Craven Gap Hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway winds North-South through the mountains in North Carolina and Virginia for 469 continuous miles. It's known for stunning views of mountains, valleys and cities. Along and near the Parkway runs part of the Mountains-to-Sea trail, a 1000 mile trail with 500 miles of footpath. You can hike sections of this trail by parking at designated spots along the Parkway (or random spots if you know where you're going).

The weather forecast predicted rain all day so I wanted a hike that was close and not to 'strenuous'.  I'm not sure if 'strenuous' refers to steep pitch or technically difficult terrain (or both) so I didn't want to risk slipping on some muddy leaves and sliding down a mountain.

I started up the Parkway and headed toward Craggy Gardens for a 4-6 mile loop. This is a 20 mile drive from Asheville, so along these winding roads it would be a long drive. Within a few miles a sign is posted that says the Parkway is closed eight miles ahead. I kept driving, beyond eight miles, but there were no other cars and I was starting to get nervous. I also noticed I was running low on gas ...

I arrived at Craggy Gardens, which is also a picnic area, but it's closed. I don't really know what that means or why it would be closed, but I decided to go back to Craven Gap which I had passed several miles earlier.

View from one of the outlooks on the Parkway

There's a road at Craven Gap but I don't see a trail head so I walked down the road and see houses -- people live here?

Crazy mountain folk!

Finally I see a foot path leading from the road marked with white paint -- a trail. Craven Gap is a great beginners trail. It runs parallel with the Parkway so you never feel like you're alone in the woods where a great black bear will descend in your path. Parts of the trail were indeed slippery with mud and wet leaves, but most was easily manageable.

I'm not sure how far I hiked, but it took around 3-3.5 hours. Strangely, there wasn't much climbing . The trail wraps around the mountain so the incline is minimal.

The Italians would use steps here -- and there would be an espresso waiting at the top!