A Day's Drive From Greenville, SC

Showing posts with label Camping. Show all posts

Middle Prong Wilderness

The Middle Prong Wilderness is a true wilderness area. Therefore there are no signs, no trail blazes, no kiosks, and no other human structures. As a result there are also very few people. I highly recommend it but only if you're good with navigation because even the best maps don't show all the trails that you'll come across. Most of the area is located at an elevation of 5500' or higher so even in the dead of summer the temperature is quite pleasant.

The area is covered in an abundance of wild edibles and wild flowers including blueberries, blackberries, queen Anne's lace, Daisy's, rhododendron, mountain laurel, flame azalea's, etc. Much of the trail is covered in a highland peat bog with hemlocks and spruce towering above, often reminiscent of the pacific northwest and smelling of Christmas.

There are also plenty of places to camp but water is sometimes scarce.

Watch out for snakes.

Distance from downtown Greenville: 65 miles

Park here and take the trail across the creek and up the hill to the right.

View Larger Map

Douglas Falls in Big Ivy is worth a visit. There are two ways to get there. The easy drive/tough-walk way or the tough-drive/easy walk way. I'd suggest the former but both have their benefits.

The easy drive involves driving to the Craggy Garden parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's definitely more scenic. From there you take the Mountains to Sea Trail about a mile to the Douglas Falls trail. Then travel another couple miles to the falls. The trail to the falls is beautiful with lots of lush greenery. It is rugged and a steep climb back up. There is also another waterfall that you'll cross on the trail that's pretty interesting as it's basically a long shoot. It almost looks like the log flume ride at Dollywood.

The other way is to drive directly to the area known as Big Ivy in Barnardsville. The map below will take you to the entrance, which is about an hour and forty-five minutes from downtown Greenville. But from there you'll travel on a forestry road for another thirty minutes or so assuming you're driving as fast you can possibly drive safely. The road does hug a very steep cliff so you might want to take it a bit slower. The road dead ends at the trail head which you can't miss. It's blazed in yellow and the falls are about a half mile further. There is a great campsite just above the falls and a few others on the way to Craggy Gardens should you feel inclined to head that way.

You can find more information about the area here.

Table Rock and The Chimneys - Linville Gorge

The Chimneys are a grouping of rock formations located at the top of Linville Gorge, NC. They can be accessed easily via the Mountains to Sea Trail.

One of my sons, Lance.

Cave on the Mountains to Sea Trail

Close to the Chimneys is Table Rock Mountain which can be seen here from the parking area. From the parking area go right on the MST about a mile to reach the summit. Then go back the way you came past the parking area about another mile to reach the area known as the Chimneys. There are a number of camp sites near the parking lot but others along the trail as well, including in the cave seen above.

Table Rock Parking Area

Summit of Table Rock, NC

Foothills Trail

The Foothills Trail is one of South Carolina's long distance trails, meaning that it takes more than one day to walk from one end to the other. The trail is 76 miles long, starting at Oconee State Park and ending at Table Rock State Park.

Several miles of the trail hug the north side of Lake Jocassee. It also follows several rivers and streams including the Whitewater and Chatooga Rivers. The Toxaway river dumps into Lake Jocassee at one junction and both Whitewater Falls (the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi) and Laurel Fork Falls (as well as several smaller waterfalls) can be reached via the trail.

Maps and guidebook can be found here.

These folks have a nice trail journal of their through hike of the trip.

Bridge over Whitewater River.

Virginia Hawkins Falls

Suspension bridge over Toxaway River

Toxaway River just before it meets
Lake Jocassee

View of Lake Jocassee.

Lower Whitewater Falls

Laure Fork Fal

The Remains of Runion

In the early 1900's Runion, NC was established as a logging town located between the Laurel and French Broad rivers.

Today, a 3 1/2 mile hike along the Laurel will bring you to the remains of the town. The trail runs along the former rail line so it's very flat. The Laurel, is a beautiful river and there are several campsites along the way.

Directions

Distance from downtown Greenville: 92 miles.

Linville Gorge

Linville Gorge, called the Grand Canyon of North Carolina by some, is a rugged and remote area just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Linville, NC. There are several trails that descend into the gorge to the Linville River. It's a truly amazing wilderness area but remember that if you make it to the river, you have to climb back out. The trails are rugged and rarely flat. See more here and here.