Nantahala National Forest, Cliffside Lake Recreation Area: Clifftop Vista Trail (Blog Hike #663)

Trail: Clifftop Vista Trail

Hike Location: Nantahala National Forest, Cliffside Lake Recreation Area

Geographic Location: northwest of Highlands, NC (35.08054, -83.23669)

Length: 1.8 miles

Difficulty: 7/10 (Moderate/Difficult)

Date Hiked: October 2017

Overview: A short but steep loop to a vista high above Cliffside Lake.

Area Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48650

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=733771
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Highlands, take US 64 west 4.6 miles to the signed entrance for the Cliffside Lake Recreation Area on the right.  Turn right and drive the narrow and winding but paved road 1 mile to the recreation area’s entrance.  Pay the entrance fee, then bear left at the next intersection to head for the picnic parking lot, which is reached after another 1000 feet of driving.  Park in the paved parking area loop on the left.  Restrooms with flush toilets and picnic shelters are available here.

The hike: Tucked in the Skitty Creek side ravine of the Cullasaja River Gorge, cozy Cliffside Lake Recreation Area is part of 531,270 acre Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina’s largest national forest.  Compared to Pisgah National Forest, its more famous neighbor to the east, Nantahala National Forest has fewer amenities and development, and it features rougher and wilder terrain.  Indeed, the word nantahala is the Cherokee word for “land of the noonday sun,” a name this land earns because some gorges are so steep and deep that sunlight only hits the bottom when the sun is directly overhead.  Having few amenities and development can have its advantages: mine was the only car in this parking area on a nice Thursday afternoon in mid-October.

            True to Nantahala National Forest’s character, day-use Cliffside Lake Recreation Area offers only its small namesake lake and two picnic shelters for amenities, though adjacent Vanhook Glade Campground offers 21 campsites.  Open only April through October, the Recreation Area is also the trailhead for six hiking trails, three of which form interesting dayhikes.  The Cliffside Loop Trail offers a short and nearly flat 0.8 mile loop around scenic Cliffside Lake, while the Ranger Falls Trail leads 1.2 miles to its namesake waterfall.  Ranger Falls is a nice cascading-type waterfall when it has enough water, which it often does not because it lies so high in the watershed.  The third option is the Cliffside Vista Trail featured here; it is a 1.8 mile loop that takes you to an overlook high above Cliffside Lake.

Clifftop Vista Trail trailhead

            Two trails start from the back of the parking area.  The signed Ranger Falls Trail starts on the right, so you want to take the Clifftop Vista Trail on the left, which is marked only with a brown carsonite post.  Officially labeled Trail 2A, the narrow trail heads just east of north as it passes through an area with dense rhododendron.  After topping a steep bluff, the trail traces around a tiny ravine as it descends and curves left to begin heading west.

Crossing Skitty Creek

            At 0.4 miles, you cross some wet areas via short wooden boardwalk before crossing Skitty Creek’s main channel on a wooden footbridge.  Ignore two faint trails that exit left; they both lead back to the entrance road and form easy loops of less than 1 mile.  A few blue plastic rectangles now start to mark the way.

            Next you begin a short but brutally steep climb straight up the gradient that gains 350 feet of elevation in only 0.2 miles.  Oaks are the most common trees in this forest, but no large trees grow here.  When I hiked this trail shortly after the remnants of two hurricanes blew through in quick succession, several recently downed trees lied over the path.  Overall, the trail maintenance is not bad considering how little traffic these trails receive.

Climbing the ridge

            Just shy of 0.7 miles, the trail reaches the ridge crest and curves left.  After entering a mountain laurel tunnel, a trio of switchbacks raises you to this hike’s highest elevation.  At 3910 feet, this ridge stands more than 500 feet higher than Cliffside Lake at its base, but the dense forest of young trees prevents any unobstructed views.

            The trail stays near the height-of-land on a southbound course.  After a slight descent, 1.1 miles into the hike you reach a Civilian Conservation Corps-built gazebo with a fantastic east-facing view.  While Cliffside Lake directly below you is concealed by trees, 4000+ foot Flat Mountain takes center stage in the middleground.  Some benches at the gazebo invite you to sit, have a trail snack, and enjoy the fruits of your climbing labor.

View from gazebo

            Two trails continue south from the gazebo.  The unmarked trail on the right descends the south side of the ridge via a single switchback, but choosing that option lengthens your road walk at the end.  Thus, I chose the left option, which continues to follow the blue plastic rectangles.

            Officially known at the Clifftop Nature Trail or Trail 2F, this route descends the east side of the ridge via several switchbacks.  Unlike the climb up, the descent is well-graded with decent to good switchbacks.  I heard several woodpeckers as I descended.  At 1.7 miles, the Clifftop Nature Trail ends where it intersects the entrance road at the road’s bridge over Skitty Creek.  Turn left and walk along the road the final 500 feet to the parking lot to complete the hike.