Outdoors at North Carolina’s Chimney Rock, Sliding Rock & Lake Lure
Ever since my Carolina childhood, the mountains of western North Carolina have been one of my favorite weekend destinations. During a recent vacation I had the pleasure of introducing my children to some fun hikes and nature outings in the Asheville area.
Pictured above is a view from Chimney Rock State Park, which after a century of private ownership recently became a state park. As my kids scrambled up ahead of me (how well I remember that youthful energy; where does it go?), I panted my way up several flights of steps to the top of the 315-foot monolith, where an incredible vista of green mountainsides and narrow Lake Lure spreads out before you. From here we huffed and puffed our way up to Exclamation Point, a bald rock face at 2,480-foot elevation. Sadly, the cliffside trail that used to lead on from there to a cascading waterfall where The Last of the Mohicans was filmed is no longer open. In fact, that trail doesn’t even appear on the map or the website, and it took a bit of sleuthing on my part to figure out how we’d missed the best part of the Chimney Rock experience, in my opinion. Probably there were safety concerns about the steep drop-offs along the trail, but I’m saddened that it was simply closed down rather than improved for safety.
Happily, Sliding Rock in the Pisgah National Forest is still as I remember from my childhood. An icy stream slides over a smooth, 60-ft sloping rock, and those who brave the cold water are rewarded with a natural slip-and-slide that picks up speed all the way to the pool at the bottom. My children slid a couple of times and were done. I remember, as a little kid, sliding for an hour with my sister and older cousins, making long chains with teenage boys who were happy to hang onto 16-year-old girls in cutoffs and bikini tops. I didn’t see any of that on this visit; it was an orderly, solitary bunch taking turns zipping down the rock, with only an occasional whoop to let the spectators know what they were missing.
What else did we do? Aside from hiking, sliding, and visiting Biltmore House, which I blogged about earlier this week, we poked around and rock hopped in the Rocky Broad River, which flows through Chimney Rock Village. Look at the size of those boulders.
We spotted three water snakes there…
…and a rattlesnake along the Chimney Rock park road—the first one we’d ever seen in the wild.
No, I didn’t get too close. I used the telephoto and didn’t get near enough to earn a warning rattle.
We enjoyed lunch at Larkin’s on the south end of beautiful Lake Lure.
On my dad’s recommendation, we ordered their pulled pork nachos: “A pile of fresh potato chips topped with slow roasted pulled pork, cheddar cheese, red onion and jalapenos.” Yum! We ate every bite.
We had a lovely time at Lake Lure and on the rest of our Blue Ridge trip. It’s so nice to escape the heat of an Austin summer for a few days. Now I’m dreaming of cool Seattle, and the 4th annual Garden Bloggers Fling next month.
All material © 2006-2011 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
We spent a lot of time in this area (including the Biltmore) while one of our sons was in school in NC. I’m glad I didn’t know about the snakes then LOL or I would never have been able to enjoy the beauty of the area!
It was a pretty snaky area, Cathy. 🙂 But they left us alone, and we did the same. It certainly is a gorgeous part of the country. —Pam
Those nachos…no scenery needed with THOSE nachos!!! But after a few plates of those, I might come to my senses, as there looks to be like plenty of hills to ride my bike up and down on to be good.
Oh yeah, David, LOTS of hills. The nachos and a dip in the lake would be a nice reward afterward. —Pam
I like the pictures of the snakes!
They’re interesting, aren’t they? I just wish I could have captured them with my good telephoto, but I was borrowing my daughter’s point-and-shoot, and, well, snakes don’t stop to pose for you. —Pam
What a great vacation introducing such fun destinations to your own kids. The water looks so cool and refreshing compared with our heat and drought here. Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
My pleasure, S. Fox. Yes, we got rained on during numerous days of our trip. I sure wished I could send some of it to Austin. —Pam
Hi Pam,
Oh yes, all 3 are my favorite places, though we didn’t have the pleasure of seeing a snake! If you ever go back, there’s a great waterfall tucked up in the same valley near Sliding Rock. It’s called Cove Creek Falls and it requires a 30 minute hike. It’s on fish hatchery road. One could spend a week in Asheville and not see it all! The Folk Center, beautiful forests, and the Parkway drive are all terrific as well. And the summer weather…pleasant days and cool nights. Thanks for the delightful memories! Now, back to the drought.
David/ 🙂
I haven’t seen that waterfall, but I have been to the fish hatchery, which was surprisingly interesting. And we’ve stopped to view many other waterfalls in the area. It’s a beautiful area, with lots of things to see and do. —Pam
We are going to have to pull our trailer that way one summer. Looks like you have given us an idea fro plenty of things to do. What a blast the children must have had with this visit. What a view of Chimney rock. Had no idea.
There is so much to see in the Asheville area, plus you can go on up to Tennessee and really see the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a beautiful part of the country. —Pam
The snakes ruined it for me! Makes my gentle black snakes look really sweet! 🙂
I do like Chimney rock and Lake Lure.
Oh no, I’m sorry, Cameron! I know some people aren’t as intrigued by snakes as I am. The rattlesnake really surprised me. They are common in Austin, but I didn’t think about encountering one in the Asheville area. —Pam
Maybe the lines are longer now at the slide rock. It looks like so much fun. Were you tempted to slide down it for old times sake?? Beautiful scenery.
I wasn’t really tempted, Lisa. I was happy to see my kids get to try it. —Pam
It must be the year for rattlesnakes whilst on vacation since I almost stepped on one in Washington state a month ago…
Yikes, Katina. I’m glad you didn’t get bitten. My husband has a vivid childhood memory of stepping on a rattlesnake at his grandparents’ house. He felt a funny squish, looked down, and reflexively leaped backward. He’d stepped on the snake’s head, which was lucky. He ran to get his folks, and they came to look and confirmed it was a rattler. —Pam
North Carolina has wonderful vacation spots~I love Chimney Rock and the Sliding Rock. I was introduced to it as an adult and didn’t feel the need to slide! I may have to have pulled pork soon! It looks delish. gail
Gail, those pulled pork nachos were fantastic. You’ll have to visit again just to try them. —Pam
Spectacular photo of Chimney Rock! I love the Asheville area too. Beautiful hikes and art, great food.
Yes, Asheville has a good art scene, as you point out. And the city itself is lovely too. —Pam
How lovely, Pam. I keep forgetting you’re a Carolina gal. Can’t wait to see it myself one day soon. My daughter, mother of my only grandchild, lives near Raleigh and they’ve just begun to explore the many beautiful places to visit in North Carolina.
Carolina’s siren song is really tugging at my heart strings 🙂
I bet you’ll be making many visits over the next 18 years, Carolyn Gail. My husband and I lived in Raleigh for five years right after we got married, and I grew up in a little town in upstate South Carolina, so my Carolina roots are fairly deep. But I hadn’t been back in many years. —Pam
I love that whole area. Hiked up those same trails and places you talked about many times through the years. It does get harder as you acquire age.
Whew, does it ever, CIMS. There are so many beautiful places to hike though, and the views are worth it. —Pam
Brings back good memories. My grandparents retired to Hendersonville when I was a teenager and we traveled there often to visit. I remember all those sites, except for the snakes.
Yeah, the snakes. I’m afraid they’ve dominated my post, but we really did see a whole lot more than snakes. 😉 Lucky you to have had grandparents to visit in the area when you were an energetic teen. —Pam
What a spectacular vista from Chimney Rock. I will imagine that that view is well worth the climb. Isn’t it amazing how the kids can do climbs like these with ease.
And the sliding rock looks like a ton of fun to slide down.
Yael
Yes, it’s a really fun and beautiful place to spend time outdoors, Yael. —Pam
Pam, This really takes me back to my childhood! I spent many a day sliding down Sliding Rock in that freezing cold water and visiting Chimney Rock and the surrounding environs. (Never saw a rattler there though). My grandmother used to collect plants all over the place up there, many of which ended up in Asheville at the botanical gardens. That would be frowned upon these days of course. Thanks for the virtual trip. Lee
Did you really, Lee? I didn’t know you were a Carolina boy. Then you understand the lure of the region. I love spending time there. —Pam
Great photos of Chimney Rock. I was there at the same time staying in our vacation house in Black Mountain. Small world. You visited my garden in Dallas during Open Days.
I’ll be checking out those nachos on our next trip!
It IS a small world! Those nachos are to die for, and the lakeside setting is serene. I really loved your garden, one of my favorites on the tour. —Pam
How funny – my grandparents lived near Asheville, and it sounds like we share some childhood summer memories. Thanks for the reminder!
Rebecca, it’s a lovely and adventurous place to have childhood memories from, isn’t it? —Pam