Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Falls
by rmajor
Chimney Rock State Park is located about 30 miles east of Asheville, NC.
Chimney Rock towers 315 feet over the parking lot and gift shop. I was joined on this trip by my friend Jim, who is from the Asheville area. We decided to take the longest of our planned hikes first, which was the 3/4 mile trail to Hickory Nut Falls.
We were treated to a nice view of the cliffs through the trees. The trail was wide and easy to walk, but it was mostly an uphill walk.
Before long we were treated to our first view of 404 foot Hickory Nut Falls.
An interesting rock formation jutted out from the cliff on the other side of the creek.
A little further along was an overlook right at the base of the falls.
A pool of water below the falls had some small fish in it.
Walking downhill on the return trip was easier, and I enjoyed seeing the rhododendrons in bloom.
We had an easy downhill walk till we got to these stairs. We had descended these stairs to get to the trail, now we had to climb back up them. I was to spend a lot of time climbing stairs that day.
Chimney Rock has a 26 story elevator that goes to the Sky Lounge Gift Shop and the boardwalk near the top of Chimney Rock, but I wanted the bragging rights and feeling of accomplishment that comes from actually climbing to the top, so up the stairs we went. I also wanted to see what photo opportunities would be available along the way.
It was rather intimidating to look up at The Rock and know I would have to climb stairs all that way.
About a third of the way up is Vista Overlook, and we stopped to rest and enjoy the view.
The view of Lake Lure from Vista Overlook.
I wanted to see the view from up there, so back to the stairs we went.
Getting closer, and also getting very tired.
Looking back at the cliffs across the valley.
After reaching the boardwalk at the top of the stairs, we decided not to climb to the top of the rock right away. Instead we headed for the air-conditioned Sky Lounge to rest and cool off.
These are the stairs we didn’t climb. They are on the Skyline Trail and lead to the highest part of Chimney Rock State Park. We had planned to go there, but were so exhausted from our efforts that we decided these could wait for another day.
A final effort go us to the top of Chimney Rock.
Jim made some photos from the base of the flagpole.
Lake Lure from the top of Chimney Rock.
Looking down at the town of Chimney Rock, NC.
Looking down at the parking lot and the big Dodge van that has carried me on so many of these trips.
Yours truly on top of Chimney Rock. It is often difficult to push an aging body into making these hikes, but few things in life have brought me as much pleasure.
On the way back out of the park, I stopped to photograph the cliffs on the mountain.
The flag on top of Chimney Rock can be seen on the right of this picture.