Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway The... | Buy

Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkwayis designed to be an indispensable resource for anyone who uses the Parkway -- America's most heavily visited unit of the National Park system -- as a portal to the Southern Appalachian experience. Hikers and motorists alike can continually refer to the book's mile-by-mile mileage log to overlooks and waysides, entrances and exits, interpretive sites, museums, visitor centers, craft shops, and all the easy "leg-stretcher" trails that are such an accessible part of a Parkway trip. But this is more than just a guide to Parkway facilities and paths. By including the best trails in the national forests, state parks, and private preserves that line the 469-mile scenic road,Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkwayis a single-volume solution for the serious explorer, whether on foot or in a car. To aid the reader in experiencing the Parkway's best trails, this books contains more than 70 detailed topographic route maps, dozens of descriptive photographs, and in-depth trail descriptions with difficulty ratings and detailed directions. Author Randy Johnson has helped design Parkway trails and, as a noted Southern Appalachian author, has explored the unique richness of Appalachian culture. This book meshes the best of the Parkway's outdoor experiences with a keen sense of the cultural heritage that makes the Parkway a national treasure -- a motor trail to the heart of the United States' least homogenized region.

Randy Johnson divides his time between Greensboro, North Carolina, and his home in the mountains near Banner Elk. He is the senior editor of United Airlines' award-winning in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, and is the author of Hiking Virginia, Hiking North Carolina, and Best Easy Day Hikes Blue Ridge Parkway.

Map Legend

vii

About This Book

ix

Introduction

1

(22)

The North-Central Blue Ridge

Mileposts 0.0 (I--64 at Shenandoah NP) to 121.4 (U.S. 220 at Roanoke, VA)

Humpback Rocks Recreation Area (Mileposts 5.8--6.0)

23

(6)

Mountain Farm Trail

23

(1)

Humpback Rocks Trail Options

24

(5)

Greenstone Self-Guiding Trail (Milepost 8.8)

29

(2)

Wintergreen Mountain Resort Trails (Milepost 13.7)

31

(4)

Three Ridges Wilderness (Milepost 13.7)

35

(4)

Three Ridges Wilderness Circuit

35

(4)

White Rock Falls Circuit and Sherando Lake Recreation Area Hikes (Milepost 19.9)

39

(5)

White Rock Falls Circuit

39

(3)

Sherando Lake Trails

42

(2)

Saint Mary's Wilderness (Milepost 22.1)

44

(5)

Crabtree Falls (Milepost 27.2)

49

(5)

The Priest

52

(1)

Spy Rock

53

(1)

Yankee Horse Overlook Trail (Milepost 34.4)

54

(3)

Indian Gap Trail (Milepost 47.5)

57

(1)

Otter Creek Recreation Area (Mileposts 60.8--63.7)

58

(6)

Otter Creek Trail

59

(3)

Otter Lake Loop Trail

62

(2)

James River Water Gap (Milepost 63.6)

64

(4)

Trail of Trees

64

(2)

James River Trail

66

(2)

James River Face Wilderness (Mileposts 63.9--71.0)

68

(9)

Appalachian Trail Circuit near Matts Creek Shelter

69

(3)

Devil's Marbleyard Circuit

72

(2)

At End-to-Ender and Summit Circuits in the James River Face

74

(3)

Thunder Ridge Trail and Wilderness (Milepost 74.7)

77

(2)

Apple Orchard Falls Trail and Cornelius Creek Circuits (Milepost 78.4)

79

(2)

Peaks of Otter (Mileposts 83.1-85.9)

81

(12)

Fallingwater Cascades Trail

83

(1)

Flat Top Trail

84

(2)

Abbott Lake Trail

86

(2)

Sharp Top Trail

88

(2)

Johnson Farm, Harkening Hill, and Elk Run Loop Trails

90

(3)

Roanoke Area Trails (Mileposts 110.6--120.4)

93

(15)

Stewarts Knob Trail

94

(1)

Roanoke River Self-Guiding Trail

94

(1)

Virginia's Explore Park Trails

95

(1)

Roanoke Mountain Summit Trail

96

(2)

Chestnut Ridge Trail

98

(4)

Mill Mountain Park and Star Trail

102

(6)

The Blue Ridge Plateau

Mileposts 121.4 (U.S. 220 at Roanoke, VA) to 276.4 (U.S. 421 at Deep Gap, NC)

Buck Mountain Trail (Milepost 123.2)

108

(1)

Smart View Loop Trail (Milepost 154.5)

109

(4)

Rocky Knob Recreation Area (Mileposts 165.3--169.0)

113

(11)

Rock Castle Gorge Day Hikes

114

(3)

Rocky Knob Day Hikes

117

(3)

Black Ridge Trail

120

(3)

Rocky Knob Picnic Loop

123

(1)

Mountain Industry Trail at Mabry Mill (Milepost 176.2)

124

(4)

Round Meadow Creek Trail (Milepost 179.2)

128

(1)

Cumberland Knob Recreation Area (Mileposts 217.5--218.6)

129

(7)

Gully Creek Trail

130

(2)

Cumberland Knob Trail

132

(1)

High Piney Spur

133

(3)

Doughton Park (Mileposts 241.1--248.1)

136

(9)

Wildcat Rocks and Fodder Stack

137

(2)

Bluff Mountain Trail to Bluff Mountain

139

(3)

Basin Cove Circuit Hikes

142

(1)

Caudill Cabin via Grassy Gap Fire Road and Basin Creek Trail

143

(2)

Jumpinoff Rocks Trail (Milepost 260.3)

145

(2)

E. B. Jeffress Park (Mileposts 271.9--272.5)

147

(7)

The Cascades Trail

147

(2)

Tompkins Knob Trail

149

(5)

The High Country

Mileposts 276.4 (U.S. 421 at Deep Gap) to 384.7 (U.S. 74 at Asheville)

Moses Cone Memorial Park (Mileposts 291.8--294.6)

154

(14)

Figure Eight Trail

155

(2)

Flat Top Road

157

(1)

Bass Lake Loop Hike

158

(2)

Moses Cone Manor House Circuit Hike

160

(1)

The Maze Loop

161

(1)

Watkins Road Circuit Hikes

162

(2)

The Rich Mountain Trail

164

(1)

Trout Lake Loop and Rich Mountain Carriage Road

165

(3)

Price Park (Mileposts 295.9--297.2)

168

(8)

Green Knob Trail

169

(2)

Boone Fork Trail

171

(2)

Price Lake Trail

173

(3)

Tanawha Trail and the Parkway at Grandfather Mountain (Mileposts 298.6--304.4)

176

(10)

Tanawha Trail Hikes near Holloway Mountain Road

178

(2)

Tanawha Trail from Cold Prong Pond Parking Area

180

(1)

Tanawha Trail to Rough Ridge

181

(3)

Linn Cove Viaduct

184

(2)

Grandfather Mountain (Mileposts 299.9-305.1)

186

(11)

Tanawha Trail and Daniel Boone Scout Trail to Calloway Peak

188

(4)

Grandfather Trail

192

(3)

Profile Trail

195

(2)

Beacon Heights from the Parkway and via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Milepost 305.2)

197

(3)

Flat Rock Self-Guiding Loop Trail (Milepost 308.3)

200

(3)

Linville Gorge Area (Milepost 312.2)

203

(5)

Hawksbill Mountain

203

(2)

Tablerock and Shortoff Mountains

205

(3)

Linville Falls Recreation Area (Milepost 316.4)

208

(5)

Dugger's Creek Loop, Linville Gorge Trail, and Plunge Basin Overlook Trail

208

(3)

Linville Falls Trail

211

(2)

Linville Gorge Wilderness (Milepost 317.5)

213

(5)

Chestoa View Loop Trail (Milepost 320.8)

218

(2)

Crabtree Meadows Recreation Area (Milepost 339.5)

220

(3)

Crabtree Falls Loop Trail

220

(3)

Mt. Mitchell (Mileposts 344.1--355.3)

223

(8)

Mt. Mitchell Trail to Mt. Mitchell

225

(2)

Balsam Nature Trail

227

(2)

Black Mountain Crest Trail

229

(2)

Douglas Falls Trail (Milepost 363.4)

231

(1)

Craggy Gardens (Mileposts 364.1--364.4)

232

(10)

The Craggy Pinnacle Trail

234

(1)

Craggy Gardens Trail and longer hike via Mountains-to-Sea Trail

235

(7)

The Southern Appalachians

Mileposts 384.7 (U.S. 74 at Asheville) to 469.1 (U.S. 441 at Great Smoky Mountains NP)

Mt. Pisgah Area Trails (Mileposts 407.6--411.9)

242

(7)

Mt. Pisgah Trail and Picnic Area Connector

243

(1)

Frying Pan Mountain Trail

244

(2)

Buck Spring Trail

246

(3)

Graveyard Fields Loop Trail (Milepost 418.8)

249

(4)

Shining Rock Wilderness (Mileposts 411.8--423.2)

253

(8)

Shining Rock Wilderness Circuits from the East Side

255

(2)

Bald Summit Circuits on the Art Loeb Trail from the South Side

257

(2)

West Side Circuit and Cold Mountain

259

(2)

Devil's Courthouse Trail and a Side Trip on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Milepost 422.4)

261

(2)

Richland Balsam Self-Guiding Trail (Milepost 431.0)

263

(2)

Waterrock Knob Trail (Milepost 451.2)

265

(2)

Blue Ridge Parkway Mileage Log

267

(38)

Appendix A: Wildflowers Are Blooming!

305

(2)

Appendix B: Contact Information

307

(3)

About the Author

310

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