View Full Version : Best/Good trails/spots near Asheville, NC???
MrMiner2
12-12-2013, 04:05
I'll be in Asheville a few days for New Years. I am wanting to do some hiking, but nothing too time-consuming as I'm there to visit family. Looking for any cool spots, trails, etc. that aren't anything too crazy (time/mile-wise) Thanks!
:eek::cool::banana
Small day hike leave hotsprings on the At north. See lovers leap rock go to fire tower then head back. Just a short little hike. There are tons of options in that area
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stumpknocker
12-12-2013, 07:00
I'll be in Asheville a few days for New Years. I am wanting to do some hiking, but nothing too time-consuming as I'm there to visit family. Looking for any cool spots, trails, etc. that aren't anything too crazy (time/mile-wise) Thanks!
:eek::cool::banana
I remember walking real close to Asheville when I did the Mountains To Sea Trail last year.
Try googling "Mountains To Sea" and you should find where it is.
Drive up I-26 west to exit 3, make a right, go to the stop sign and make a left and in 2.5 miles you'll come to a parking lot on your left just before an underpass.
That's Sam's Gap and the AT. About 20 minutes from downtown Asheville.
Hike north (go through the fence) and in 3 hours you'll be on top of Big Bald. Well worth the hike.
garlic08
12-12-2013, 08:46
The state botanical gardens are a nice spot with good trails at the SW edge of town. There's a cultural visitor's center on the east end of town, right on the Bluegrass Pkwy, that the MST runs right past. I spent two weeks there last summer--what a great town.
Mr. Bumpy
12-12-2013, 08:55
There is a FS trail system out of Montreat College in Black Mt. that takes you up to the parkway. Several different loop opportunities. Great views.
Walker and Douglass falls are well known but less frequented in the Coleman Boundary trail system north near Barnardsville. Some of the filming for Hunger Games was done there. You can go up to the parkway to Craggy Gardens from there.
Tennessee Viking
12-12-2013, 10:43
The MST runs right inside Asheville along the Parkway. If the Parkway is open, drive up to Graveyard Fields and walk to the waterfalls and to some of the immediate Balds. Or up to Craggy Gardens
The AT: Sams Gap to Big Bald, Max Patch
Pisgah Forest: Head through Marshall toward Hot Springs. And walk the Laurel River Trail (very easy). Its an old logging road turned hiking/biking trail. It runs from Hurricane to the French Broad (3 miles). There are the remains of an old logging town on the top hillside near the railroad tracks.
Hickory Nut Gorge/Chimney Rock SP
South Mountains SP
It's almost an hour away, but DuPont Forest (and all of Transylvania County really) has some very impressive waterfalls. I've only mountain biked there, so I'm not too sure of what the hikes are like, but there's some 100+ miles of trail there.
All the above are very good. Just check with any of the good outdoor outfitters, Diamond Brand; Black Dome; REI; Take A Hike n Black Mountain. They can all help you with your plans
North Mills River. There is a campground there, and its a first class trout stream. Check with the Outfitter in Brevard and they can give you lots of other places to go. The Davidson River area also has an excellent campground and one of the best trout rivers on the east coast.
Dupont Forest - High Falls / Triple Falls trails.
Panthertown. It's close to Brevard. You might as well hit the Yosemite of the East…. An overnight from the parking area on the southeast corner will let you see most of the highlights.
http://theosus1.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/remedial-backpacking/