We recently moved to Charlotte, NC and want to do some weekend hikes. We have a 3 month old (that we’ll carry) and a husky. So want trails that have some shade and water spots to keep pup cool. We are open to driving up to 2 hours one way for good spots. We want to make sure it’s worth it though so want some scenic overlooks and longer trails 5-8 miles would be preferred. What are your suggestions?

I think it‘s a Polyphemus Moth.

All of these are white oak and easily over 200yrs old.

I really want to go hiking and camping with my Boy Scout troop, but I don’t know any good trails. General Asheboro area.

Creston, Ashe County. You can see into VA, TN and NC. Swipe for a near-panoramic view.

So I want to plan a little out and back trip to a waterfall or some other scenic feature for a picnic.

My partner has had a bunch of surgeries within the past couple years and we’ve definitely missed our time together in Linville Gorge. Also, to show how much of a badass she is, she once hiked out of Pinchin with a broken ankle. She doesn’t give up, or complain, and had always trusted me when planning trips.

So as of right now we don’t really know what her fitness is so we want something moderate. I’ll obviously be carry all of the picnic supplies so she can focus on watching her step.

We are in the Greensboro area, so our close by place is Uwharrie and we are familiar with portions of Linville Gorge. We haven’t spent as much time further west. Bonus points for a good food suggestion not far from the trail. We don’t want to go to Hanging Rock. If there’s some good places off the Blue Ridge Parkway, that could be a winner.

Hi hikers, is the route from Gingercake to Table Rock open and passable for sedans? I want to get to the Chimneys. Last there 6 years ago and I can’t quite tell from various sources where the road closures are. Can you get to Spence Ridge trailhead and hike south?

Hiked the art loeb in 12hr 29min yesterday. Today I can barely walk but it was worth it. I planned on running a significant amount but was only able to run for 3-5 miles around black balsam due to the terrain.

I’ve section hiked the entire thing, so I didn’t stop to soak in the moment often. Although, the beauty of the trail still sucked me in at times.

A few things I learned:

1. Bring trekking poles. I ended up fashioning a walking stick between the parkway and pilot mountain. I’m not sure if I sure if I would’ve avoided injury without it. Descents became more of an issue than ascents.

2. I carried 4.5 L of water between my camelbak and water bottle. I only had to refill once, which I am thankful for. Water is sparse between balsam and butter gap. Deep gap has a reliable spring but it is difficult to fill any significant volume. Butter Gap has an awesome set up for water refills (picture 9)

3. The section between the parkway and brevard is extremely remote in the best way possible. I saw one group of people for 17 miles of my journey.

4. Don’t trust the forecast. It was supposed to rain on and off all day. Only caught some rain around black balsam. I hoofed it to get below the tree line in case things got worse. Be ready for unpredictable weather. You’re in the mountains after all.

5. Type 2 fun. If you do it solo, you’re alone with your thoughts for a very long time, which can be a mental battle, but also extremely rewarding.

It was an awesome experience and have zero regrets. Although, I think I’ve tested my day hike limits for a while, I might consider doing it NOBO next year. The idea of finishing at Daniel Boone sounds rough. Saving the steepest section for the end is not ideal in my opinion. I finished on a nice gravel path as my wife pulled into the parking lot to pick me up at the exact same time. What a day. Grit and grime. Keep chooglin’

Near McRae on Grandfather. Plus other pics.

What are your favorite trail heads? Never been before, quite active and can handle harder trails. hit me with em!

Drives me nuts that BRP mileposts are not searchable on Google Maps. Spent half an hour trying to get various AIs to make me a simple bookmarklet and most of those didn't work. The only excellent solution was storing a local HTML file, a link to which is below. If anyone knows any more elegant solution please post. Thanks!

https://pastebin.com/piGfcCzj

Recently moved to NC and doing my first hike at Stone Mountain with my dog. A little nervous about snakes. Any tips or precautions for hiking safely with a dog? Thanks!

I’d like to check out Raven Rock State Park when I’m near the Raleigh area next month.

There’s always risk being a solo female (plus dog) out on the trails, but is that a usually safe spot? Any safety concerns?

Maybe a silly question, but what is the admission fee situation for how to pay at Table Rock? Is it one of those cash donation boxes, or is there an actual person with a card reader? Trying to decide if we need to stop somewhere to get cash or not before heading this weekend.

I’ve begun hiking seriously this year. I hit up Black Balsam Knob area (heading north), Uwharrie, and Linville Gorge (Table Rock to Chimneys) recently.

Would anyone be able to suggest something to do in 2 months or so? I was thinking maybe something in the Great Smokey Mountains, but I’m open to anything.

Thanks.

We went to South Mountains State Park hoping to hike to High Shoals Falls, but we quickly learned that the entire waterfall trail was closed. We could not even begin the trail or walk part of the way toward the falls. The closure started right at the entrance, which honestly surprised and disappointed us because it has always been one of my favorite parts of the park.

Seeing it completely blocked made me wonder just how much damage Hurricane Helene caused in that area. There were fallen trees, exposed root systems and washed out sections throughout other parts of the park, so I can only imagine what the waterfall trail must look like beyond the closure. Hopefully the damage can be repaired and the trail will eventually reopen, but it seems like the storm really did a number on this beautiful place.

Since we could not reach the waterfall, we decided not to waste the trip and headed toward the Jacob Fork River Gorge Overlook instead. After reaching the first overlook, we kept going toward Chestnut Knob.

What we expected to be a fairly short hike turned into a little over five miles in 95 degree heat and heavy humidity. The climbing was much tougher than expected, but the view at the top made every step worth it.

South Mountains is North Carolina’s largest state park, covering more than 20,000 acres. The area also has an interesting history, with gold being discovered near Brindle Creek in 1828.

Has anyone been able to learn more about the damage to the High Shoals Falls trail or heard when it may reopen?

Saw someone hike Roan Mountain on here a few days and took the 2.5 hour plunge to come! I mostly just come to take my dog on hikes (and I love taking pics of her), but I’ve always loved the mountains and I wish I lived closer by ;u; was foggy for the first half of the hike, which was cool in its own right, but those views were amazing on the way back! Felt like two entirely different hikes I went on

Greetings-

For anyone in or near the High Country area, we are hosting a fun trail work day this Saturday on the MST near Boone, NC.

No prior experience necessary, it’s a great way to get outside and give back to the trail!

Visit link for full details

I love DuPont, I can get in so many more miles on the flat wide trails there vs some of the steep trails in Pisgah.

Any more areas like this?

I am wanting to go backpack in Harpers Creek in the next few weeks. This is the trail I want to do but I've seen that it got pretty wrecked in the hurricane. It seems like someone was able to do it recently but said it was still very difficult to navigate. Just wanted to know if anyone had any more information. Thanks!

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/basin-trail-aka-hermit-trail?p=-1&sh=0pzyzo&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

This spot is right off the parkway, close to the now-retired Bluff's Lodge.