Chimney Rock State Park

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July 7, 2010

What a view!

We visited Chimney Rock State Park, just 25 miles southeast of Ashville, NC, on what must have been one of the hottest days in July. With our AAA discount our admission to the park was $12 a person.

The road to the top could have been a little wider. Meeting that Pepsi truck on one of the curves was not for the faint of heart.

And neither, by the way, was the view from atop Chimney Rock! You actually climb out on this mountainous rock that has been bordered by fencing. Fencing aside, it is still alittle intimidating.

For the hearty you can climb to the top of Chimney Rock via a never ending set of wooden stairs. For the less hearty, like us, a 26-story, thirty-second elevator ride was the way to go. We exited into the Sky Lounge Gift Shop. Of course. From the gift shop it's a short walk to a few stairs that will bring you to the rock from which you will get a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and Lake Lure.

Down from the rock, Karen decided she wanted to climb to a higher vista. While she put forth that effort, I went back to the gift shop for a drink and awaited her return.

In addition to standing atop Chimney Rock, there are five trails within the park. The trails are marked easy, moderate, or strenuous. We chose the 1.5 mile round trip to Hickory Nut Falls. The trail was marked moderate. It was actually a very easy hike. Your reward for tackling this trail is reaching the 404 ft. Hickory Falls, which was seen in the movie The Last of the Mohicans. For those familiar with the film, it is the falls depicted at the very end, not the falls they hide behind earlier.

Once we hiked back to the visitor's center area, we had the choice of climbing multiple stairs to reach the parking area, or walk along the switchback road to reach the upper parking area. We chose the stairs, taking our time, and resting on about every other deck.

It was a fun side trip, and worth our time.

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