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I'm going to be in NC in late October and I'm interested to go hiking somewhere along the Blue Ridge. I'm looking for a moderate hike with lots of great views to photograph
I know all hiking trails in the Blue Ridge are great, so I hope you can recommend your favorite one.
Nitsa - -
Go to the Craggy Dome overlook at mile marker 364.1 and park in the upper parking lot. The trail to the Craggy Pinnacle summit begins there. It is a fairly short, easy hike with many great photo opportunities at five or six different overlooks. Also, it goes through a tunnel of Catawba rhododendrons, which are very cool. Look for the old birch tree that is growing sideways, all twisted up from years of exposure to the elements at altitude. The summit is just over 6000 feet in elevation, and the views are spectacular.
I love the Graveyard Fields hike and the story behind it! Also the Hike to Sam Knob Summit is a little tough but so worth the view - the hike at the bottom - Flat Laurel Creek is super easy and beautiful following this lovely creek around the bottom of Sam Knob. The parking is around 5,000 and the terrain in this area is like southern California - dry - no bugs - not so wet and damp like some of the Pisgah hikes.
I love the Graveyard Fields hike and the story behind it! Also the Hike to Sam Knob Summit is a little tough but so worth the view - the hike at the bottom - Flat Laurel Creek is super easy and beautiful following this lovely creek around the bottom of Sam Knob. The parking is around 5,000 and the terrain in this area is like southern California - dry - no bugs - not so wet and damp like some of the Pisgah hikes.
Can you make a loop out of the Sam Knob/Laurel Creek trail? I thought I read Sam Knob was an out-and-back trail?
When you leave the parking lot and head onto the Sam Knob Summit Trail - you are on level ground for about 1/2 mile - then you reach an intersection - Sam Knob to the right and Flat Laurel to the left - you do have to go up to Sam Knob Summit and then come all the way back down - but instead of heading back to the parking lot you just follow the Flat Laurel Trail which winds around and eventually takes you back to that parking area. So Flat Laurel is a loop with a detour up Sam Knob - does that make sense?
Isn't there a way to come down to Flat Laurel on the far side of the creek? That's not a very description, sorry. By far side, I mean the opposite side from the Flat Laurel Trail and you cross the creek. I did Little Sam for the first time a couple of weeks ago. That's a nice hike with a lot of views.
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