Took the girls to Take Rock today. Hiked Table Rock Gap then up Take Rock via Devils Cellar. Then down to Little Table Rock. Great day to be in the woods.

The Sauratown dragons were having a ball this weekend at Hanging Rock

Does anyone happen to know what kind of shape Old NC 105 is in on the north end, from NC 183 to Wisemans?

Either recently before or bonus points for since Isaias came through? Thanks!

I have never been to the Black Mountain Crest/Mt. Mitchell area and was looking to do the Woody Ridge Trail to Percys Peak sometime through the middle of November to December ish. I was going to bring some friends of mine who don't really hike much.

My main question is parking. How is it at the trailhead? Also, we were planning to take my friend's Tesla to save on gas instead of my other friend's 4Runner. Are the roads bad?

Anything I should know? Thanks.

Edit: apparently I’m back to the drawing boards as this hike doesn’t seem like the best for first timers (or perhaps in general). Suggestions always welcome.

Hello! My gf and I are visiting Asheville at the end of October, and Bearwallow Mountian seemed very fun to check out as my gf loves cows and we wanted a good hike. My AllTrails says Wildcat Rock Trail is still closed from Hurricane Helene. If so, any other trail recommendations that would still lead to the Bearwallow Summit and a chance to see the cows? Or other trails around Asheville that have good scenic views?

Thanks!

Why do you need a permit to camp at the linville gorge wilderness chimneys area? I thought the wilderness areas offered permit free camping.

Doing a 3 day in a few weeks and looks like I will be on the black mountain crest trail neat Mt Mitchell for a night. Any good camp spots with open views around deep gap/winter star mountain area. First time on this portion of trail. Thank you in advance

Hi all. My family and I came out to the mountains for the weekend. We have been planning on hiking Grandfather Mountain for a few weeks. Since we have an 8yo with us (who is very active and fit) we were planning on heading to the Top Shop parking lot to directly access the trail.

But with the rain all weekend and the projected wind tomorrow.. I'm not so sure. I see the wind may die down in the afternoon though. We're leaving Tuesday morning and we've been planning this hike for weeks. What say you all? Would it be a terrible idea to hike grandfather mountain tomorrow?

Choices are October 12-15 or October 20-22.

Originally everyone told me this week but I feel like the mud might make the hike worse? Also, I’m not seeing photos of it being very colorful yet. Should I wait until next week, or is this week still the best time?

I’m looking to go to Linville falls this coming weekend and am wondering if there are any good hikes between concord and Linville that are worth stopping for. Something easy to moderate that shows off the fall colors. Also any closures from the storm I should know about?

Hi everyone,

Planning a quick overnight trip on carvers gap to 19e next weekend. Wondering how the water availability is. I’ll have a sawyer gravity filter with me. Realistically speaking I could carry all of the water I need for such a short trip but I’m just curious.

Thanks!

i have never been but what are things in general to know before i hike the profile trail at least up to calloway peak/ maybe to mcrae. also how are the conditions since the storm im planning to go tuesday will it be fine then? at least mud/slip wise.

My partner doesn’t like to sleep in tents or shelters. I’m wondering if anyone has come up with any multiday treks in the state where you can sleep in a bed at the end of a day…

any chance mount mitchell state park will reopen today? the colors are beautiful and it’s our last day here! didn’t know if anyone had any insider info

Is there any chance the Blue Ridge Parkway opens up sometime tomorrow? Does anyone know if there was damage or is the closure precautionary?

I know that there's a flash flood warning in the area through tomorrow afternoon. I want to bring someone to do the Profile trail to Calloway Peak (which I've done previously). How bad was the rain today? My weather app is showing the rain stopping around 10:00am. Does anyone have any info regarding trail conditions?

I was thinking of leaving the Raleigh area around 7am getting there around 10:30.

Edit: I'm absolutely NOT doing this hike today. I appreciate everyone pointing out how terrible of an idea this would have been.

Hey everyone, I asked the mods and they're OK with me posting this.

I spend a lot of time on multi-day trips and hikes, and after enough bad situations with no signal, I built LastBar.

It's a free app that maps real mobile coverage as you drive or hike, and combines that with signal maps from other users. When you're stuck with no signal, it points you to the nearest place your phone will work, and to the nearest water, shelter, clinic, police station or fuel, all offline. There's no account, no sign-in, and it only uses about 3% battery a day.

Android phones build most of the map, since iOS limits what the app can read in the background, but iPhone users can still see coverage data captured by other users and find signal based on that and cell tower locations.

The app is still new so the map is empty where nobody has been with it yet, but every drive, walk, or hike fills in the map for the next person. If you're planning an outing soon, I'd love for you to try it out and let me know what you think!

There's more info at https://lastbar.online/ if you'd like to take a look.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=agency.clc.lastbar

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6816038882

Experienced hiker looking for advice for a trip to the Black Mountains in the next week or two. I would like to end up at Mt Mitchell but not the “easy way”. Been scoping out multiple loops on Alltrails (one example attached). Most likely interested in long day hikes rather than backpacking.

Questions:

-How are the leaves? Have they hit peak yet? If not, when should they?

-is the entire Black Mountain Crest trail open at this point? Any lingering damage issues from Hurricane Helene?

-any possibility of a shuttle service or ride share to do a point to point since I’m solo?

-any tips on local camping?

-favorite routes? Things not to miss?

My biweekly roundup of WNC mountain and trail news is out. Join our fast-growing subscriber list - it's free! Amazing how many exciting new trails are planned for our region. https://michael636725.substack.com/p/the-ridgeline-roundup-for-oct-9-2026?r=7wkto&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true