Awesome. Thank you, you are so kind and helpful! I am loving reading your blogs. Your writing and descriptions of the vegetation and views are fantastic. I am jealous! I attempted to capture my experience in the NC mountains in writing, but have taken a hiatus because I couldn’t seem to adequately describe anything I saw. I love that you know the names of every flower and tree and rock face. : ) Very engaging. Thanks for you sharing your experiences.

That trail is pure wilderness in the truest sense of the word. You have to hike
down from the rim on either side of the gorge about 1200-1300 feet to get to the
river. The gorge trail that follows the river is really, really rough. There are
trees down across the trail. There are places you have to jump from boulder to
boulder. There are other places you may have to wade chest deep in the
river.

The gorge trail is 12 miles long from north to south. There are a few trails
that come down to it from the west rim of the gorge and a couple that come down from
the east. People who hike the entire gorge trail usually leave a car at Linville
Falls and another car at Lake James.

If you just want to see the river and hike maybe 1/2 mile along the rocks,
I can recommend the Babel Tower Trail that goes down from the west rim.

I would be delighted if I’ve motivated you. There is a lot of beauty to be seen from the tops of the mountains.

I agree Tom. The first time I did it was last October and the foliage was lit up like a pumpkin patch at the fire station. I’ve included it in my Best Hikes.

It’s unforgettable in the autumn.