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View Up from the Chimney

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This is the view of the mountain behind you while standing on the Chimney. The signed overlook is called the Opera Box, and it can be reached by taking the Skyline Trail from the bottom of the steps leading up to the Chimney. It is an excellent vantage point to see the Chimney from above with Lake Lure shimmering in the valley below. It's also an excellent place to begin examining the unique ecology of the north side of Chimney Rock Mountain, which forms the south rim of the Hickory Nut Gorge. Here you can see wildflowers blooming in profusion on the ledge and on these ledges grow rare or endangered grasses, sedges and other plants.