Western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains are some of the oldest on earth, boasting old-growth forests, pristine streams, and ancient heath balds with stunning views. This guide includes 72 great day hikes ranging from 1 to 13 miles, with destinations like the stone tower of Hanging Rock State Park, Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail, the "Opera Box" at Chimney Rock State Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway's Craggy Gardens, the waterfalls of Linville Gorge, and Gregory Bald in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Each entry includes complete driving and hiking directions, maps, trailhead GPS coordinates, elevation gain, trail highlights, and related historical anecdotes, plus books and movies set in each locale.

The mountains of western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina are a hikers paradise--rich with human history and home to some of the greatest biological diversity in the world. This guide includes 57 day hikes ranging in length from 2 to 13 miles, with destinations including the waterfalls of DuPont State forest; the Blue Ridge Parkway's beautiful Craggy Gardens; the ruins of George Vanderbilt's palatial Buck Spring hunting lodge on Mt. Pisgah; the summit of Cold Mountain, and more. Each entry covers everything you need to know to enjoy your hike: maps and detailed directions, mileage, elevation gain, trail highlights, fees and hiking regulations, films and novels set in each location, and more.

This comprehensive guidebook provides a detailed description of every official trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. But that's just the beginning: veteran hiker Leonard M. Adkins includes information on every trail that touches the Parkway, including the Appalachian Trail, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and other public pathways on national park, state park, national forest, municipal, and private lands. You'll find GPS coordinates for official Parkway trailheads, along with fifty maps and many photographs of what you'll see along the way. Adkins notes each trail's length, difficulty, points of interest, handicap accessibility, and natural features. Far more than a guide to the trails, this book also tells you what to expect at overlooks, as well as where to dine, sleep, and find a restroom, and suggests worthwhile side trips. Elevation change charts for bicyclists, minimum tunnel heights for RVs, camping recommendations, roadside bloom calendars, sightseeing information for nearby towns, and other advice make this the perfect companion for your next Parkway adventure.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is an 1,175-mile destination trail that crosses North Carolina from Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. It traverses 37 counties, 7 national parks and forests, and nearly a dozen state parks and historic sites. This is the first-ever guide to day hikes along the crown jewel of North Carolina foot trails. Whether you're a seasoned hiker or new to the outdoors, this official guide from Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is your go-to companion for exploring all the trail has to offer, showcasing everything from scenic mountain vistas to surprising escapes in the state's Piedmont region and the wonders of coastal plain pocosins. Features include - 40 hikes carefully chosen to appeal to hikers of all experience levels - Helpful hike finder feature to identify the perfect hikes for birding, waterfalls, history, universal accessibility, and more - Turn-by-turn guidance and key points of interest for each hike - Full-color maps and photographs - Helpful information about the trail's history and ongoing development

From the Great Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Piedmont and the Outer Banks, this thoroughly updated and revised guide features more than 200 hiking trails in all regions of the state.

Suggests locales for finding specimens of the over 300 species of birds residing in this region.

North Carolina's fire lookout towers once stood watch over the mountain forests. Today, they risk becoming forgotten monuments to the value of our wild lands. Hiking North Carolina's Lookout Towers restores glory to these historic forest sentinels. It proves the lookouts to be scenic treasures accessible to anyone who enjoys a vigorous walk in the outdoors and the view from the top of a mountain. Including among the 26 towers covered in the book are Shuckstack Lookout, a steel tower in Great Smoky Mountains National Park overlooking Fontana Dam and Fontana Lake Wayah Bald Lookout, a stone structure built by the CCC that has been converted into an observation tower offering breathtaking views of Nantahala National Forest Mount Mitchell Lookout, a new observation tower that has followed several previous lookouts atop the highest peak in the eastern United States Mount Cammerer Lookout, a historic tower once in disrepair that now represents a landmark effort in lookout restoration Green Knob Lookout, a former live-in tower that offers stunning views of Pisgah National Forest and the Black Mountains The tower chapters contain detailed hiking routes of varying difficulty, historical information, descriptions of the views, photos, and maps. Information on lookout tower organizations, towers with restricted access, removed towers, and lookouts just outside the state is also included. Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts alike will find North Carolina's lookout towers to be the perfect hiking destinations. Book jacket.