John Rock, Looking Glass, and Graveyard Fields areas are all really nice, but you can't beat the views along the Art Loeb trail. You make a nice 10ish mile loop by taking AL from Black Balsam to Shining Rock and then taking the Ivestor Gap Trail back.
"The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can.
Pursuing it with eager feet
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
~Bilbo Baggins - LotR
Good suggestion. Here is an overview for the out and back, but taking Ivestor gap one way would be about the same distance and makes it more of a loop.Originally Posted by Str1der
I agree if i'm in the Brevard area this is a mut stop for me. Sitting in front of School house falls is a magical Experience.
We ended up going to Highlands instead and found a nice hike down there. We will make Brevard in the near future. Thanks all for the suggestions.
Glad you found a good hike. I try to avoid Highlands. Too easy for the wife to spend some $$$ in those shops downtown!
We finally made the trip to Brevard and hiked the Art Loeb Trail from the Black Balsam parking lot off of BRP to Shining Rock and back via the Ivester Trail. Those were some spectacular views. Thanks for the suggestion. We loved the area and can't wait to go back. Many trails calling our name.
We live in Marietta as well. How long of a trip was it to get up there?
It's about 4 hours the way we went. You can shave about 30 minutes off of that if you take the interstate but we preferred a more scenic route. The only downside to that trail is there aren't many places to hammock. There are some beautiful tent sites though.
While we were up there we rode through the Mount Pisgah campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway. That would make a good place to base camp and do some day hikes close by. We saw several campsites in the campground that were suitable for hammocks.
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