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 Blue Ridge Parkway Stops and Attractions near
Asheville and Black Mountain NC
The Blue Ridge Parkway snakes through
Asheville North
Carolina and the surrounding regions, including
Black
Mountain NC, creating great opportunities for
pictures, hiking, and mountain biking. If you are planning
to visit the area for an
Asheville Vacation, then you
will want to know about these phenomenal NC Blue
Ridge Parkway stops and hideaways. Filled with
numerous hiking trails, secret pathways that
lead to waterfalls, and many great long range
view overlooks, the Blue Ridge Parkway is the
spot to explore for nature lovers.
Are you looking for
Blue Ridge Parkway Bed and Breakfast? We would
like to welcome you to our bed and breakfast in
Black Mountain NC, close to all of Asheville and
the Blue Ridge Parkway's spectacular outdoor
activities. Read the information below to learn more about the great
Blue Ridge Parkway attractions near Asheville and Black
Mountain North Carolina.
The Black Mountain
Range
The Black Mountain Range is a mountainous region
located in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Spanning 15 miles from north to south, the Black Mountain
Range has 18 peaks that soar 6,300 feet
above sea level. The peaks found in the Black
Mountain Range in Western North Carolina
received their name due to their dark
appearance. These mountains are dark in color
because they are covered with dark
evergreen forests filled with spruce and fir
trees. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak in the
range, and the highest peak found east of the
Rocky Mountains, rising 6,684 feet above sea
level. |
Cold Mountain
Take a short 45 minute trip south on the parkway
from Black Mountain and you will come to the
gorgeous Cold Mountain overlook. The Cold Mountain
overlook has gained quite a bit of notoriety
ever since the Charles Frazier novel Cold
Mountain was made into a major motion picture in
2003. While the film, Cold Mountain, was
actually filmed in the Carpathian Mountains of
Romania, an area that closely resembles our
region, Cold Mountain is indeed an actual place
in Western North Carolina. However, Cold Mountain
in North Carolina is not actually an inhabited
town. Cold Mountain is a well preserved natural
area located in the Shining Rock Wilderness area
of the Pisgah National Forest. Cold Mountain
rises to an elevation of 6,030 feet above sea
level and is a great place to hike. In fact,
experienced hikers can make the strenuous hike
(10 miles uphill) to the summit of Cold Mountain
and look out over a
sea of mountain peaks that surround the mountain. A
different view of Cold Mountain can be seen from
atop Mount Pisgah, which is a shorter, easier
hike. |
Mt. Mitchell State Park
NC Hiking Trails at Mt. Mitchell
The highest peak found east of the Rocky
Mountains, Mt. Mitchell, was named for Dr.
Elisha Mitchell, a UNC-Chapel Hill professor of
sciences that was the first scientist to explore
the mountain and determine the peak’s elevation. Dr.
Mitchell fell to his death at a waterfall on the
western slope of Mt. Mitchell during one of his
many wilderness trips to the area. His dedicated efforts led to the mountain being
named in his memory. Mt. Mitchell is
home to the wonderful preserved area, Mt.
Mitchell State Park, and many miles of great NC
Park Hiking Trails. Mt. Mitchell State Park
encompasses a large area around the mountain,
including its summit. What began as relatively
small 525-acre park has grown to 1,700 acres, creating a wonderful natural area
that hikers and outdoor enthusiasts love. Some
of the popular NC Park Hiking Trails at Mt.
Mitchell State Park are the Black Mountain Crest
Trail, the Mt. Mitchell Trail and Colbert’s
Ridge Trail.
The Black Mountain Crest Trail can be accessed
from the top parking lot of Mt. Mitchell. The
Black Mountain Crest Trail is an NC Mountain
Hiking trail that follows north along the crest
of the Black Mountain Range and goes through
areas like Mt. Craig, Big Tom, Cattail Peak, and
Potato Hill. This 12 mile strenuous hike
intersects with the popular Colbert’s Ridge
Trail before crossing Celo Knob and ending at
the trailhead at Bowlen’s Creek Road. The Mt.
Mitchell Trail is a strenuous 5.6 mile hike that
can be accessed via the Black Mountain
Campground. This NC Hiking Trail begins here and
ends at the summit of Mt. Mitchell and takes
hikers through some beautifully preserved
forested areas filled with birch trees, hickory, oak and
finally, spruce and firs in the high altitudes.
Near the top of the trail, hikers will come to
an old logging camp that was known as Camp
Alice. Here, at Camp Alive, the trail intersects
with the Buncombe Horse Range Trail, which is a
long, 15 mile NC Hiking Trail that follows old logging roads. |
Craggy Gardens
Craggy Gardens is a gorgeous area found just off
the Blue Ridge Parkway. Craggy Gardens is filled with bald mountain peaks
which offer gorgeous long range views of the
Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. The Craggy
Gardens area and its many NC Hiking Trails can
be found just north of Asheville right off of
the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Craggy Gardens Trail
can be accessed at Milepost 367 near the southern end of the
Craggy Gardens parking
area. The trail takes hikers through several
preserved lands and beautiful bald areas. Balds
are treeless areas near a mountain’s summit that
from a distance appear to be bare. Most bald
mountain areas are not bare and treeless but
have low growing shrubs and
grasses that make them appear
to be barren. After climbing for a little under
a quarter of a mile, hikers will come to a
beautiful rhododendron grove and overlook;
hikers that keep hiking up the .8 mile uphill hike
to a nice shelter and picnic area
adjacent to one of the large balds.
Another famous trail found in Craggy Gardens
along the Blue Ridge Parkway is the Craggy
Pinnacle Trail. The Craggy Pinnacle Trail is a
1.5 mile roundtrip hike that takes hikers to the
mountain’s summit where you can see some truly
exceptional views of the peaks around Western
North Carolina. This trail is a quick and
popular NC Hiking Trail and is famous for its
rhododendron tunnels and sweet birch tree
branches that come together and provide a
tunnel-like
pathway. To hike the Craggy Pinnacle Trail at
Craggy Gardens NC, drive north through the short
tunnel at the visitor’s center and park in the
parking area on the left. The trail is easily
accessed from the parking area. |
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us at 888-669-5991,
email us, or use our
online request form. |
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