Following information from the Chimney Rock Brochure
Chimney Rock is a 535-million year old towering monolith and has been an iconic focal point in Western NC mountains for over a century.There are panoramic 75 mile view of Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. It is accessible only by a 26-story elevator. You don't so much stop at Chimney Rock...as it stops YOU. Marvel at the beauty and majesty of 404 foot Hickory Nut Falls which is one of the tallest of its kind east of the Mississippi.
First glimpse of Chimney Rock from the parking lot.
Tunnel
The elevator 26' shaft which was blasted through solid rock (is called Henderson Gneiss)
through the rock to the elevator which you can see at the end.
The cool 198 foot tunnel stays at a comfortable 55-65 degrees year around.
WHY because the elevator only holds 8 folks at a time and depending on the time of day/month your wait can be rather long and stuffy.
Once on the elevator your ride up 26' is 32 seconds to the Sky Lounge.
Once you exit the elevator you walk thru the gift shop.
THEN are greeted with a ton of stairs up to the top of the observation deck
Below is a photo of Opera Box observation we did not got there.
From atop Chimney Rock we were amazed to see the size of Lake Lure
If you missed my Saturday, September 21, post it was all about walking around
Lake Lure, NC.
We headed down these stairs to hike over to Hickory Nut Falls
Hickory Nut Falls trail is rated moderate, it is a 1.4 mile round trip
and takes 45 minutes to 1 hour. It is a gently rolling trail and has several moderate uphills sections and a small set of stairs at the base of the falls.
Hickory Nut Falls was featured in the epic film, "The Last of the Mohicans".
There are several other trails. The most strenuous is
Four Seasons trail has a 400' grain elevation and is a strenuous steady uphill climb.
It was worth every single step of the 1.4 miles too.
First line on the below sign says it all
before you is the 404' Hickory Nut Falls.
that is breath taking and so impressing!!! so cool to see the beauty of your land and all the wonderful things there!
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular spot to visit! Bertie of course wants to know if dogs are allowed on the hike.
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a great place and breathtaking view. The stairs gave Granny a little shiver, but she would climb them anyway ;) Pawkisses for a Happy Weekend🐾😽💞
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteGracious, definitely worth the effort - though I am not certain I could bring myself to go out onto the feature itself... vertigo y'know... but well done you!!! YAM xx
Wow - it's just beautiful and the tunnel is amazing!
ReplyDeleteThat little girl sitting on the tractor with my grampa (who never met me) is my mom, not my sissy, Miss Cecilia.
DeleteGorgeous! We find ourselves being drawn to Lake Lure!
ReplyDeleteWow! Absolutely gorgeous. I have a feeling I was there when I was younger. Time to talk to The Boy and get moving ... I WANNA SEE!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place to visit. It was definitely worth the hike to the falls.
ReplyDeletePretty amazing place!
ReplyDeleteThe Florida Furkids
Wow! That's the kind of place my peeps said they might have visited when they were younger. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteAll that climbing was worth it for that view. What beauty.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and weekend. Big hug. ♥
chimney rock park, the subject of my nightmares. did you by any chance see fat mans squeeze? or the caverns you can go in? 67 years ago we were there and my memory says it did not look like this back then, it was just the rocks, and it was closed, it did have the elevator but was not working. you already know I would only see this beautiful rock here and from the ground looking up. no heights for me. super duper photos of all of the views and the chimney...
ReplyDeleteThat is awsome
ReplyDeleteThe views and the waterfall are beautiful!There is no way I could get down those steps though!
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteSo very pretty! WOW, that's a lot of stairs out n' about, which are better than elevators any old day!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots. That is a lot of steps I would not want to do. XO
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place but mom says those steps are scary BOL!
ReplyDeletehugs
Mabel & Hilda
If I could make this "text" be a color, it would be GREEN ... as am a wee bit envious of
ReplyDeleteall the beautiful and amazing place you are visiting ...
And yet, must thank you for sharing them with us; a virtual tour is the next best thing!
Mom and dad have been to Chimney Rock once and absolutely loved it, though dad confesses those stairs leading up did scare him a bit. That is such a beautiful part of this glorious state, and now dad wants to go out there again.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible view! I don't think my knees would make it up and down all of those stairs but I'd sure try.
ReplyDeleteNope, just no.........26 stories.....I'm out!
ReplyDelete