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North Carolina Parks, National Parks and Forests
Florida's Carolina Connection |
Read
the NC Parks
BLOG
for info
and updates on North Carolina
Parks, National Forests and designated Public Places |
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Visit any of the incredible the North
Carolina State and National Parks and National Forests during your mountain vacation
and you'll se why the NC
mountains have become the
favorite vacation destination
of millions.
NC parks are among the most pristine and beautiful in the world.
North Carolina's "public" places offer natural wonders including 1000s of
waterfalls creeks and rivers. |
Visit nature and educational centers or hike
the thousands of trails easily
accessible in all parks. We offer
direct links to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mt Mitchell State
Park, Dupont State Forest, Chimney Rock Park, Pisgah
National Forest, Linville Falls and Gorge,
Nantahala National Forest and more. |
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| NORTH
CAROLINA NATIONAL FORESTS |
NORTH
CAROLINA NATIONAL FORESTS.
Below you will find
information and links to North Carolina's National Forests from the
US Forest Service. Everything you need to know about recreation,
planning, resources, etc.
PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST
has 501,691 acres stretching
across the eastern edge of Western North Carolina's mountains. The Forest
offers hiking trails, fishing, camping, picnic
sites, and spectacular waterfalls. Some of Pisgah National Forest's
attractions include Looking Glass Falls, Sliding Rock, Pisgah Forest State
Fish Hatchery, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, The Cradle of
Forestry and the North Mills River Recreational Area. The North Mills
River Recreational Area is located in Henderson County,
just 13 miles from Downtown Hendersonville and offers
picnic sites, campsites, river fishing & tubing. The Pisgah
National Forest is distinguished by a number of treasured natural
attractions:
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest preserves one of the largest stands
of old growth trees in the eastern United States
Cradle of Forestry site of America's first school of forestry
Linville Gorge and Falls deepest gorge in the eastern United
States
Looking Glass Rock a striking mountain landmark popular with
hikers and rock climbers
Mount Hardy a 6,110 peak protected by a Wilderness Area
Pink Beds lush forested area known for its profusion of
mountain laurel and rhododendron blooms
Richland Balsam highest peak on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Roan Mountain five-mile ridge known for its spectacular display
of rhododendron blooms
Rocky Bluff Recreation Area a park near Hot Springs popular
with hikers, anglers and campers
Cradle
of Forestry Camping Directory
Nantahala National Forest.
The Nantahala National Forest anchors the far southwestern corner of North
Carolina with 528,541 acres of lush forests, high mountain wilderness, and
a whitewater river that cuts through a magnificent gorge so deep that it
only gets direct sunlight at mid-day. The Cherokee called the gorge
"Nantahala," which means "land of the noonday sun." Adjacent to the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, the Nantahala National Forest is the
largest of the four National Forests in North Carolina. Within its
boundaries are three designated Wilderness Areas and two Wild and Scenic
Rivers. The Nantahala National Forest is distinguished by a number of
treasured natural attractions:
Chattooga
River Gorge a Wild and Scenic River
Cullusaja
River Gorge a spectacular scenic drive along the Mountain
Waters Scenic Byway
Little
Tennesssee River one of the best-preserved, free-flowing rivers
in the North Carolina mountains
Nantahala
River Bogs some of the few remaining bogs in the North Carolina
mountains
Panthertown
Valley a unique landscape nicknamed "the Yosemite of the East"
Wayah
Bald a unique landscape feature and popular hiking destination
Whiteside
Mountain site of the highest sheer cliffs in the eastern United
States
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NC MOUNTAIN STATE
PARKS AND FORESTS |
MOUNT
MITCHELL STATE PARK. There
are a few places in the world that still stand apart from the ordinary.
Rising more than a mile high, surrounded by the gentle mist of low-hanging
clouds, Mount Mitchell State Park is one of these extraordinary
places. In the crest of the timeworn Black Mountains lies the summit
of Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. For
those who ascend this mighty peak, what looms in the horizon is a feast for
the eyesbreathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, rolling
ridges and fertile valleys. Forested and forever misty, 1,855-acre Mount
Mitchell State Park will provide you with some of the most tranquil
moments you'll ever experience. |
DUPONT
STATE FOREST. One of North
Carolina's newest parks Dupont offers more than 10,000 acres of forest,
trails, and 10 waterfalls and is located between
Hendersonville and Brevard North Carolina. You can enjoy the
trails by foot, bike or horse or bring the fishing gear
or picnic basket. |
GRANDFATHER
MOUNTAIN is the highest mountain in
the Blue Ridge Mountain range
at an elevation of 5,964 feet. The Mountain is
privately owned and is operated as a scenic travel attraction and a
world-class nature preserve. The Mile High Swinging Bridge was built to give
visitors easy access to the breath-taking view from Grandfather
Mountain's Linville Peak.
Linville NC |
CHIMNEY
ROCK PARK.
Standing atop Chimney Rock, a 500
million-year-old giant granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge,
visitors are awed by the breathtaking view that spreads 1200 vertical feet
beneath them and 75 miles across the Carolinas. The state- owned
park, located in Chimney Rock North Carolina, encompasses 1,000
acres, including the Chimney itself and
Hickory Nut Falls. Chimney Rock Park is the natural
fulfillment of your trip to the mountains. The Park, located
25 miles southeast of Asheville North Carolina, offers the best of
the mountains in one place-spectacular 75-mile views, hiking trails
for all ages, a 404-foot waterfall, a variety of special events and
much more. |
NC State Parks.
Gorges State Park - between Brevard and Cashiers
Holmes Educational State Forest - Hendersonville
Lake James - Linville
Mount Jefferson State Park between Jefferson and West Jefferson,
NC
Mount Mitchell State Park off the Blue Ridge Parkway near
Burnsville, NC
New River State Park near Jefferson
Pilot Mountain State Park Pinnacle
Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest - between Wilkesboro
and Laurel Springs, near Boone
South Mountains State Park Connelly Springs, near Morganton
Stone Mountain State Park Roaring Gap
Tuttle Educational State Forest - Lenoir near Hickory |
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NATIONAL SCENIC BYWAYS |
Forest
Heritage National Scenic Byway. Travel
back in time and explore history and beautiful scenery on the Forest
Heritage National Scenic Byway (U.S. 276) through the Pisgah National
Forest. As you wind your way on old settlement roads past mountain peaks and
cascading waterfalls, imagine how this landscape looked decades ago when
modern forestry began. Begin your driving journey at the southern entrance
to the Pisgah National Forest, once marked by an arch. Today twin columns
greet you as you enter one of the earliest National Forests in the eastern
United States. The Forest began in 1914 when the U.S. Forest Service
purchased an 80,000-acre plot of land from the George W. Vanderbilt Estate.
Become a true nature enthusiast at the Cradle of Forestry, located 11 miles
from the southern entrance of the byway. It was here that the first school
of forestry in America--the Biltmore Forest School-- was founded by Dr. Carl
Schenck, chief forester for George Vanderbilts Biltmore Estate.
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Cherohala
Skyway. Length:
43.0 mi / 69.1 km Time to Allow:
2 hours to drive the byway . The Skyway offers the cultural heritage of the
Cherokee tribe and early settlers in a grand forest environment in the
Appalachian Mountains. Enjoy mile-high vistas and brilliant fall foliage, as
well as great hiking opportunities and picnic spots in magnificent and
seldom seen portions of the southern Appalachian National Forests. |
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NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN NATIONAL
PARKS |
2010 the 75th Anniversary of The
Blueridge Parkway
Celebrate
with Upcoming Events |
THE BLUERIDGE PARKWAY.
At 469 miles long the Parkway is the nation's longest scenic rural
parkway. Now 70 years 
old it is administered by the National Park Service and host to
approximately 20 million visits annually. It connects the Shenandoah
Valley National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Along the route are
opportunities for lodging, dining, camping, hiking and simply enjoying
breathtaking views from easily accessible overlooks and picnic areas.
The Blueridge Parkway Association. |
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 BLUERIDGE
PARKWAY HIKING TRAILS.
The Parkway, for 469.1
uninterrupted miles, displays blue-misted mountains, cascading
waterfalls, rolling pasture, and gorges banked with wildflowers. The
Parkway offers hikers of all skill levels the opportunity to explore
more than 100 varied and intriguing trails in North Carolina and
Virginia. Meandering alongside and crossing the scenic motor road, the
trails provide a close-up look at some of the most beautiful wilderness in
the country.
PARKWAY CLOSURES: Milepost 269.8 - 280.9 - Blowing
Rock Area. Milepost 393.6 - 405.5 - Asheville Area.
FOR DETAILS...
HIKING THE PARKWAY.
Some of the favorite hiking trails along the parkway: Cumberland
Knob, milepost 217.5.
Linville Falls and Gorge, milepost 316.3. Crabtree Meadows and Falls,
milepost 339.5-340.3. Mt.
Mitchell State Park, milepost 355.4. Craggy
Gardens, milepost 364.4. Mt. Pisgah, milepost 408.6. Looking
Glass Rock, milepost 417. Graveyard
Fields, milepost 418.8. Devil's
Courthouse, milepost 422.4. Mount
Hardy, milepost 422.8. Richland
Balsam, milepost 431
HISTORY ON THE PARKWAY. A number of historic
homes, Revolutionary War sites, and interpreted natural sites can enrich the
traveler's journey. Among them are: Brinegar Cabin, milepost 238.5.
Ben Long frescoes at Glendale Springs, milepost 258-259. Moses
Cone Manor and Memorial Park, milepost 292.7. Historic Flat Top Manor
House and Parkway Craft Center, milepost 294. Museum
of North Carolina Minerals, milepost 331. Overmountain
Victory National Historic Trail, milepost 331. Mt.
Mitchell State Park, milepost 355.4. Folk
Art Center, milepost 382.
RESTAURANTS ALONG THE PARKWAY. Bluff's
Lodge and Restaurant, milepost 241 Mt. Pisgah Inn and Restaurant, milepost
408.6. Waterrock Knob Visitor Information Center, milepost 451.2. The
Switzerland Inn, milepost 334.
For information on Parkway road conditions call
(828) 298-0398.
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 GREAT
SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK.
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Ridge upon ridge of endless forest
straddles the border between North Carolina
and Tennessee in Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for the diversity of its
plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and
the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain
culture, this is America's most visited national park.
Great Smoky Mountains Association
Your Smoky Mountains
Information Directory
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 CARL
SANDBURG HOME NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Carl
Sandburg spent a lifetime exploring what it meant to be an American and
asked the eternal questions, "Who am I, where am I going and where have
I been?" He did this through poetry, song, lectures, writing and
lasting friendships with kindred spirits.
Carl Sandburg Home NHS is
located on 264 acres in Western North Carolina. In addition to tours of the
Sandburg Home, visitors can enjoy over five miles of trails, stroll through
gardens and greet the descendents of Mrs. Sandburg's dairy goat herd. A
typical visit lasts 2 hours.
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 TRAIL
OF TEARS NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Come on a journey to
remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people despite their
forced removal from their homelands in the Southeastern United States in the
1830s. The Cherokee people in the southeastern United States built
European-style homes and farmsteads, developed a written language,
established a newspaper, and wrote a constitution. But they had no equal
protection under the law and could not prevent being removed from their
homes on the Trail of Tears.
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 APPALACHIAN
NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL
The People's Path and
America's First National Scenic Trail. "The body of the Trail is provided by
the lands it traverses, and its soul is in the living stewardship of the
volunteers and workers of the Appalachian Trail community." The
Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is more than 2,175-mile long footpath stretching
through 14 eastern states from Maine to Georgia. Conceived in 1921 and first
completed in 1937, it traverses the wild, scenic, wooded, pastoral, and
culturally significant lands of the Appalachian Mountains.
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ADDITIONAL NC PARKS
AND PUBLIC PLACES |
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 BLUERIDGE
NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.
Come experience a land where ancient landscapes endure
and age-old traditions flourish. Find yourself breathless at the sight of
waves of blue-misted mountains, graceful waterfalls, and extraordinary
wildlife. This is the Blue Ridge, a place where every visit refreshes
the spirit and renews the soul. Established by Congress in November 2003, the
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area (Trail)
recognizes and celebrates the natural abundance and richly varied cultural
history of the North Carolina mountains. The Heritage
"trail" includes Agricultural, Craft, Cherokee, Music and Natural heritage
components. |
 FRIENDS
OF THE BLACK AND GREAT CRAGGY MOUNTAINS.
The Black and Craggy Mountains, twenty miles northeast of
Asheville, in
Western North Carolina
are where Mt. Mitchell (the highest peak in the Eastern United
States) is located and contains an extensive amount of old growth forest.
This area vied with The Great Smokey Mountains region earlier this
century for
National Park status and lost out to the Smokies. The Blacks'
and Craggies' Spruce-Fir Forests and rugged topography are
unparalleled in the Southern Appalachians. |
 LINVILLE
GORGE AND LINVILLE FALLS. The
Linville Gorge, near the town of
Linville Falls NC, is the deepest and one of the most rugged and scenic
gorges in the Eastern United States. Nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the
East, it is protected by the 12,000-acre Linville Gorge Wilderness
Area, one of the first to be included in the National Wilderness
System with the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. The steep walls
of the Linville Gorge
enclose the Linville River for 12 miles. The river, which begins at
Grandfather Mountain, enters the Gorge at the spectacular
Linville Falls NC then descends over 2,000 feet before breaking into the
Catawba Valley on its way to Lake James. |
 PANTHERTOWN
VALLEY. Panthertown Valley near
Cashiers North Carolina, is a unique landscape in Western North
Carolina, with a broad, flat valley floor flanked by uncommon granite
domes with exposed rock rising to 200-300 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. In 1989, the North Carolina Chapter of The
Nature Conservancy purchased 6,295 acres of the valley from Duke Power as an
addition to the Nantahala National Forest and to protect the many
natural communities of plants that thrive there, including the rare southern
Appalachian bog and the swamp forest-bog community. |
 NATIONAL
SCENIC BYWAYS.
The National Scenic Byways Program is part of
the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The
program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize,
preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. Since 1992,
the National Scenic Byways
Program has provided funding for almost 1500 state and nationally designated
byway projects in 48 states. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation
recognizes certain roads as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways
based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational
and scenic qualities. The NC mountain Byways include:
Appalachian
Medley
Black Mountain Rag
Drovers Road
Forest
Heritage Scenic Byway
French Broad Overview
Indian Lakes Scenic Byway
Little Parkway
Mission
Crossing
Mountain Waters Scenic Byway
Nantahala Byway
New River
Valley Byway
Pacolet River Byway
Pottery Road
South
Mountain Scenery
Upper Yadkin Way
Waterfall Byway
Whitewater
Way
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