Hiking Through a Rhododendron Tunnel

http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/attractions-destinations/wayah-bald Wayah Bald, near Franklin, North Carolina, is a popular destination for hikers, especially in the early summer when rhododendron and azalea are in bloom. Its historic fire tower affords great views of the southern Appalachian mountains in three states. Two long-distance trails, the Appalachian Trail and the Bartram Trail, cross at the tower. A picnic area is located nearby.  The second picture is from Craggy Gardens -discription below.

Wayah BaldCraggy Gardens

Craggy Gardens, just north of Asheville, North Carolina, is one of the most dramatic viewpoints on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Stunning vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains stretch far into Tennessee to the west and toward central North Carolina to the east. In early summer, Craggy Gardens becomes a mountain-sized bouquet when the rhododendron thickets on the upper heights cover the landscape in pink and purple. A favorite hiking trail, Craggy Pinnacle, leads hikers through a “tunnel” of rhododendron to the summit which offers 360-degree view. This 1.5 mile round trip is an easy walk.

14 thoughts on “Hiking Through a Rhododendron Tunnel”

  1. That looks beautiful. My family and I are going to be hiking parts of the Appalachian trail on a road trip in late July. I was thinking of driving near Asheville on our trip, so thanks for all this useful information!

    Like

    1. The links will give you lots of infomation. This is a beautiful place. If you have time I’d be glad to meet you to say hi – Black Mountain is lovely also.

      Like

Leave a Reply if you feel so inclined

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s