Off-the-beaten-path attractions in North Carolina (Asheville, Marion: hotels, home, to live)

[dirtykj]

Does anyone have recommendations about unusual places to go, things to see, in North Carolina? I'm looking for something like little waterfalls tucked away in hard-to-find places (Uwharrie NF?), caves, rockhounding sites, unusual buildings, something along that line.

Thanks!

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by dirtykj

Does anyone have recommendations about unusual places to go, things to see, in North Carolina? I'm looking for something like little waterfalls tucked away in hard-to-find places (Uwharrie NF?), caves, rockhounding sites, unusual buildings, something along that line.

Thanks!

All of these places are in the Mountain Region of North Carolina.

Waterfalls
Transylvania County, NC
Over 200 Waterfalls

Unusual Buildings
Biltmore Estates
Asheville, NC
Largest Privately-Owned Home in America

Rockhoundings Sites
The best gem-collecting counties are Alexander (emeralds and hiddenite), Macon (rubies, sapphires, and garnets), and Mitchell (emeralds and aquamarine).

Caves
Linville Caverns
Between the towns of Linville and Marion, NC, just four miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

[dirtykj]

Thanks for the response, mm34b. I was plotting route from where we plan to live to Uwharrie NF and it's 5 hours away! We were hoping to go there more often, maybe hookup with the North Carolina chapter of the Jeep club for exploring the mountains ... it will happen but not every weekend, looks like.

Thanks for the tip about the waterfalls.

[mm34b]

NC National Forests - Off-Road Vehicle Access

http://ncnatural.com/NCUSFS/orv.html

[Mountain Man]

here is a pic of Crabtree Falls just of the Blue Ridge PKWY. and the Falls that mm34b is talkin about are even prettier

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by dirtykj

Does anyone have recommendations about unusual places to go, things to see, in North Carolina? I'm looking for something like little waterfalls tucked away in hard-to-find places (Uwharrie NF?), caves, rockhounding sites, unusual buildings, something along that line.

Thanks!

Check the bookstores or magazine racks for "Blue Ridge Country" and "Our State ". Those magazines are filled with articles about neat things to do/see. I'd post the URL for BRC, but it would probably get deleted ... maybe I can sneak it in blue ridge country dot com. Parse that and paste it to your browser, or just google "blue ridge country magazine". I notice that their site is getting better all the time.

[silverwing]

here is a pic of Crabtree Falls just of the Blue Ridge PKWY. and the Falls that mm34b is talkin about are even prettier

Cool Crabtree Falls is one of those gems that only the curious seem to find.

There are some explorers who make waterfall hunting a pastime and will search out even the tricklers. I like this fellow's page http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/

Oh, and this is a rare sight: Linville Falls after the remnants of a hurricane passed through.

Linville falls before heavy rains:
http://www.markbashista.com/North%20Carolina%20Mountains/images/Linville%20Falls.jpg (broken link)

After:
http://www.nps.gov/applications/nature/photos/ACF773A.jpg (broken link)

The story by the fellow who took the footage is here
http://www.brpfoundation.org/Story1.php (broken link)

I would have stood there, gobsmacked, at the sight

[U.S.Citizen]

Originally Posted by dirtykj

Does anyone have recommendations about unusual places to go, things to see, in North Carolina? I'm looking for something like little waterfalls tucked away in hard-to-find places (Uwharrie NF?), caves, rockhounding sites, unusual buildings, something along that line.

Thanks!

I used to love going to Stone Mountain State Park. No not Georgia. North Carolina, up in Andy Griffith country. (45 mins. west of Mt. Airy) It truly is one of natures many wonders.
Hiking up one side, crossing over the top to the other side.
Where there is a nice cool waterfalls waiting for you when you are all hot
and sweaty. As a matter of fact, the waterfalls is the entire length of your climb down.You can climb into one of the pools that has been cut into the
rock from the waterfalls. Feels great, but be carefull climbing. Carry enough water on your trek. The hike takes about 4 hrs. At the bottom, after your cooled off, just hike back to the starting point without going back over the mountain again. Just type Stone Mountain State Park NC in Google and
check it out. Have fun.

hike back to the

[silverwing]

Originally Posted by U.S.Citizen

I used to love going to Stone Mountain State Park.

It's been several years since we were there

[copyright material]

I hope the parking has improved. And I believe that the only sign directing you there from NC21 is still that "oops, you missed it!" little brown sign on the side of the road

Hanging Rock State Park is neat, though it is also an arduous trek

[babygirl62477]

I am heading to nc in 2 weeks and was going to be heading to hiddenite gem mines is there any other suggestions of for that type of thing? What about gold panning for the public? Any other type of outdoors activities besides the waterfalls, and hiking trails like zipline tours or anything? Also good suggestions on hotels in the area?