Hike Location: Chimney Rock State Park
Geographic Location: east of Hendersonville, NC (35.43236, -82.24905)
Length: 5.3 miles
Difficulty: 10/10 (Difficult)
Date Hiked: March 2018
Overview: A view-filled hike with lots of stairs exploring a
major tourist destination.
Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/chimney-rock-state-park
Directions to the trailhead: Near Hendersonville,
take I-26 to US 64 (exit 49A). Exit and
go east on US 64. Drive US 64 east 15
miles to the town of Chimney Rock and the signed state park entrance on the
right. Turn right to enter the park, pay
the very large park entrance fee, and drive the steep winding road 3 miles to its
end and the main parking lot at the base of Chimney Rock. Park here.
The hike: Consisting
of over 7000 acres on the edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, Chimney Rock State
Park looks more like a theme park than the usual state park, but there is good
reason for that. The park dates to 1902
when the Morse family from Missouri purchased the site’s 1000 acre core that
includes Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Falls.
They developed the site as a tourist attraction and operated it as such
for more than 100 years. In 2007, the
Morse family sold the site to the State of North Carolina, which has added
another 6000 adjoining acres for future development.
I have come here twice, once as a
tourist in 2002 and again as a hiker in 2018.
Make no mistake: Chimney Rock still has its touristy side. A 26-story elevator carries visitors almost
to the top of Chimney Rock, and gift shops and refreshment stands eager to take
your money lie at both the top and bottom of the elevator. The $15 entrance fee, tied with Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut for the highest state park entrance fee I
have ever paid, also screams tourist attraction. Nevertheless, the State’s development of several
trails through some undeveloped areas has put a refreshing natural veneer on
the otherwise touristy setting.
The hike described here explores
both this park’s touristy and natural sides, and it involves climbing and
descending about 1000 stairs. When I
came here in 2018 to write this trail description, the elevator was
out-of-service, so my experience was less touristy than yours might be. If the elevator is back in service when you
visit, you could take the elevator to Chimney Rock, thereby cutting your stair
count roughly in half and thus cutting this hike’s difficulty roughly in
half. In that case, you would join this
hike near the top of Chimney Rock at the 0.2 mile mark. Without the aid of the elevator, it took me
over 4 hours to do this hike (including some time to take in the views), so
plan your visit accordingly.
 |
| Bottom of Outcroppings Trail |
Assuming you forgo the elevator,
your tour of Chimney Rock begins on the Outcroppings Trail, which starts at the
rear of the large wooden deck behind the Cliff Dwellers Gift Shop. Immediately you begin to climb the first of
many sets of stairs, and the Outcroppings Trail gains 315 feet of elevation in
only 0.2 miles. The trail passes a
couple of nice viewpoints named Vista Rock and Pulpit Rock, but Chimney Rock
towers high behind both of these rock outcrops.
 |
| View of parking lot from Vista Rock |
More stairs bring you to the top of
the Outcroppings Trail and the Sky Lounge outdoor dining area. Turn left and climb the last two flights of
stairs to reach an elevation of 2280 feet and Chimney Rock, this park’s
signature viewpoint. A large gneiss
spire set off from the main cliff line, Chimney Rock offers broad views of Lake
Lure and lower hills to the east as well as limited views up the Rocky Broad
River valley to the west. A large
flagpole vibrates noisily in even a little wind, and the fact that this
overlook is the centerpiece of the park ensures that you will not be alone
here.
 |
| View east from Chimney Rock |
About half of the people who have
accompanied you to this point will stop at Chimney Rock. To visit some viewpoints at higher
elevations, continue climbing by hiking the signed Exclamation Point Trail, which
starts opposite the final stairs that lead to Chimney Rock at the Outcropping
Trail’s top end. In general the stairs
on the Exclamation Point Trail are older and rougher than the ones on the
Outcroppings Trail, but they still get you up the steep rocky terrain.
 |
| Chimney Rock, as seen from the Opera Box |
After climbing another 3 flights of
stairs, you reach the Opera Box, which offers a postcard view with Chimney Rock
in the foreground and the rolling Piedmont beyond. The next flight of stairs brings you to
Devil’s Head, which offers a north-facing view that features the town of
Chimney Rock and the cliff-lined mountains to the north. More climbing up more stairs lifts you to
Exclamation Point, a wide and flat rock outcrop with elevation 2480 feet. Exclamation Point is the end of the
Exclamation Point Trail, and it offers excellent views both east over Lake Lure
and west up the Rocky Broad River valley.
Some ice lingered atop Exclamation Point even though it was a warm and
sunny 70 degrees on my mid-March visit.
 |
| View north from Devil's Head |
 |
| View west from Exclamation Point |
Exclamation Point used to be end of
the park’s trail system, but recently the State of North Carolina built the
Skyline Trail, which starts at Exclamation Point and leads to the top of
Hickory Nut Falls. Provided you have
time and energy, head out of this park’s touristy area and into its natural
area as the Skyline Trail climbs even higher via three switchbacks. The wide dirt/gravel Skyline Trail is marked
with blue plastic diamonds, and you will be thrilled to know that it contains
no stairs to climb or descend.
Near 1 mile into the hike, you
reach Peregrine’s Point. With an
elevation of 2640 feet, Peregrine’s Point is the park’s highest overlook, and
it offers some picnic tables with a nice north-facing view over the Rocky Broad
River valley and well into the mountains beyond. Past Peregrine’s Point, a gradual climb
brings you to the hike’s highest elevation, just over 2700 feet.
 |
| View north from Peregrine's Point |
Next comes a gradual to moderate
descent with one switchback that takes you down to the banks of Falls
Creek. The creek contains only a
moderate volume of water, but the water was clear and cold on my visit. Cross the creek on stepping stones. Some park workers were building a backcountry
picnic area along the creek when I passed through here, so you may be able to
stop and have a trail snack when you come here.
At 1.7 miles, you reach the end of
the Skyline Trail at an overlook perched just above Falls Creek’s tumble over
Hickory Nut Falls. Surrounding trees and
cliffs prohibit any views like those at previous overlooks, but looking down
toward Falls Creek will reveal a nice ledge-type waterfall just above the main
drop. This upper waterfall would never
be visible without this new trail, so appreciate getting to see something that
park visitors for over 100 years never got to see.
 |
| Upper waterfall at end of Skyline Trail |
The Skyline Trail ends at this
overlook, so your only choice is to retrace your steps past Peregrine’s Point,
Exclamation Point, and Chimney Rock all the way down to the bottom of the
Outcroppings Trail where you began. If
you are getting tired or are running out of daylight, your car is only feet away
to your right. To see Hickory Nut Falls
from another and better angle, head down the wooden stairs to reach the Hickory
Nut Falls Trail. Turn left on the
Hickory Nut Falls Trail to head for the bottom of Hickory Nut Falls.
The Hickory Nut Falls Trail gains
just over 200 feet of elevation on its 0.7 mile journey to the bottom of
Hickory Nut Falls, but this wide gravel trail is a breeze compared to all of
the stairs you climbed earlier. The
sidehill trail passes through some rock outcroppings with the mountain rising
steeply to the left and falling to the right.
Some interpretive signs tell of this area’s rocks, flora, and fauna, and
topping the numerous dirt waterbars built into the trail surface might be the
toughest challenge you face on this trail.
 |
| Hickory Nut Falls |
Ignore the Four Seasons Trail that
exits downhill to the right and soon pass another backcountry picnic area. After passing around a small ridge, a gradual
climb brings you to the observation deck at the bottom of Hickory Nut
Falls. With a height of 404 feet, this
cascade-type waterfall impresses with its sheer size. Sheer rock cliffs make a stark and
intimidating setting, so much so that scenes from movies including The Last of the Mohicans were shot in
this area. After admiring the waterfall,
retrace your steps along the Hickory Nut Falls Trail to the parking lot to complete
the hike.
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