Hiking

Rocky Bluff Recreation Area, near Hot Springs, North Carolina, is perfect spot for a mountain getaway. Located within the Pisgah National Forest, it offers camping, picnicking, fishing, and hiking in a quiet and picturesque setting.

Hikers on the 1.6 mile easy-to-moderate Spring Creek Nature Trail in the Rocky Bluff Recreation Area will see an abundance of wildflowers and trees such as Eastern hemlock, basswood, and oak.

Roan Mountain

Roan Mountain, near Bakersville, North Carolina, is famous for its spectacular annual display of rhododendron blooms. Every June, thousands of visitors flock to the area to view the showy blooms, which range from white at lower elevations to deep rosy reds and purples higher on the ridge.

Richland Balsam

Richland Balsam, a mountain near Waynesville, North Carolina, rises to 6,410 feet and is the highest peak on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Visitors can reach the summit on a 1.5 mile, self-guided loop trail that passes through a spruce-fir forest.

Pink Beds

Below Mount Pisgah near Brevard, North Carolina is a lush area of cove forests and streams known as the Pink Beds. The area is named for the profusion of pink wildflowers, including mountain laurel and rhododendron, which appears in the spring.

Graveyard Fields

Grandfather Mountain

Pilot Mountain State Park

Rising 1,400 feet above a rolling plain, Pilot Mountain, near Mount Airy, North Carolina, served as a landmark for both Native Americans and pioneer travelers. The mountain was known to the native Saura Indians as "Jomeokee," the "Great Guide" or "Pilot." Today, it is a 3,703-acre State Park.

Panthertown Valley

Panthertown Valley, near Cashiers, North Carolina, is a unique landscape, with a broad, flat valley floor flanked by granite cliffs which rise 200 to 300 feet. Located within the Nantahala National Forest, the scenic valley offers excellent hiking with a network of trails and old logging roads that lead to waterfalls and spectacular overlooks.

Nantahala River Bogs

The Nantahala River Bogs Natural Area in the Nantahala National Forest protects some of the few remaining "fens," commonly known as bogs, in the North Carolina mountains. The Nantahala bogs provide habitat for numerous species of rare plants and animals, including the bog turtle.

Hiking

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Rocky Bluff Recreation Area