The first day of October I took a trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the high country north of Asheville, NC. The mountains here exceed 6,000 feet and the views seemingly go forever. It’s a captivating drive up, with plenty of pullouts so you can ooh and aah at the scenery. I tried to time my climb to catch some of the golden hour not long after dawn.

My first stop was the Craggy Pinnacle Trail at the Craggy Gardens section of the Parkway. It was a cloudless day, highly unusual in this area, particularly early morning. While the weather was top notch, clouds, of course, help with contrast and shadow for photography, so the conditions were challenging. Still, it was a delightful day to be out and about.

Next up was the 9 mile trip further north to Mt. Mitchell State Park. Not many visitors this day, as there were only about half a dozen of us at the summit. The cloudless sky continued as the views above 6,600 feet were instead hazy. A very little bit of fall color was beginning to show in the state park; still a ways to go.

Last stop was back at Craggy Gardens and the trail to Craggy Flats. I must admit to disappointment at the condition of the area. It’s obvious the pandemic has affected trail and viewshed maintenance here. There’s definitely an opportunity to volunteer at Craggy Flats. Contact the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters to see how you can help.

Speaking of the pandemic, I wanted to comment that I was pleasantly surprised at the number of folks wearing masks. I would say three quarters of those I encountered were masked up, even on the hiking trails. Good job! What’s up with the rest of you?

Here are a few photos from my day in the north high country.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Sometimes you have to work for the reward at the end of the trail. Hiking from Craggy Gardens to Douglas Falls is a prime example. You will descend 1,350 feet from the Blue Ridge Parkway to this 70-foot waterfall through a luscious forest of birch, maple, and beech, even enjoying old growth hemlock along the way. Expect a rough hike, as the terrain is very rugged in the Great Craggy Mountains. Hop rocks crossing various branches of Waterfall Creek that also have smaller attractive waterfalls of their own. What goes down, though, must come back up in the case of Douglas Falls. Save some energy because it’s a very strenuous climb back up to the Parkway. It was a cool summer day for this hike on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 beginning at 9:00AM and ending about 2:30PM. Our plan was to take the Mountains to Sea Trail from Craggy Gardens to its junction with the Douglas Falls Trail, then continue to the falls, returning the same way.

It was with some trepidation that I started this hike. I had always heard it is hard, really hard. Well, the only way to find out is to give it a try. You start on the famed, white-blazed Mountains to Sea Trail from the Craggy Gardens parking. A short hundred yards later, the trail splits with the left fork taking you to the heath balds high above the Parkway, and the right fork pointing to Douglas Falls. No looking back now.

Within less than a quarter mile you will come to another junction. Left turn for the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area, and right turn to Douglas Falls. You’re still on the Mountains to Sea Trail at this point. Now heading due north, and descending along the west flank of Craggy Pinnacle, you are likely to still hear the Harleys as they vroom past on the Parkway above.

You’re entering the deep forest now, one of mixed hardwoods including beech, maple and birch. The rhododendron are all around as always, and on this day in mid-summer we were treated to bee balm, St. John’s Wort, and lots of chickweed. The trail reputation I had read about is true. The tread is very rocky and there are many exposed roots just itching to snag your toe and cause a stumble. It was not as overgrown as I expected, but I did catch the occasional sting of a nettle leaf reaching out to be a nuisance.

About a half-mile down the trail you will begin an unexpected climb of about 200 feet as you go up and over first Big Fork Ridge, and then Porcupine Ridge. Remember this for the climb back up later as it is somewhat demoralizing giving back the hard earned elevation gain. At the one mile point, and just a little less than a third of the way to Douglas Falls, you will reach the last trail junction. Here, the MtS continues uphill to the right, and the yellow-blazed Douglas Falls Trail (#162) proceeds downward to your left. The descent becomes quite serious now, even entering a series of switchbacks following the junction.

The trees get considerably bigger as you enter several stands of old growth forest over the next couple miles. The first are of the hardwood variety including some monster birches that have trunks six feet wide. There are also two distinct stands of hemlock that will take your breath away with their magnificence. Somehow these amazing creatures have managed to avoid the blight of the hemlock woolly adelgid and continue to thrive.

The rush of water in the forest will also now be your constant companion as you will make three crossings of various branches of Waterfall Creek. For us, each crossing was quite benign because there wasn’t much water, but beware the slippery rocks and heavier flow following a hard rain. Two of the three cross in the midst of prolonged slide waterfalls. Don’t be confused thinking one of these may be Douglas Falls and short yourself. Believe me, when you finally reach Douglas Falls you will know it.

The Great Craggy Mountains have formed one of the southern Appalachian rainforests that are common to this elevation. Drainages from the mountains high above are ubiquitous along the trail as the understory becomes thicker, the forest darker, and the tread more moist. This liquid nourishment is conducive to growing and the flora are quite prominent the farther down you go, particularly the bee balm.

I’m told to watch out for yellow jackets dwelling in all the rocks along this trail, but we were fortunate to be traversing it on an especially cool day for August, so the critters chose to remain in their holes waiting for afternoon heat. In fact, we didn’t even have to break out the repellent at all. Even the gnats chose to leave us alone.

You will know you’re getting close to Douglas Falls when you come upon a house-sized rock outcropping straight ahead of you on the trail. Surrounded by old growth hemlock, this area of the forest is quite remarkable for the size of its objects. On the back side of the outcrop is a clearing with an ugly fire ring detracting from the otherwise beautiful nature of the scene. Around the outcrop the trail takes a northeasterly turn, descends steeply, then makes a hard u-turn to the southwest.

You will now begin to hear the tell-tale sound of an obvious large waterfall, and you’re no more than 10 minutes from Douglas Falls. Approaching the falls you will notice seemingly dozens of trails fanning out in every direction like an open hand. I suppose it doesn’t really matter which one you take, as they all eventually end at the base of the falls. It’s just a shame that the “volunteers” found the need to stray from the original trail and destroy the forest. It took us a total of about 2 hours, 20 minutes to reach the base of Douglas Falls.

What you are presented with is most definitely worth the hard descent. The plunge of Douglas Falls from above is at least seventy feet. It free-falls over a massive wall, that combined with the surrounding hillside, forms a sort of natural amphitheater. The base of the granite wall is recessed from the precipice, so it is quite easy to view the plummeting water from every angle. You can walk behind the falls or directly underneath if you so desire. There is no plunge pool. The water immediately continues down Waterfall Creek for its eventual meetup with Carter Creek.

Set back about 50 feet from the landing zone is a perfectly placed log that just screamed LUNCH at us. It’s like having box seats to a major league baseball game, except in this case the show in front of us was the stately Douglas Falls. Put this one in my top ten of “best places to enjoy your lunch.”

Unfortunately on this day, the waterfall was more of a shower than a deluge, but we could see from the wetness on the rock wall that this can be a major tumult when the conditions are right. In fact, I suspect this log where we were safely sitting 50 feet away is likely inundated during spring runoff. Following a most enjoyable meal we decided to explore the amphitheater.

After completely circling the falls, I think my favorite view was from the right side. From there you have the best look at the total largeness of the scene. The depth of the spray from the descent was probably 15 feet, even on this low volume day, and it falls at least 10 feet from the recessed cavity at the base of the wall.

High above the base on the left side is an ominous looking cave. I didn’t go up that far, but my companion said the unmistakable tracks of black bear were all over the entrance. He needed eyes in the back of his head to watch the cave entrance as he turned to photograph the plunge of Douglas Falls. Fortunately for him, no bears decided to come answer the door.

There’s a somewhat odd lean-to constructed near the lunch log. I suppose someone had a lot of time on their hands, or got caught in an unexpected thunderstorm. There is also another trail that heads to the east and is a method of accessing Douglas Falls from below, rather than from above as we did. You can get there from the little town of Barnardsville. In fact, there is a whole series of remote trails that surround the Walker Creek and Walker Ridge area of Pisgah National Forest. Ah, more trails for more days.

We stayed at the falls for about 45 minutes, and then finally decided we had to man up and begin the ascent. I’ve always preferred trails that go up first to the destination, and then come back down at the end. For me anyway, I prefer to do the climbing early on when I still have plenty of energy. Hikes like this one where you get fatigued on the descent, but then still have to climb 1,350 feet back out make me weary just thinking about it.

Sometimes you just have to put your head down, put one foot in front of the other, and trudge on. Based on the time of descent, we estimated it would take us about three hours to get back to the top. So we steeled ourselves for a three hour climb and pressed forward. The first half mile is pretty hard, but then the grade upward becomes considerably more moderate.

Some days you’re just stronger on the trail than others, and thank goodness this ascent was one of those for me. Sure, we stopped every half hour for a 3-5 minute break, but I was surprised how well we knocked out the mileage. We passed the only other hiker we saw all day right about where the Douglas Falls Trail rejoined the Mountains to Sea. He explained this was his third attempt at this trail, that his first two tries he had turned back early. He was determined, however, to go all the way this time. We told him of the landmarks to expect and wished him well with his adventure.

I was totally pleased when we popped back out on the Blue Ridge Parkway just two and a half hours after leaving Douglas Falls, a full half hour less than our estimate. Yes, I was definitely tired, but it was that good tired, one you feel after a job well done. That trepidation I’d experienced on this spot early in the morning? Totally unnecessary.

OK, let’s summarize this. First off, let me concede that this is a hard hike. However, I would not say it’s as difficult as I expected. There’s no question the terrain is extremely rugged. There’s no question the trail tread is rough; very rocky and hard on the feet. You have to constantly be on your guard to avoid slips, snags and falls from the roots and uneven ground. The reward that Douglas Falls presents at the bottom of the trail is most definitely worth the exertion. If you’re in pretty good hiking shape, even that climb back up isn’t so bad. I’ve certainly done worse… even just recently.

August may not necessarily be the best time to take on this hike. We were fortunate that it was an unusually cool day. You may want to consider tackling Douglas Falls either in Spring when the water is likely to be flowing freely, or in October when you can enjoy the coolness of the air and the changing leaves that are a harbinger of Fall. Keep in mind, though, that those are also likely to be the two times of year when Craggy Gardens would be most crowded. People love the rhododendron bloom and their leaf peeping.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Hiking among the giants of the East. That’s what you’re doing when you take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Mitchell State Park for this trek on the Mountains to Sea Trail in the Black Mountains. With fabulous views of the Blacks and the Great Craggy Range, and closeup experiences with gnarly old growth fir and spruce krummholz, this stretch of the MtS is some of the best of the North Carolina high country. The trail climbs through ancient forest, past moss-covered granite outcrops, to the crest of the ridge and Blackstock Knob summit. From here you can almost reach out and touch Mt. Mitchell, the tallest peak in the East. Descend to Balsam Gap, then return on perhaps the most scenic stretch along the entire length of the Parkway. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 beginning at 11:00AM and ending about 5:30PM. Our plan was to take the Mountains to Sea Trail from Mt. Mitchell State Park across Blackstock Knob and down to Balsam Gap, then return along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This majestic hike could easily be accomplished as a shuttle, or two-car excursion as there is convenient parking at each end of the trail. The big problem, though, is the extreme remote nature of Mt. Mitchell State Park. It is only accessible via the Blue Ridge Parkway, and it’s at least an hour drive from Asheville, or any other town nearby. So using two cars would involve quite a bit of fuel. You decide. It’s 5.9 miles one way, or 11.3 miles as a loop.

We chose to begin the hike from the Mt. Mitchell end as climbing to the ridge crest is more gradual. Once seeing the descent at the Balsam Gap end, I think we made the correct decision. The trailhead for the Mountains to Sea Trail is about a half mile up Hwy 128 into Mt. Mitchell State Park. Look closely to your left as you approach, because it isn’t especially easy to notice. There is a small gravel pullout on the right side of the road with enough room for three tightly bunched vehicles.

The trail starts out heading due south and uphill for a quarter mile, then levels out and makes a hard turn northwestward. We noticed immediately that someone had been through very recently with a scythe or weed eater, making the trail extremely easy to navigate. It was also apparent that a lot of time and love had been put into appropriate rock placement and trail tread leveling to ease the ascent.

On our way up the Parkway from Asheville in the morning, when we reached the high country past Craggy Gardens, the roadway was lined with an assortment of wildflowers that would make the NC Arboretum proud. Our first wildflower on the trail was a stunning Turk’s Cap. Usually orange in color, this one was nearly red and stood almost shoulder height. Obviously, a mature plant. Our wildflower experience was just beginning.

At roughly a half mile into the hike, the trail pops out of the forest and opens up the entire expanse of the Asheville Watershed. To the south are Greybeard Mountain and Brushy Knob. To their west the Burnett Reservoir, and further west the twin peaks of the Great Craggy Mountains: Craggy Dome and Craggy Pinnacle. Climbing a little farther up the face of Potato Knob, we reached a parapet-like outcropping that showed us the winding pathway taken by the Blue Ridge Parkway to reach those landmarks.

While sitting on the outcropping enjoying the grand view and a snack, we could now hear the sound of a motorized weed eater not far above us. Darn! That meant the nicely mown path would be ending soon. Sure enough, 10 minutes later we encountered the intrepid (and tired) worker and thanked him profusely for his efforts. We chatted with Mike Williams of the Carolina Mountain Club for awhile and learned that he is frequently up here in the Blacks doing much appreciated trail maintenance.

As coincidence would have it, we also met the only other hiker we would see on this day, coming the other direction. Thinking our way forward would now be surrounded by waist high grass and weeds, we said our farewell to Mike and pushed onward.

Soon afterward, we re-entered the forest, and were rewarded with short ground cover alongside the trail. And it remained that way throughout. Our timing had been perfect. The worst of the tall grass had already been taken care of by Mike.

We also began climbing again, now rather steeply, up the south face of Potato Knob toward the ridge crest on the knob’s west flank. Rather large outcroppings were scattered about, covered in moss and lichens, a result of the hundreds of inches of rainfall that occur in this region each year. Grace, my companion’s black & tan hound, was thoroughly enjoying herself. The scents were doggie nirvana.

We began noticing teeny, tiny white growths poking just a few inches out of the ground. Seemingly part floral and part fungus, Dave informed me these are known as indian pipe. They grow where the soil is very moist, push their way through fallen evergreen needles and lichens, and stay together in clusters. There were literally hundreds over the next mile of trail. It seems every time I foray into the wilderness I learn about something new, and on this day it was indian pipe. Dave said he had never seen so many in one area before.

When you reach the ridge crest, the trail levels out, then roller coasters for a mile or more. You’re above 6,000 feet now and will likely notice it in your breathing. The forest is amazing here. You’re surrounded by spruce and fir krummholz, and if you look closely, amid the moss and lichens you will find dozens of little micro gardens with various hues of mushrooms and other fungus springing from the moist rotting wood. We also found the first turtleheads of summer and pockets of chickweed hugging the stone outcrops.

Upon reaching the low point along the ridge at Rainbow Gap, we began looking for a meadow off to the north, a tip Mike had given us. He said there is a Cessna crash site less than a hundred yards off the trail. Sure enough, we found the fern and St. John’s Wort adorned meadow, and then the wreckage at the southeast corner. The cockpit and left wing were still somewhat intact, but all the instruments and the rest were long gone. It was obvious the pilot had missed the gap by mere feet.

Returning to the trail, we were now looking for a place to have lunch. The next stretch of trail up Blackstock Knob is the hardest of the hike. It’s about 325 feet of elevation gain from Rainbow Gap to the summit, all steep. By the time we found a nice spot to eat, we were definitely needing the rest, and the nourishment. The moss on the summit is incredible. I found one fallen log that I counted five different species of moss on, and it was more than an inch thick.

Continuing westward, occasionally the forest would open to the north for just a faint peek at the Black Mountains Range nearby. Suddenly the peeking became a full-blown view when we reached what I would call a photographer’s overlook. The trail maintenance crew had carved out a small pathway through the brush right to the precipice of the ridge. The full length of the Blacks was directly in front of us, with the Big Tom Preserve down below. The scene is sensational, and is the photo at the top of this post. Normally I’m not a fan of trail crews destroying living plants, but in this case I think the view was well done.

We were really beginning to wonder when this trail would start heading down. The summit of Blackstock Knob is 6,330′ and the elevation at Balsam Gap is 5,320′. So we had a thousand feet of drop ahead with not much trail left. Sure enough, the descent began in earnest.

A seemingly endless series of switchbacks helped make it easier on the knees and ankles, but this is serious downhill. Dave mentioned that on a previous visit to this trail he had come up from Balsam Gap. Worn out when he reached Blackstock Knob, he decided to turn around. I can see why. I’m glad we started at the other end.

Finally after about 20 minutes of continuous down, down, down we popped out on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Balsam Gap. It had taken us four hours to get here from the other end. Granted we stopped for lots of pictures and such, but four more hours back didn’t seem like a good idea. Dave suggested we walk back on the Parkway to make this a loop, and he didn’t hear any complaints from me.

By the way, there is another trailhead at the Balsam Gap pullout besides the Mountains to Sea. It is called the Big Butt Trail. It follows Brush Fence Ridge to Point Misery and beyond and supposedly has dazzling views of the Black Mountains from across the valley that is the Big Tom Preserve. Just another hike for another day. It is so wonderful to live in Western North Carolina.

Well, we still had nearly five miles back on the Parkway, and then that last half mile up Hwy 128 in the state park back to the car. Might as well get started. Walking on the road is certainly easier, and quicker, than hiking over roots and rocks in the forest, but there’s still quite a bit of stamina-draining uphill. What made it so much easier to endure was all the wildflowers.

Along the way, I saw daisies, and coneflowers, and black-eyed susans; bee balm, and geraniums, and turk’s cap. I even saw the first goldenrod of the season. Yep, in the high country it pops out even in late July. Rounding one curve in mile 357, we could see the outcrop high above where we had stopped earlier for a snack.

The Parkway is very impressive here. The work that was accomplished by the builders more than 70 years ago is truly amazing. I think this 10-mile stretch from Craggy Gardens to Mt. Mitchell is some of the most beautiful along the full 469-mile length. There wasn’t much gas left in my tank for that final trudge up Hwy 128, but six and a half hours after starting, we finished.

Best Hike Let’s summarize. You should definitely do this hike. The high country forest is luscious, and the mountain vistas on both sides of the ridge are stunning. Even if you don’t go all the way to Balsam Gap and back, consider trying at least part of this section of the Mountains to Sea Trail for a fine example of what WNC hiking is all about. I would call this one a Best Hike.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

June means catawba rhododendron at Craggy Gardens. Located northeast of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Craggy Gardens is loaded with the purple and maroon beauties. There are two short, easy trails near the Visitor Center that access mountaintops for spectacular vista views and bunches and bunches of rhodies. Craggy Pinnacle takes you above 5,800 feet for a view of the Parkway below, as well as other famous landmarks like Greybeard Mountain, the Asheville Watershed, and the twin peaks of Linville Gorge. Just the other side of Pinnacle Gap is the Craggy Gardens Trail to the flowerific heath bald at Craggy Flats. I enjoyed these trails and other nearby features on Friday, June 6, 2014 beginning at 9:15AM and ending about 1:30PM. My plan was to take the Craggy Pinnacle and Craggy Gardens trails in search of blossoming catawba rhododendron. The weather changed my plans, for the better.

For the third year in a row, my venture up to Craggy Gardens in June for rhododendron blooming was met with a cloud. A big cloud. One that had the entire Craggy Gardens area socked in. Three years in a row! Well, this time I was going to wait it out. The fog was bound to lift sooner or later, right?

The Craggy Gardens Picnic Area is a bit lower than the viewing peaks, so I headed there first. The parking lot at the picnic area is surrounded by massive catawba bushes that were probably 75% of peak bloom. It was still foggy, but you don’t need to see far to do closeups of blossoms, so I spent probably a half hour playing among the blooms. The purple ones had opened the most, with the maroon ones still several days away. In the gallery below, these will be the first few photos.

Driving back up the mountain to the Visitor Center, I could see that the cloud was still hanging out, so it was Mt. Mitchell here I come. The tallest point in the eastern half of the U.S. is just 10 miles further northeast on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After half that distance I had dropped far enough in elevation to be below the massive cloud cover, so I found a pullout and got some shots of Burnett Reservoir — part of the Asheville Watershed — Greybeard Mountain, and the Parkway itself.

Once you reach Mt. Mitchell State Park, it’s back up, up, up into the cloud layer. I didn’t really expect to be able to see much from the Mitchell viewing platform, but at least I was killing time waiting for the sun to burn off the clouds. My expectations were realized as the area was surrounded in every direction by the billowing obscurity. I did take a brief walk on the nature trail near the summit to enjoy the krummholz, and found a delightful little pathway that was covered in bluets.

Well, it was now an hour later and still 30 minutes or so back to Craggy Gardens, so I thought I’d give it a shot. When I reached the parking area for Craggy Pinnacle at milepost 363, I could tell the cloud layer was a bit thinner than before. I threw a sandwich and some water in my bag and headed the short distance to the top.

Despite this being a weekday, and despite the fog, there were quite a few hearty souls out doing the same as me. That’s the thing about Craggy Gardens in June. Everybody on the East Coast knows about the rhododendron bloom. I even encountered a couple all the way from Germany. I feel sorry for those who come from out of state, or in this case out of country, and all they find is fog. That’s the nature of the Great Craggy Mountains. They sound a fickle siren song.

The pullout for Craggy Pinnacle is about a half mile northeast of the Visitor Center. You pass under the Pinnacle Gap tunnel to get from one to the other. The Craggy Pinnacle trailhead is adjacent to the parking pullout. It is 0.7 mile to the summit of the pinnacle. Once on the trail, you immediately enter a canopy of mature rhododendron, and pretty much remain there all the way to the top. There are a couple of rock outcroppings, but really not much to see along the trail.

You reach a three-way split in the trail at the half mile point. The right fork goes to an overlook where you can see the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area and Craggy Flats (my destination for later), as well as long distance views to the west and north. The center fork goes to the lower pinnacle overlook, one that doesn’t offer much more than the upper overlook, other than a nice view of the pointy tipped summit of Craggy Pinnacle.

I went to the Upper Overlook first. On the final pull to the top, a couple coming down saw my camera and suggested if I wait, the sun had been making a momentary appearance every ten minutes or so. And so it was. When I first popped out on the pinnacle it was all one massive cloud. So I found a bench out of the wind and enjoyed my sandwich while listening to the other tourists lament their bad fortune with the weather.

About the time I finished eating, sure enough, there was a small patch of blue sky, and I could actually see the Visitor Center down below. So it was for the next 20 minutes as I played leap frog with the clouds as they wafted through Pinnacle Gap. It was actually kinda cool watching the fast moving clouds come up from the valley on the west, hurtling through the gap, and then disappearing back down to Burnett Reservoir eastward.

The layer never did lift enough for me to see all the way to Tablerock and Hawksbill Mountains at Linville Gorge, but I did catch some nice views of the reservoir and Greybeard Mountain standing tall over the little hamlet of Montreat. On the way back down, I stopped at the two lower overlooks, and experienced the same variance of alternating clouds and sun. Perhaps by the time I got to Craggy Flats the sky would be completely clear.

The Craggy Gardens trailhead is on the far southwestern end of the Visitor Center parking area. It heads slightly downhill and behind the stone wall that lines the car park. This trail heads multiple destinations, including Douglas Falls, but if you always take the left fork you will make your way to Craggy Flats, a 10 acre heath bald about half way to the picnic area. This pathway is actually part of the famous Mountains to Sea Trail and bears its white blaze markings.

It is less than half a mile from the trailhead to Craggy Flats. Upon reaching the weather shelter near the top of the hill, you can turn left to enjoy a loop around the heath bald, or you can go through the shelter to continue on to the picnic grounds. Since I had already visited the picnic area earlier in the morning, Craggy Flats was my destination.

I was probably a week early to enjoy the total experience of the catawba rhododendrons in their full majesty. Perhaps 30-40% of the flowers were in bloom, the rest still in bud just waiting for that right moment. Be assured however, that there are plenty of them. So even though I missed the timing by a few days, I still got to enjoy quite a show. They say that the average peak at Craggy Gardens is about June 15, so make your plans accordingly. Also expect there to be massive crowds, the exact reason I went early.

And because of that, I had the heath bald nearly to myself. I didn’t encounter nearly as many others as I had on the Craggy Pinnacle Trail. Keep in mind that these really aren’t hiking trails per se. They are merely a means for the tourist to get out of their car at the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, and stretch their legs a bit to get to the prime viewing locations. If you want actual hiking, you can continue on the Douglas Falls Trail 10 miles or more into the backcountry. Also, off the road to the picnic area is the Snowball Trail.

As I imagined, the cloud layer had now completely changed. It was high, puffy white clouds, with the Craggy Flats bald totally bathed in sunshine. There is a nice view of both Craggy Pinnacle and Craggy Dome. That’s the picture at the top of this post. I spent a half hour walking around, enjoying the views and the rhododendron, and feeling content that I had decided to stick it out hoping for a change in the weather. As they say, good things come to those who wait.

I did get a little exercise on this day. Counting the mile round trip to the summit of Mt. Mitchell and the nature trail there, the mile and a half round trip for Craggy Pinnacle, and another mile round trip to Craggy Flats, I took a few steps. If you’re a brand new hiker just starting out, this is the kind of thing you can do to begin getting your legs under you. You will see so much more around the Blue Ridge Parkway if you just get out of your car occasionally and go exploring. Look for the trailhead markers.

To summarize, Craggy Gardens is an extremely popular destination on the Blue Ridge Parkway for both tourists and local North Carolinians. Especially in the month of June, the crowds can be quite large, so plan accordingly. Expect there to be fog in the morning. It is the nature of the high country. I’m an early riser, so I tend to get antsy and don’t want to wait until afternoon. But if you do arrive at noon, or later, you are more likely to have a better opportunity at long distance views. Regardless of whether the rhododendron is in bloom, Craggy Gardens is a scenic destination in all seasons except winter.

It’s rare when you can get to Craggy Gardens in winter. Usually the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed. However, with the mild weather this year, the Parkway has remained open nearly the entire season. If you have ever wondered what Craggy Gardens looks like with the leaves down and the plants wearing brown instead of green, take a look.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.