If you love hiking and travel but are tired of the crowds that social media brings to destinations, then the Linville Gorge is for you.
The Linville Gorge is just about an hour drive East of Asheville, North Carolina. Sitting near the Blue Ridge Parkway, you can only imagine how beautiful these mountains can be in the Fall.
Be aware the the Linville Gorge has a dense population of Black Bears, so I highly encourage you to purchase bear spray before visiting.
Visiting the Gorge
The best time to visit the Linville Gorge would be either in the Summer or Fall. Summer brings the lush green mountains that radiate a blue tint on hot summer days. Once summer comes to a close, the fall season showcases leaf foliage that is second to none. After all, the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the Nation’s hotspots for leaf foliage.
What to do at the Gorge
There are three main hiking attractions at the Gorge which provide stunning mountain views, rushing waterfalls, and jaw dropping sunsets. I strongly encourage exploring more during your visit, as this guide is just to get you started and inspired in the beautiful wilderness. Even if you are not the most experienced hiker, do not let this deter you from exploring this beautiful place.
Linville Falls
Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 1.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 90 feet
Time: 1 hour
The first and most popular trail to check out is Linville Falls. The Linville Falls Visitor Center is at milepost 316.4 along the Blue Ridge Parkway and is also where the parking lot is for this hike. The trail to the overlook, as picture above, is about 1.2 miles round trip and is a relatively easy hike. However, if you are looking for more of a challenge, you can take another trail all the way down to the water. This will add about 1.5 to 2.0 miles to your hike with significant elevation gain. If you decide to go for the challenge, make sure you are prepared with plenty of water and snacks.
When I visited Linville Falls, there were lots of downed trees I had to climb over and it was pretty steep on the return hike back to the visitor center. All in all, I highly recommend this hike for everybody!
Wiseman’s View Scenic Overlook
Difficulty: Very Easy
Length: 0.35 miles
Elevation Gain: 50 feet
Time: 25 minutes
The next best view at the Gorge is Wiseman’s View Scenic Overlook. This is truly one of my favorite views in the forest and it is also an absolutely PERFECT spot for sunrise. It is important to know that you will need a high clearance vehicle to drive to this spot. However, once you arrive, the overlook is only a quarter mile walk down a paved path. For a bonus, this location is also wheelchair accessible! From here there are two overlook spots that are perfect for photos!
Hawksbill Mountain
Difficulty: Difficult
Length: 2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 700 feet
Time: 2.5 hours
Last, but definitely not least, is Hawksbill Mountain. This is hands down a must-see location for the sunset. During my visit, we were hiking in 40+ mph winds from a hurricane that was hitting the eastern side of the state. This deterred most people from hiking that night, so I had this sunset view all to myself. I highly recommend bringing a flashlight on this hike as it gets dark very quick once the sun sets behind the mountains.
Lodging/Camping
Due to its close proximity to Asheville and Black Mountain, there are numerous Airbnb and Hotel accommodations for you to choose from. But wait! If you are a camper, there is FREE camping along some of the main roads that lead you to the mountain overlooks! My favorite camp sites are along the road that takes you up to Wiseman’s View Scenic Overlook. There are also a few camping spots along the road that lead up to Hawksbill’s trailhead, but there are not very many.
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