Southern Cities Edition: Chimney Rock, NC

This North Carolina village sits just above 1,000 feet of elevation with stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains! This "No bigger than a minute" town is home to Chimney Rock State Park and minutes away from the breathtaking Lake Lure.

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Southern Cities Edition:  Chimney Rock, NC

BY:  ALLIE BYNUM

Every good adventure starts with an even better cup of coffee. Not much beats fresh brew right out of the french press other than running into a hole in the wall coffee shop. ​Coffee on the Rocks conveniently dwells along the Rocky Broad River. Along with delicious caffeinated beverages, they also sell breakfast and allow your pup to come inside.

Vistas and trails are plentiful at Chimney Rock State Park. We got an early start to avoid the crowds, as the lots were almost full as we were leaving mid-afternoon. Starting at the lower parking lot, the Enchanted Trail seemed to pull us to one of the tallest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River.

Hickory Nut Falls

Photo Cred:  Chris Turner

The trail to the base of the falls was about 0.7 miles uphill, and that was just the beginning.

As we continued to explore the park, we hiked our way to the beginning of a very long, very awesome staircase. It was like we were climbing a big tree house of stairs further up the mountain. My thighs burned, and Dobby was getting really thirsty. Some park rangers at the top of the staircase pointed us to a bowl of water left out just for pups.

Elevation 2,280'

It is nice to be able to get such a great climb in hiking and still have tons of oxygen to breathe at lower elevation. The views atop Chimney Rock were literally breathtaking!

The Stunning Lake Lure

I continue to be surprised by hidden mountain towns and new hikes around the Appalachian Mountains. After growing up just over Sam's Gap in Tennessee and exploring much of the Carolina hills, I couldn't believe I had never heard of Chimney Rock before. There is still much to explore in this endless backcountry.