Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville Falls: Erwin's View Trail (Blog Hike #278)

Trail: Erwins View Trail

Hike Location: Blue Ridge Parkway, Linville Falls Visitor Center

Geographic Location: south of Linville, NC (35.95478, -81.92789)

Length: 2.1 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: May 2009, May 2014

Overview: A popular hike featuring four spectacular gorge and waterfall overlooks.

Area Information: https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/linville-falls-trails.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=722094
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Linville Falls Visitor Center is located at the end of a spur road leaving the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 316.4.  This milepost is located 1 mile north of US 221 or 4.4 miles south of SR 181.

The hike: Some waterfalls impress visitors with their delicate grace, others with a seemingly endless number of cascades, and still others with awe-inspiring power.  Linville Falls features the Linville River, a large, fast-flowing mountain river dramatically dropping into Linville Gorge, an interesting destination in its own right.  Thus, this pair of waterfalls definitely falls into the third category.

The most powerful waterfalls tend to attract the most attention, and sure enough the hike to Linville Falls is the most popular waterfall hike on the Parkway.  On the bright side, you will be walking on wide, well-trodden, and well-marked paths the entire time.  On the down side, you will have plenty of company on this trail.  Plan a weekday visit in spring or fall to minimize the crowds, but don’t try to sneak in on one of those foggy days that leave the Parkway nearly deserted.  The best waterfall overlooks are located well away from the falls, so if you can’t see the road 100 feet in front of you, you won’t be able to see the waterfalls either.

Bridge at trailhead

            The hike starts along a blacktop trail that departs from the rear of the Visitor Center.  The trail quickly reaches the Linville River, which it crosses on a wide steel and concrete bridge.  On the gorgeous spring day when I hiked this trail, some anglers were standing on the bridge and trying their luck in the shallow waters.

Across the bridge, the wide trail turns to dirt and assumes an undulating course with the river downhill to your left and the hillside rising to the right.  Ignore a couple of short spur trails which lead down to the river itself.  At 0.3 miles, a side trail to an alternate parking area enters downhill from the right.  The trail crosses a tributary of the river and then climbs moderately to reach the spur trail to the first overlook, which exits left.  This overlook will be the only chance you get to view the Upper Falls, so you should turn left and descend some wooden steps to reach the overlook platform.

Upper Falls

            The Upper Falls is a typical ledge waterfall, about 10 feet high and 40 feet wide.  The platform sits on a rocky outcrop jutting out into the creek and sitting only a few feet above the water.  Thus, it gives a great waterfall view as you look upstream.  If you turn around and look downstream, you will see a large whirlpool the river has carved out of the rock.  Past the whirlpool, the water disappears behind some rock walls.  If you are wondering where the water goes after it disappears, you will have to hike to the next overlook.

Disappearing water, heading downstream

            Back at the main trail, the trail continues climbing moderately through old-growth forest with some large hemlock and white pine trees.  At 0.9 miles, you reach the spur trail to Chimney View, the second overlook on this hike.  Descend some stone steps to reach the overlook, which is perched on a small rock outcropping.  From here, you get a great view upstream of Lower Falls, one of the largest spout-type waterfalls I know of.  This waterfall is 45 feet high and features a large plunge pool area surrounded on either side by vertical rock walls.  The overlook is about 1000 feet from the falls, so be sure to bring a camera with a zoom lens if you hope to leave with good photographs.

Lower Falls

            Past the spur to Chimney View, the main trail continues climbing as it ascends the main rocky outcrop at the head of Linville Gorge.  At the top of this outcrop lies a large patch of rhododendron and the final two overlooks on this hike.  The pink rhododendron was blooming on my visit in early May and set off the overlooks perfectly.

The Erwins View overlook is accessed by a very short spur trail exiting to the left at the highest point of the main trail.  This overlook gives another view upstream at the waterfalls, but this view is higher and further away than the one at Chimney View.  Continuing past the spur trail will take you to Gorge View Overlook, a stony platform with excellent views downstream into Linville Gorge.

View downstream from Gorge View Overlook

            The earlier overlooks may have given hints, but from this point it is clear that something is dreadfully wrong in Linville Gorge.  Nearly one-fifth of the trees in the gorge have been reduced to dead, tan skeletons.  The dead trees are fir trees, and the perpetrator is the balsam wooly adelgid, an insect imported from Europe measuring less than 1 millimeter in length.  This insect has killed fir trees all over the southern Appalachians, but most notably here and at Clingmans Dome.  The fir trees may never return, but over time other trees will fill their gap.  Until then, we will have to live with the skeletons.

The trail ends at the Gorge View Overlook, and there is only one trail on this side of the gorge.  So after taking in this final view, you will need to turn around and retrace your steps 0.8 miles back to the Visitor Center to complete the hike.