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Planning a hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway or in the Pisgah National Forest? Heard about a place called DuPont State Forest that your buddy said was a great place to hike? Or just in the mood to browse through some photos of the mountains? Then relax and have a look around!
This site is your on-line hiking guidebook for the Mountain region of North Carolina, containing all of the information you need to make your next trip complete. Have fun browsing and hiking!
Site Map
Trailheads
Pisgah National Forest, Nantahala National Forest, DuPont State Forest...
Best Hikes
Pink Beds, DuPont State Forest Waterfalls, Potato Knob Fields, Douglas Falls...
Area Information
General Considerations, Camping/Lodging Hiking Outfitters, Weather/Climate, WNC Area Map...
Photo Gallery
Mount Mitchell State Park, Sam Knob, Graveyard Fields, Panthertown Valley, Crabtree Falls...
Maps
Click-to-zoom & Interactive Maps, USGS Topographic Maps, Trails Illustrated™ Series...
Clubs and Organizations
Carolina Mountain Club, Sierra Club...
News
Craggy Gardens Area Closed for the Year
A retaining wall failed below the Parkway just south of the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. The repair is expected to take a year, and the Parkway will be closed from the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area all the way to Mount Mitchell State Park for 2008. This means the vastly popular Craggy Gardens and Craggy Pinnacle [...]
Posted on April 2, 2008 9:51 pm
How a Bear Made Me Sick
One fine Saturday in June, 2007, I decided to take a short hike up to the waterfall on Hickey Fork Creek. It’s a fairly easy hike, and I decided to leave my water in the car for this one. After 20 minutes on the trail I arrived at the falls, soaked in the scene for [...]
Posted on March 21, 2008 4:48 pm
Conservation Road Reopens in Dupont State Forest
Conservation Road is once again open, which is one of the few routes connecting the South side of Dupont State Forest with the North side. You can now easily visit attractions like High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Lake Juilia without having to drive from one side of the forest to the other! Thanks to [...]
Posted on March 4, 2008 10:44 am
Photos Released Under Creative Commons License
I’ve decided to release all photos in the HikeWNC.info and MTBikeWNC.com photo galleries under a Creative Commons license. This means you are specifically allowed to copy, reproduce, and redistribute the photos in the sizes available on this web site in any way you choose. Need a photo for a blog post about your recent hike? [...]
Posted on February 27, 2008 11:11 pm
Print Maps, Hikes, and Rides!
You can now save most of our maps as a high-resolution PDF, making them easy to print. Customize a map, save it as a PDF, print it out, and bring it with you on your hike or ride! Just go to the Best Hikes or Best Rides, choose a hike or ride, and click the [...]
Posted on December 13, 2007 8:55 pm
Articles
How a Bear Made Me Sick
One fine Saturday in June, 2007, I decided to take a short hike up to the waterfall on Hickey Fork Creek. It’s a fairly easy hike, and I decided to leave my water in the car for this one. After 20 minutes on the trail I arrived at the falls, soaked in the scene for [...]
Posted on March 21, 2008 4:48 pm
A Call To Action: Hemlocks Threatened by Tiny Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Update 8/7/07: Hemlocks which still appear to be healthy along the Parkway and Linville Falls are likely ones which have been chemically treated, rather than helped by the predator beetles. Hemlocks are dying rapidly where untreated or treated only by the predator beetles, and it appears that the biological control method will be ineffective. Since [...]
Posted on August 7, 2007 10:08 am
Graveyard Fields Trail Renovation
A major trail re-construction and re-location project at Graveyard Fields will eliminate erosion, protect sensitive plant habitats, re-build a bridge washed out by the storms of September 2004, and provide a generally more pleasant hiking experience to visitors of one of Western North Carolina’s most popular recreation areas. The relocated trails are quite a distance from [...]
Posted on June 15, 2006 11:02 am
WNC’s Forests Threatened by Exotic Diseases
Dogwood Anthracnose. Chestnut Blight. Butternut Canker. Gypsy Moth. Hemlock Wooly Adelgid. Beech Bark Disease. Oak Decline. Sudden Oak Death. Balsam Wooly Adelgid. Locust Miner Beetle… The list goes on and on. These threats, or potential threats in the case of Sudden Oak Death, are ravaging the forests of Western North Carolina and much of the Southern [...]
Posted on June 13, 2006 10:56 am
Shortcutting Switchbacks Tramples Trillium!
WNC’s mountainous terrain and large tracts of public lands bode well to our recreational enjoyment, including various forms of backcountry travel such as hiking and mountain biking. And, of course, most of this travel occurs on trails. Ah, the trail. A path to a waterfall, a path to a view, a path to freedom and [...]
Posted on April 1, 2005 12:15 pm
Opinion & Personal
Leave the Snowshoes at Home
Fall is long gone, and winter is actually drawing to a close. Though the drought continues, it has lessened some, meaning that waterfalls are back up and the trails are somewhat muddy again. But the big story this winter: the lack of snow. What reminded me of this is that as of tonight, almost March [...]
Posted on February 27, 2008 11:18 pm
Archived news and more articles are on the WNCOutdoors.info Blog.
