Explore North Carolina’s Shining Rock Wilderness and the brilliant, white quartz-encrusted Shining Rock Mountain on the Ivestor Gap Trail, the easiest route to this beautiful, iconic summit.
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Hike the Graveyard Fields Loop to explore tumbling waterfalls, views from Graveyard Ridge, and fields of wildflowers, blueberries, and blackberries just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hike the Appalachian Trail at Hot Springs, North Carolina, climbing to beautiful views from Lovers Leap and exploring the wide, whitewater-filled French Broad River.
Hike the exceptionally short and easy Hooker Falls Trail to an exceptionally beautiful waterfall and swimming hole at DuPont State Recreational Forest near Brevard, NC.
Hike to the mossy, rocky summit of Cedar Rock Mountain on the Big Rock Trail, scoring some beautiful summit views into North Carolina’s DuPont State Recreational Forest.
Hike to the Stone Mountain summit in Dupont State Forest to catch stunning, 180-degree panoramas from a rocky mountaintop with abundant wildflowers.
Hike to Upper Bearwallow Falls at Gorges State Park near Cashiers, NC, a half mile, kid-friendly hike to a beautiful, cascading waterfall.
Hike the Deep Gap Trail (aka the Black Mountain Crest Trail) at Mount Mitchell State Park, trekking a ridgeline to beautiful views at Mount Craig, the second highest peak east of the Mississippi River, and the neighboring Big Tom Mountain.
Hike to the Wesser Bald Tower on the Appalachian Trail in NC, climbing to exceptionally beautiful panoramic views from a historic lookout tower near Tellico Gap.
Hike from the winter-access trailhead at Linville Gorge, catching views of the tumbling Linville Falls waterfall from multiple overlooks, and plunging to the base of the gorge on the Plunge Basin Trail.