:...
Learn MoreA 100-foot steel bridge over Little Lick Creek was the final link needed to complete a 60 mile continuous stretch of the Mountains to Sea Trail at Falls Lake north of Raleigh and Durham, NC. Volunteers swung mattocks and hammers to construct the trail and install smaller bridges, boardwalk, kiosks and signs, but this creek crossing required some heavier lifting. Thanks...
Learn MoreResidents of western Transylvania and other counties in Western North Carolina may see military planes conducting wilderness firefighting training operations in the upcoming week over remote parts of Pisgah National Forest. Military pilots from the North Carolina Air National Guard will participate in the annual training in the Carolinas that enables them to assist with...
Learn MoreOn Thursday, May 17, turn back time to the cool spring breezes of years gone by with a guided hike to the high-elevation, history-rich trail to Hemphill Bald. Hiking enthusiast and author Danny Bernstein (“Hiking North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Heritage”), will lead, and Judy Coker of Cataloochee Ranch, which borders the park along the trail, will join the...
Learn MoreThe recent acquisition of 720 acres of land in the Plott Balsams in North Carolina has helped set the table for the first major park to be created along the Blue Ridge Parkway in six decades. The pieces of property help make up Maggie Valley’s watershed. Neil Carpenter, head of the sanitary district for the town, said the recent purchase was a relief. He’s worked at...
Learn MoreIf you build the stairs, they will come. That’s the idea behind massive improvements to the popular Outcroppings Trail at Chimney Rock State Park — the trail that leads to the top of the Chimney. The park reopened the Outcroppings Trail after a four-month closure. The elevator to the Chimney has also been closed for improvements for the past year, so there has been no...
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With so much interest in The Hunger Games movie, I thought it was time to head out to DuPont State Forest for a dawn hike to Triple Falls, one of the scenes in the film. Triple Falls is a tiered cascade on the Little River that drops 120 dramatic feet and was also featured in the Last of the Mohicans movie. A photo of Triple Falls was used by the Friends of the Falls...
Learn MoreOne of four ecologically significant tracts of privately held land adjacent to Pisgah National Forest might soon become part of the national forest. In a recent announcement, the U.S. Forest Service said it was dedicating $40.6 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for 27 “exceptional land acquisition projects” in 15 states that will help safeguard clean...
Learn MoreAmeriCorps Project Conserve is now accepting applications for 32 public service positions at 20 environmental non-profits across western North Carolina that focus on land conservation, water quality, energy conservation and local agriculture. Application deadline is May 22. AmeriCorps Project Conserve is a national service program in which members come from across the...
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The forecast called for nasty thunderstorms beginning at noon, so we opted for a shortish hike up Bennett Gap Trail to the Saddle Gap Overlook on Coontree Mountain. Starting at the trailhead along the Stable Road in Pisgah National Forest at 8:30AM, it was a touch foggy, but otherwise a delightful cool morning. As we headed up to Coontree Gap we noticed signs of the...
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Designated a National Wild and Scenic River, the Chattooga River’s headwaters are in North Carolina, but it stretches into Georgia and South Carolina as well. In fact, at one point known as Ellicott Rock, it marks the common tri-boundary of all three states. There are more than 50 miles of trails along the Chattooga River but this four-mile stretch just south of...
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North Mills River Recreation Area in Pisgah National Forest, along with its brother along South Mills River, has a rich trail system. It covers the Pisgah Ridge at the Blue Ridge Parkway down to the North Mills River. A combination of trails leading from the Trace Ridge Trailhead at the recreation area go up, over, and around Coffee Pot Mountain on the way up to the...
Learn MoreOf the four national forests in North Carolina, Croatan is the only one located along the coast and is the only true coastal forest east of the Mississippi. Croatan National Forest protects nearly 160,000 acres of pine forests, saltwater estuaries, bogs and pocosins; in particular, the pocosin ecosystems – essentially raised swamplands – are unique geological features...
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The Mountains to Sea Trail spans the width of North Carolina, running from the Great Smoky Mountains in the west, to the Outer Banks of Coastal Carolina. Much of the trail in the mountainous part of the state is near or parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway. This section of the MST along the parkway has been designated a National Recreation Trail. With elevations well above...
Learn MoreWhenever the National Park Service has surveyed visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park about their planned activities while in the Park, the number one response has always been “viewing scenery – scenic views.” Over the years the number and quality of those scenic viewpoints along Park roads has gradually declined. When Park roads were...
Learn MoreVolunteer forest stewards are needed to help maintain and clear hiking trails in Panthertown Valley, a backcountry recreation area in Nantahala National Forest, beginning at 9:30 a.m. March 21. Friends of Panthertown is hosting its first trail work day of the spring. Volunteers will meet at the Salt Rock Gap trailhead at the end of Breedlove Road at 9:30 a.m. From there,...
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Situated in the far northern reaches of the Panthertown Trail System in Nantahala National Forest, Turkey Knob and Blackrock Mountain offer long distance views of the more well known features of Panthertown Valley. From more than 4000 feet elevation, there are splendid views of Little and Big Green Mountains and The Great Wall. The full expanse of Mac’s Gap lays on...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service plans to implement a 1,200-acre prescribed burn in the Bearpen Mountain area of the Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on the weather. The burn will take two to three days to complete and will be confined to Bearpen Mountain. The southern end of the burn will be U.S. Highway 276 at the intersection of...
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Tucked away in the northeastern corner of DuPont State Forest in Western North Carolina, Stone Mountain is the highest point in the state forest at 3620 feet. Appropriately named for the exposed granite slab that traverses its summit, Stone Mountain offers a near 360° view of the surrounding terrain to winter hikers. Wintergreen Falls, though not as spectacular as...
Learn MoreThe Blue Ridge Parkway was recently selected for inclusion in Rand McNally’s Best of the Road program based on submission materials prepared by the Blue Ridge Parkway Association in collaboration with Parkway staff. National Parks Traveler has created its newest guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway in a collection of National Parks Traveler’s Essential Park...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, publisher of Meanderthals, and a passionate hiker. I live in western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my doorstep, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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