A buddy and I are getting ready to do an overnighter in Grandfather Mountain state park. With Profile trail closed and no overnight parking allowed at Swinging Bridge is there any way to park a car near the entrance to swinging bridge or some sort of shuttle or ride share we can catch from town? We plan on parking the other car at Asutsi trailhead.

Thanks!

I know most of the trails are closed indefinitely, just planning out challenges for fun. Ideally, the route would go Graybeard, Mitchell Toll Rd, Black Knob Ridge Trail, Toe River Rd, Mt Mitchell Trail, Black Mountain Crest Trail, and then back. Was there a route folks were doing before? Is there a regional name for this that might yield some search results?

We are planning to drive up from the Birmingham, AL area at the end of may for our 30th anniversary - the idea is to try to hit thirty waterfalls on the trip.

The working plan right now is to drive up on a Thursday, spend a night in a hotel Thursday evening. We will do Grandfather Mountain (it's a bucket list item for her) on Friday, then drive to the Brevard area and hopefully do a shorter hike or two on that Friday evening before setting up to tent camp.

Yes, any recommendations for campgrounds with electricity and water for tent sites would be much appreciated! We do backpack, but the plan here is to car camp for this trip.

We then spend Saturday and Sunday hiking in the Brevard area, as we see that there are a lot of waterfalls.

We'd love to see recommendations on good trails with waterfalls. Not every waterfall needs to be some large, glorious, named fall - but if at all possible, we'd like to complete this possibly silly task on this trip.

Thanks for your help.

I've never hiked but a local group has a hike this coming weekend at "Hanging Rock, Window Falls, and Hidden Falls Trails". How "fit" do I have to be to do this 4.5 mile hike. I don't want to go and be "that person" that can't keep up or have to turn back.

Hey folks, I'll be in the Bryson City area this weekend for a birthday getaway and would love to get some trail time in. Are there any 1-2 hour hikes worth checking out in the area that you'd recommend?

Talking to people in the area it seems folks are using it/ the AT in that area in both directions. Looking at the status map on appalachiantrail.org it shows closed. Is it really closed or is it open? Trail reports Ive seen seems like its passable so if closed, is this being enforced?

Planning weekend packing trip for Feb (seeking out adverse conditions to build experience)

Was out hiking in the (relatively) nice weather today around Asheville and thought it would be nice to settle down with a book and read in nature sometime. Do y'all know of any hikes that have a good view, have a good spot to sit & read, and are relatively low traffic on nice days so I can read (somewhat) undisturbed?

Sorry I didn’t have trash bags and if you hadn’t run out I would have helped. It was disgusting how much trash was there.

I've heard mixed things on the internet about it being closed to hikers or welcoming them. Has anyone hiked the snake mountain trail recently?

Has anyone heard of this area was affected by Helene? Also, has anyone camped on this trail before? Ive been on the trail multiple times, but even starting at 6am I’ve never made it through the entire trail for fear of not making it back through the dark. Last note, does anyone have advice for camping in these cold temps?

For the full list, you can go here: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2025/01/22/pisgah-national-forest-opens-catawba-falls-64-trails-after-helene/77846023007/

I know the state park is closed until further notice, but are there any alternate trailheads open with a route to the summit?

‘Nuff said. We are a friendly community and here for the trails discussion. Solidarity with the other subreddits.

Hey folks,

I work for a local conservation non profit in Asheville and I am in need someone with outdoor gear repair skills. I have a handful of tents and a few backpacks that I would love to see put back into service, but I have neither the skills nor the time to spend on the project. If anyone has or knows of a local repair service, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

Hello I have a specific question. Is anyone aware as to why all of the NPS units in western NC are still showing closed in most facets from Helene? I know recovery has been slow but I’d of thought with federal parks they’d be able to open up quicker than some of our state parks which have less resources. I’ve offered to volunteer to help but received no response to be expected. Unless they’re facing absolute catastrophic damage more so than other state parks we’re seeing open back up and all the trails have washed away I wouldn’t think tree clearing takes that long with a couple of crews. Just a lot of government bureaucracy?

Where can I:

Hike in to camp Set up a tent Hang food in a tree away from bears Start a campfire

Bonus if it's near a river or lake Bonus if there's drinking water nearby

Been planning out a hike starting at Boone Fork Parking area and going from Nuwati Tail to Cragway to Daniel Boone Scout to Calloway peak and then making my way to Macrae peak and turning back around. I've seen online that Blue Ridge Parkway is closed is some areas but cant find an exact answer on if there's access to the Boone Fork Parking Area of it I wouldn't be able to even get to it?

My second option would be parking at Profile parking area and taking the profile trail to see Calloway peak and Macrae peak. Currently the swinging bridge is closed does that mean the Profile parking area/ profile trail would be closed too?

Hey there! Thinking of moving to Durham but concerned about the hiking after looking in AllTrails. I'm looking for hiking areas as close to Durham as possible where you can find 2k elevation hikes in the 8-11 mile range. Thanks.

I am putting together a list of five great winter hikes in the region for a Mountain Xpress article. Looking for people who are involved with hiking groups or outdoor recreation groups in Henderson and Haywood counties who might be interested in choosing a great hiking spot and answering a few basic questions for the story. 

You can reach me at jmcguire@mountainx.com or (803)493-2084. Thanks!

Howdy!

I’ve spent quite a few weekends in the Marion area working to help people get back on top, and I know the road from Marion to get toward Mount Mitchell trail is all pretty much inaccessible, but I see that there are alternate routes suggested and open. I’ve done Mitchell plenty before, but I wonder…

My two questions are, if anyone knows, as follows:

Is the overnight parking area near Black Mountain Campground still open / does it exist and can be accessed?

Is the trail still possible to be climbed or is the damage still so bad that it is impossible/impassable at this time?

I will obviously plan for alternates based on what I learn from here, and I haven’t gotten too much information from the websites or calling as they are closed temporarily due to weather conditions. I’m not sure if this is because of this past weekends winter storm or if that’s been the default message since Helene.

Thanks for the help yall! Safe hiking.

Hey y'all!! I'm planning on doing some backpacking in the sierra Nevada this summer (guided trip) and I would like to start training for the elevation gains this spring. What are your top recs for trails with lots of elevation climbs? I've already got Mount Mitchell in mind as our tallest mountain! Thanks so much!

My parents love hiking but are starting to get older and I was reading that Grandfather is really difficult. They have great endurance, but I worry that with the scrambles/exposure I don’t want to risk it.

People who have hiked it, what are your opinions? I read one side of the mountain has less of the exposure and might be longer and steep but not as exposed? Is there an easier route?

If it is too much, are there any other alternatives to the area that you would recommend that offer beautiful vistas as well? Thanks!