linville gorge wilderness area

It had poured for days, the trails were really wet and muddy, however, we still had a blast! I took a lot of great photos too!

Great couple of hours hiking the area around the falls. You can do a short hike to upper falls or continue on to the other lookouts. Should be on your list.

A well deserved stop along the Bluerigde to strech your legs. A short walk to the falls and pond, all with great views. If you have the time you may consider a "Blanket Lunch". Just put the blanket on the ground and chow down. If you go and have young children, keep them close to you and just advise them of the hazzards. Long drop off the side,rocks,and rushing water. Family friendly has restrooms, with a Park Ranger on duty a the main office.

If you are on the Parkway, or in Boone, or visiting the Blowing Rock attraction, it is worth it to stop in the city of Blowing Rock. First of all they have a municipal parking lot behind (or one street over) from the main street and city park. The park has bathrooms and lots of playground equipment for the kids, and the main street has lots of shops for Mom, and a variety of restaurants for everybody. It is best to make a reservation if there are a lot of folks in town, otherwise, you will wait in line. You can visit all of the shops, eat lunch, and be out of there in less than two hours. It is generally a pleasant experience.

We really like hiking in the mountains , would recommend this to anyone. Plan a day of it going in to the mountain

Nice short hike with wonderful views. Wasn't very strenuous and we were rewarded with huge vista views!

My husband, sister, and I got on the Babel Tower Trail in the Linville Gorge Wilderness area. It was our intent to hike this trail and come out on the Pine Gap Trail. About 3/4 of the way through this extremely rough terrain (it is NOT a maintained trail), the 11-month-old puppy that was with us and walking "point" ran into a bee's nest. She got stung and my husband got stung before all of us headed back briskly in the direction from whence we came. There was no other route besides backtracking and coming out Cabin Trail. Ended up being about a 5-mile hike. The distance was NOT the problem. There were exposed roots and many, many rocks the entire distance (impeding one's speed). Where trees had fallen, you had to go over or under. It is NOT maintained so it is easy to get lost or worse. Very little cell phone service is available. It would be a nightmare to have an emergency in there. We came out 700 vertical feet and had to walk another mile back to the car that was in the destination we THOUGHT we would reach (before bees). It is a very beautiful area, but definitely not for ANYONE with ANY health issues. I had forgotten my Epipen, so that could have been a fatal mistake. We did love it, but I probably would not go again. There are many gorgeous maintained (well, in as much as our government maintains any trails today) trails in the area.

Of all the places in NC to hike, the Linville Gorge Wilderness area has no equal. Used to train rangers without the aid of blazed trails, etc., you really need to be 'on your game' if you're going to take on some of these trails. The views from some of the overlooks however are amazing. Others that wind down into the Gorge are extremely rough & demand respect. If you're hiking, please be sure you have an idea where you're going & make sure someone knows where you are! Totally awesome!

We walked the trail down to the falls and it was a spectacular view. Workers were busily repairing damage from the massive amounts of rainfall and told us about what had happened. But they were just doing their job and didn't interfere with the visitors at all. We had no idea so much damage could be done by water and it was so good to know that so many people were working to restore the area to what it was before.

This is one of those places that make you think " Why on earth did I pay for XXXX for whatever attraction if this is free". This place is beautiful. We had just spent our 1st weekend on Linville, Blowing Rock area and had visited Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock the town and the Attraction and Boone. On our way back to Greenville, Sc I told my husband there is a place around here called the canyon of NC. He said really? Then we agreed that if on our way home there was any signs of Linville Gorge we would detour. Well, we saw the sign and started following signs until we arrived at a visitor center. They told us, this is not it keep going 12 miles down the road to another visitor center. We finally arrived. We told them it was our 1st time there. We started the hiking with our 2 kids ( 6 and 13). The 1st stop which is very near like a 5 minute walk is very pretty. Then there is a second stop which took my breath away. I am not a good walker or hiker myself, although I love all the experience. I start feeling very fatigued, make several stops to catch my breath and my heart racing ( So you know what type of person I am). I did see people sweating and having to make stops on their way up, but those people were the ones in bad shape like me. And with bad shape I do not mean overweight or with walking sticks. I mean people like me that are not use to gyms or exercise at all. I weigh 135 pounds and had a hard time. The way up is not because it is steep, or narrow or rocky in fact it has a very decent pathway with a wide walking path. It is because there is a slight elevation on the terrain. Even if you do not see it with your eyes you feel it on your heart and lungs when you are not used to it. But I was able to see all 3 stops. I recommend to see at least the 2 first stops if you cannot make it to the third one. All in all a great experience and free.

Linville Falls and Gorge is another great place for a moderate hike in a slightly improved natural area. The park is undergoing several improvement projects and the information cabin is not open. However, the views of the gorge from Erwin's View are amazing.

This was a great stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can't tell from the front office what you'll be seeing. Skip the short "easy" 1/3 mile loop and go for the moderate "Erwin's Trail" walk though you can see a waterfall from it if that's all you have time for. Erwin's is mostly a flat trail with an uphill climb - not rocky - but to reach the overlooks you may be climbing stairs or walking over rocks and roots a bit. Well worth it - you'll have amazing views from different angles - including well above - of beautiful waterfalls.

This place is great for outdoor adventures with all the walking trails but the views keep you interested. This is worth a trip. Lovely area to picnic in. Also it is near a lot of other amazing sights too. Like Grandfather Mountain, Linville Falls, Linville Caverns, and some of the highest ranges on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So lots to do in the area.

Beautiful place but please don't wear flip flops or sandals , lots of walking and some very uneven areas and there are snakes so advice is not to be worried about being fashionable especially the kids. Saw someone kid gash the foot open because of flip flops , and had a long walk back to the car in pain.

Beautiful !!! I had an amazing experience and loved the hike . Well worth the .4 hike uphill. Got a great workout.