Top 10 Quick Hikes Along the Blue Ridge Parkway Near Asheville

ASHEVILLE, NC (April 27, 2011) With so many hiking trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which ones provide the best scenery without requiring an extensive trek? Here are the Top 10 Quick Parkway Hikes near Asheville by www.RomanticAsheville.com. This popular vacation guide features extensive guides with photos and insider tips for each of these safe, well-marked hikes:

1. Rough Ridge: This unique hike offers plenty of extensive views of Grandfather Mountain, Linn Cove Viaduct and mountains beyond from a wooden boardwalk atop fragile vegetation. Milepost 303

2. Beacon Heights: This one-mile roundtrip hike has a big reward with spectacular views from a smooth rock face. It’s a great spot to take your picnic! Milepost 305

3. Linville Falls: See five viewpoints of the most photographed waterfall in North Carolina. Only one of the trails is strenuous and you can hike to all observation areas with a four-mile walk. Milepost 316

4. Crabtree Falls: A 2.5-mile easy loop woodlands trail takes you to a beautiful 70-foot waterfall. Milepost 340

5. Mt. Mitchell: A short paved trail leads to the observation deck on the summit of the highest mountain in the eastern United States. Plus, the Deep Gap Trail to Mt. Craig is a two-mile roundtrip hike through a fragrant alpine forest. Milepost 355

6. Craggy Gardens: The 1.5-roundtrip trail to the top of Craggy Pinnacle provides spectacular 360-degree mountain views. The Craggy Gardens Trail crosses a rhododendron bald with peak color in mid June. Milepost 364

7. Mt. Pisgah: This is the highest mountain visible from downtown Asheville. The popular three-mile roundtrip trek to the 5,721-foot summit is strenuous. Milepost 407

8. Graveyard Fields: This mile-high meadow features two waterfalls and a four mile loop with wildflowers, surrounded by 6,000-foot mountaintops. Milepost 419

9. Black Balsam Knob: For sweeping mountain views as you walk for miles, roam these bald mountaintops in the Pisgah National Forest. Milepost 420

10. Devil’s Courthouse: This short but strenuous trail climbs a half mile for views from the 5,720-foot peak. Milepost 422

For a mile-by-mile vacation guide to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville with more hikes, picnic spots and things to do, go to http://www.romanticasheville.com/BlueRidgeParkway.htm.

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Mark File

Editor

RomanticAsheville.com Vacation Guide

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