Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway: The Ultimate Travel Guide To America's Most Popular Scenic Roadway

by Randy Johnson

Overview

The Blue Ridge Parkway's rippling horizon tempts motorists or to easy and adventurous trails to spectacular views, waterfalls, and historic sites. This new, full-color edition of Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway provides the latest information to plan a customized trip: Hundreds of hikes on the Parkway and in adjacent parks, Full-color National Geographic topo maps, detailed trail descriptions, trailhead GPS, Insightful hike and area overviews, details on elevation gain, difficulty, and more, This guide leads you along the 469 miles of the Parkway, the most visited unit of the national park system. A Mileage Log tracks mile-by-mile visitor centers, facilities, entrances, and exits. Thrill to adventure in any of the state parks and wilderness along the Way. Discover attractions, dining, lodging, and more in neighboring cities and towns. Falcon is the premier publisher of outdoor recreation guidebooks in North America. Written by and for outdoor enthusiasts, these guides-chockful of color photos and National Geographic maps-not only provide you with the skills you need but also take you along with our authoritative local exports on these experiences of a lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493024605
Publisher:	Falcon Guides
Publication date:	05/15/2017
Series:	Regional Hiking Series
Edition description:	3rd Edition
Pages:	360
Sales rank:	1,055,200
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Randy Johnson is an authority on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the author of Hiking North Carolina and Best Easy Day Hikes Blue Ridge Parkway (both FalconGuides). He was previously the longtime editor of United Airlines' award-winning in-flight magazine, Hemispheres.

Table of Contents

Foreword xii

How to Use This Guide 1

Introduction 3

Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway 3

Life on the Parkway 5

The Climate 6

Being Prepared 8

Zero Impact 18

Hiking with Pets 19

Hiking with Kids 20

Trail Etiquette 21

Map Legend 23

The Hikes: The North-Central Blue Ridge: Mileposts 0.0 (1-64 at Shenandoah National Park, VA) to 121.4 (US 220 at Roanoke, VA)

1 Humpback Rocks Recreation Area (Mileposts 5.8-6.0) 28

Mountain Farm Trail 28

Humpback Rocks Area Trails 30

2 Greenstone Self-Guiding Trail (Milepost 8.8) 36

3 Wintergreen Mountain Resort Trails (Milepost 13.7) 38

4 Three Ridges Wilderness (Milepost 13.7) 43

Three Ridges Wilderness Circuit 43

5 White Rock Falls Circuit and Sherando Lake Recreation Area Hikes (Milepost 19.9) 47

White Rock Falls Circuit 49

Sherando Lake Trails 50

6 Saint Mary's Wilderness (Milepost 22.1) 53

7 Crabtree Falls (Milepost 27.2) 57

The Priest 59

Spy Rock 61

8 Yankee Horse Overlook Trail (Milepost 34.4) 63

9 Indian Gap Trail (Milepost 47.5) 66

10 Otter Creek Recreation Area (Mileposts 60.8-63.6) 68

Otter Creek Trail 68

Otter Lake Loop Trail 70

11 James River Water Gap (Milepost 63.6) 74

Trail of Trees 74

James River Trail 77

12 James River Face Wilderness (Mileposts 63.9-71.0) 79

Appalachian Trail Circuit to Matte Creek Shelter 80

Devil's Marbleyard Circuit 82

AT End-to-Ender and Summit Circuits in the James Rivet Face 84

13 Thunder Ridge Trail and Wilderness (Milepost 74.7) 88

14 Apple Orchard Falls Trail and Cornelius Creek Circuits (Milepost 78.4) 91

15 Peaks of Otter (Mileposts 83 1-85.9) 95

Falling water Cascades Trail 96

Flat Top Trail 98

Abbott Lake Trail 99

Sharp Top Trail 102

Johnson Farm, Harkening Hill, and Elk Run Loop Trails 105

16 Roanoke Area Trails (Mileposts 110.6-120.4) 109

Stewarts Knob Trail 110

Roanoke River Self-Guiding Trail 111

Roanoke Mountain Summit Trail 112

Chestnut Ridge Trail 114

Mill Mountain Park and Star Trail 117

The Blue Ridge Plateau: Mileposts 121.4 (US 220 at Roanoke, VA) to 276.4 (US 421 at Deep Gap, NC)

17 Buck Mountain Trail (Milepost 123.2) 124

18 Smart View Loop Trail (Milepost 154.5) 126

19 Rocky Knob Recreation Area (Mileposts 165.3-169.0) 130

Rock Castle Gorge Day Hikes 131

Rocky Knob Day Hikes 134

Black Ridge Trail 136

Rocky Knob Picnic Loop 139

20 Mountain Industry Trail at Mabry Mill (Milepost 176.2) 141

21 Round Meadow Creek Trail (Milepost 179.2) 146

22 Blue Ridge Music Center (Milepost 213.0) 148

23 Cumberland Knob Recreation Area (Mileposts 217.5-218.6) 153

Gully Creek Trail 153

Cumberland Knob Trail 155

High Piney Spur 156

24 Doughton Park (Mileposts 241.1-248.1) 160

Wildcat Rocks and Fodder Stack 162

Bluff Mountain Trail to Bluff Mountain 163

Basin Cove Circuit Hikes 163

Caudill Cabin via Grassy Gap Fire Road and Basin Creek Trail 167

25 Jumpinoff Rocks Trail (Milepost 260.3) 170

26 E. B. Jeffress Park (Mileposts 271.9-272.5) 172

The Cascades Trail 172

Tompkins Knob Trail 174

The High Country: Mileposts 276.4 (US 421 at Deep Gap, NC) to 384.7 (US 74 at Asheville, NC)

27 Moses Cone Memorial Park (Mileposts 291.8-294.6) 181

Figure Eight Trail 182

Flat Top Road 184

Bass Lake Loop Hike 185

Moses Cone Manor House Circuit Hike 186

The Maze Loop 188

Watkins Road Circuit Hike 189

Rich Mountain Summit 190

Trout Lake Loop and Rich Mountain Carriage Road 192

28 Julian Price Memorial Park (Mileposts 295.9-297.2) 194

Green Knob Trail 195

Boone Fork Trail 196

Price Lake Trail 199

29 Tanawha Trail and the Parkway at Grandfather Mountain (Mileposts 298.6-304.4) 202

Tanawha Trail Hikes near Holloway Mountain Road 202

Tanawha Trail from Cold Prong Parking Area 205

Tauawha Trail to Rough Ridge 206

Linn Cove Viaduct 208

30 Grandfather Mountain (Mileposts 299.9-305.1) 210

Tanawha Trail and Daniel Boone Scout Trail to Calloway Peak 211

Grandfather Trail 216

Profile Trail 219

31 Beacon Heights from the Parkway and via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Milepost 305.2) 221

32 Flat Rock Self-Guiding Loop Trail (Milepost 308.3) 224

33 Linville Gorge Area (Milepost 312.2) 227

Hawksbill Mountain 227

Table Rock Trail and Shortoff Mountain 228

34 Linville Falls Recreation Area (Milepost 316.4) 232

Duggers Creek Loop, Linville Gorge Trail, and Plunge Basin Overlook Trail 232

Linville Falls Trail and Nearby Paths 235

35 Linville Gorge Wilderness (Milepost 317.5) 237

Wiseman's View, Pine, Gap, and Bynum Bluff Trails 238

Linville Gorge Trail 241

36 Chestoa View Loop Trail (Milepost 320.8) 243

37 Crabtree Palls Recreation Area (Milepost 339.5) 245

38 Mount Mitchell (Mileposts 344.1-355.3) 248

Mount Mitchell Trail to Mount Mitchell 249

Balsam Nature Trail 252

Black Mountain Crest Trail 254

39 Craggy Gardens (Mileposts 364.1-364.4) 256

The Craggy Pinnacle Trail 257

Craggy Gardens Trail via Mountains-to-Sea Trail 259

The Southern Appalachians: Mileposts 384.7 (US 74 at Asheville, NC) to 469.1 (US 441 at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC)

40 Mount Pisgab Area Trails (Mileposts 407.6-411.9) 265

Mount Pisgah Trail and Picnic Area Connector 265

Frying Pan Mountain Trail 267

Shut-In Trail/Buck Spring Trail 269

41 Graveyard Fields Loop (Milepost 418.8) 272

42 Sinning Rock Wilderness (Mileposts 411.8-423.2) 276

Shining Rock Wilderness Circuits from the East Side 276

Bald Summit Circuits on the Art Loeb Trail from the South Side 280

West Side Circuit and Cold Mountain 282

43 Devil's Courthouse Trail (Milepost 422.4) 285

44 Richland Balsam Self-Guiding Trail (Milepost 431.0) 287

45 Waterrock Knob Trail (Milepost 451.2) 290

Blue Ridge Parkway Mileage Log 292

Appendix A Wildflowers Are Blooming! 339

Appendix B Contact Information 341

Index 344

About the Author 348

Editorial Reviews

"The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most popular gateway to our cherished mountains. Randy Johnson has given us the fullest account and most helpful guide to that lofty open road." —Robert Morgan, author of The New York Times best-seller, Gap Creek

From the Publisher