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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!

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News

Yellow Gap Road Reopened

Though I didn’t see a Forest Service announcement to this fact, I have confirmed with a personal visit that Yellow Gap Road appears to be open again. This closure was in the Pisgah National Forest near the Pink Beds area. Time to get back out and enjoy the Laurel Mountain, Pilot Rock, Slate Rock, Pink [...]

Posted on June 2, 2009 7:59 pm

Panthertown Valley Trail Names and Uses Designated

The US Forest Service has issued a decision regarding the trail naming and use designations within Panthertown. Most of the trails themselves remain uncharged, however, as a lot of the maintenance budget was lost and that project was mostly scrapped. Volunteer efforts are still underway to maintain the trails, though. Signage will probably be updated [...]

Posted on May 26, 2009 3:41 pm

Gorges, Mount Mitchell State Parks Officially Reopening

Although Mount Mitchell’s new observation deck has been open for a while, the Park will hold a dedication on Saturday (May 9) which marks its official unveiling to the public. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 AM at the summit. Go on up and enjoy the views before the summer haze sets in, as [...]

Posted on May 8, 2009 2:36 pm

Blue Ridge Parkway to Reopen May 15

According to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times (which I won’t link to anymore since they delete their articles from their web site after a few days), the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area will be reopening (albeit 1 lane at the landslide site) on May 15. The official word to the [...]

Posted on March 26, 2009 2:15 pm

GPS Trail Data Available

As part of the new maps initiative, all trails, hikes, and rides on WNCOutdoors.info will eventually be GPS-mapped and all the GPS data will be available for download. Right now, a number of trails in the Pisgah National Forest, as well as all of the Tsali trails, have GPS-based maps. As time goes on, details [...]

Posted on March 14, 2009 1:13 am

Articles

A New Battle Between Mt. Mitchell and Clingman’s Dome?

In response to my post about the new observation platform atop Mt. Mitchell, Allen said: “Now that the old 45 tower has been replaced by the observation deck on Mt. Mitchell, is a person standing on the Clingmans Dome tower in the Smokies at a higher elevation, or does the Mt. Mitchell deck still put you [...]

Posted on March 26, 2009 2:48 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 8:48 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 2:08 pm

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 3:02 pm

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 2:56 pm

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 5:15 pm

Opinion & Personal

Photos in WNC Magazine

Check out some of my photos in print! Several were used in WNC Magazine - of Skinny Dip Falls and Whiteside Mountain, on pages 114, 116 and 117. Need photos for your publication? Drop me a line and let me know. You can find the selection in the photo galleries on both hikewnc.info and mtbikewnc.com.

Posted on June 8, 2008 8:15 pm

Archived news and more articles are on the WNCOutdoors.info Blog.

Hiking in Western North Carolina

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