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Albemarle, NC - Located adjacent to the upper end of Lake Tillery, Falls Mountain is a modest mountain in northern portion of Morrow Mountain State Park. Part of Uwharrie Mountains, it is one of the oldest mountains in North America. Starting riverside, the Fall Mountain Trail follows the river to the Yadkin Falls Dam, where it makes an abrupt left turn, heading up and over Fall Mountain before slowly returning to the starting point. Totaling around 4 miles (total), the trail ascends to a point 450′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 3 hours (total).

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Kings Mountain, NC - Approaching from the west, the Crowders Trail and Rocktop Trail provide a longer and much more challenging path for scaling Crowders Mountain. These trails experience a great amount of elevation change, both ascending and descending, as they follow the undulations of the terrain between Crowders Mountain and King’s Pinnacle. Totaling around 5 miles (round trip), the trails ascend to a point 760′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 3 hours (round-trip).

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While taking our first trip on Amtrak from Charlotte to New York City recently, I had the handheld GPS on and recording our location along the way. I was curious about two things: first, where are the tracks amtrak uses, and secondly, how fast do the trains go. After returning home, I was able to download the tracks and using gpsvisualizer.com put together a series of google maps color coded by speed. Click on ‘Continue Reading’ to view the maps.

Kings Mountain, NC - Leading to the summit of King’s Pinnacle, the pinnacle trail is the most difficult hike in Crowders Mountain State Park. Beginning casually at the visitors center, it transitions from a wide, smooth path to one that is steep and littered with large boulders and requires additional effort to overcome. totaling around 1.8 miles (one way), the trail ascends to a point 895′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 1.25 hours (one-way).

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Brevard, NC - Part of the Pisgah National Forest, Looking Glass Rock is a popular day hike, camping area and rock climbing destination. The trail provides easy passage from the access road to the summit utilizing repeated switchbacks. After passing the summit, hikers are delighted with a dramatic vista of the immense neighboring mountains strung together by the blue ridge parkway. totaling around 3 miles (one-way), the trail ascends to a point 1,680′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 2 hours (one way).

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Camden, ME - Located in the Camden Hills State Park, the Megunticook trail is actually the combination of 3 distinct trails, which allows one to hike from the harbor town of camden, up to the highest point on Mt. Megunticook (1385 ft). Consiting of strenuous hikes up steep rock faces to easy hikes through lush forests, the trail provides repeated challenges and rewards them with spectacular vistas of the Penobscot Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Totaling around 2.5 miles (one way), the trails ascend to a point 1580′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 2 hours (one-way).

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Grandfather Mountain, NC - The Tanawha Trail passses through 3 counties and parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway from Beacon Heights to Julian Price Park. Beginning at Beacon Heights, one will hike moderate terrain to the Linn Cove Viaduct and then strenuous terrain up to Rough Ridge. There one will find spectacular vistas of the surrounding area. after a strenuous decent, a moderate hike through dense wooded terrain leads to an easy hike through meadows, eventually leading to Julian Price Park. totaling at 13 miles (one way), the trail beginning at beacon heights descends to a point 752′ lower than where you start and can be finished in around 7 hours (one way).

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Gastonia, NC - Crowders Mountain and the trails that lead to its summit provide some of the best hiking opportunities in the Charlotte metro area. Those who make it to the summit are rewarded with impressive views of the surrounding area including the Charlotte skyline. Totaling around 2.6 miles (round trip), the trails ascend to a point 705′ higher than where you start and can be finished in around 1.5 hours (round trip).

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