After climbing quite a few stairs, the trail levels out as you walk along the cliff top with dramatic views. At the staircase leading up to the Chimney, find the beginning of the Skyline Trail. Ride the elevator or hike to the top of the Chimney. Skyline Trail: Plenty of spectacular scenery is packed into this trail with breathtaking views of the gorge. Duck through the Subway and cross the bridge from Pulpit Rock to the Rock Pile. The Outcroppings: Instead of taking the elevator up or down, follow this network of stairs and boardwalks for rock exploring and interesting scenery. The 1.5- mile round-trip trail is mostly wooded with just a few very moderate uphill sections. Hickory Nut Falls Trail: This "easy" trail is a wide, gently rolling path to the bottom of the 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls. The trail winds through hardwood trees, past thickets of Carolina Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel and alongside abundant wildflowers and indigenous plants, some species not found along the Park’s other trails. Get a good workout while you enjoy nature’s bounty. 6-mile moderate-to-strenuous trail climbs nearly 400 feet and provides you access to the top of the mountain year-round without driving. The trek courses through lush woodland on natural cliffs, up stairs and along switchbacks.įour Seasons Trail: This. Instead of taking the elevator up or down to the Chimney, you can hike via a maze of fun trails and stairways.Įxclamation Point Trail: This 20-minute, moderate-to-strenuous hike takes you to the highest peak in the Park, Exclamation Point, at 2,480 feet, where you can look down over Chimney Rock and Lake Lure as you start your ascent of the mountain. On a clear day, you can enjoy 75-mile views overlooking Lake Lure and the Hickory Nut Gorge.įor some of North Carolina’s best hiking, try one of the five main trails. Walk outside to find a short flight of stairs to the top of the Chimney. After a brief introduction by the guide on the elevator, you enter the Sky Lounge gift shop and snack bar. From there, you can walk through a 198-foot tunnel to an elevator that takes you to the top (up 26 stories in 30 seconds). To reach the top of Chimney Rock, drive up a three-mile road to a parking area. For the last 100 years, tourists have journeyed to see this 535-million-year-old towering monolith, to enjoy the dramatic scenery, exhilarating hiking trails, rare plants, native wildlife, and one of North Carolina's highest waterfalls (featured in the movie The Last of the Mohicans). When we were finished with our lunch the restaurant was full with no empty tables.The Arbor Cabins are 1.5 miles from the entrance to Chimney Rock State Park and Village. Sadly this years winter hrs are Fri, Sat & Sun. We usually enjoy these on the patio but was too chilly on this visit. Beer, wine & mixed drinks are also available. Coke products, tea, coffee & water are available. The cake was very moist & frosty was creamy with plenty of fresh pecans. The buffet included strawberry cake, butterfinger cake, coconut cake & butter pecan cake. There was also orange fluffy salad & possiblemorher offerings our table did not sample because we were saving room for desert. The bar also included slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, broccoli salad which all tasted home made. The salad bar served a mix of leafy greens, very good tomatoes pcs, cucumber, green pepper slices, shredded cheese, croutons with a good variety of dressings. Mac & cheese, spinach, creamed corn, white gravy and rolls were also offered. The fried okra was tender on the inside & crispy on the outside. Vegetable soup had large pcs of tender beef roast with vegetables. The greenbeans were cooked with onions & pork. The meatloaf was tender & seasoned perfectly with extra sauce on the side. The fried chicken & fish were piping hot & crispy. We had an excellent lunch! We were the only diners when we seated ourselves.
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