EASY GARDENING TIPS

Chimney Rock thrills with a-Lure-ing views

Chimney Rock thrills with a-Lure-ing views

December 04, 2022

I’ve unchangingly loved the thrillingly upper and scenic views from the croaky tower of stone known as Chimney Rock, 25 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina. I came here many times as a kid and young sultana when I lived in the Carolinas. Privately owned and managed as a tourist witchery until 2007, today this trappy place is part of Chimney Waddle State Park. We made time to see it then and explore its trails during our stay in Asheville at the end of October and early November.

The fall verisimilitude was just past peak but still good on the day we visited. My husband climbed the steep stairs from the parking zone to the top of the chimney. Behind the rock, a thigh-burning trail climbs plane higher, permitting you to squint lanugo on Chimney Rock. I’ve climbed all those stairs surpassing — most recently in 2011 — but was happy this time to take the elevator that delivers you to a scenic overlook, where you can then climb the final stairs to the top of the rock.

Views for miles! That’s Lake Lure in the distance.

Fall color, undecorous skies, and the foothills of the Undecorous Ridge Mountains

Let’s climb the stairs to the top of the rock.

Those who climb from the parking zone come up the stairs on the left.

A couple of trees somehow have a toehold up here on the rock.

Looking over the rail at an exposed section of the stairs below, and Chimney Waddle Village far unelevated that.

Looking up, you see where Exclamation Point Trail continues up the cliff via a tower of winding stairs.

Sandwiched between massive layers of waddle is the Opera Box — squint for the white railing — which offers stunning views. Whilom Exclamation Point is the Skyline Trail, which runs withal the clifftop. My husband did that one too while I hung out on Chimney Rock.

Afterward we descended some 400 steps on the Outcroppings Trail to reach a spacious picnic deck that hugs the side of the cliff. (Here’s the trail map for orientation.) Looking up from here you see the lip of Chimney Waddle above.

After lunch we walked lanugo flipside long flight of steps to the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, which leads through a hardwood forest to Hickory Nut Falls. The trees glowed gold and rusty red withal this trail.

Stairs, stairs, and increasingly stairs. Near the wiring of the falls, we climbed flipside short flight to a small overlook. The approximately 350-foot horsetail waterfall is dramatic from a loftiness but not really from this angle…

…nor from the wiring of the falls, since the biggest waif is out of view above. Still, it’s a nice hike and refreshing to finger water misting virtually the pool at the wiring of the cliff. My husband took this photo and shared it with me, since I neglected to take a photo here.

We spotted this trappy blushing tree on our way out of the park.

Afterward we crush to Lake House Restaurant (formerly Larkin’s) on Lake Lure for a tasty dinner and lake views.

That wraps up my posts well-nigh our Asheville stay, but I’ll be sharing two destinations from our road trip home. Next up: A somber visit to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. For a squint when at North Carolina Arboretum’s gardens and bonsai collection, click here.

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