Craggy Gardens

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It poured Friday night through Saturday morning, stopping briefly for an hour or so around 7:00am so I could go for a nearly dry run. Then it resumed for another couple of hours and was supposed to continue all day. I had no hike planned; I figured I would work for a while and then try to get the camper ready for moving in on Sunday.

Around 11:00 the rain stopped and the sun poked out a little here and there, and by noon the sky was blue. My day was saved! I had to scramble to find a suitable hike that wasn't too long and wasn't too far. I was having dinner with my landlord/housemate Angela so I needed to be back by 5 or 6.

Craggy Gardens is the hike I had in mind the first weekend I was here, when it was cold and drizzly, and as I was slowly climbing the Blue Ridge Parkway, not sure if it was open or closed, I turned around in fear after reaching the closed Craggy Gardens picnic area. Now it was a sunny, warm day, a month later into Spring, and when I reached the closed picnic area this time I knew it was because nothing natural in Asheville is officially open before May.

View from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center

So I continued passed the picnic area to the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center where the trail head was located. Everyone in Asheville is friendly to the extreme, native or tourist. A nearby couple commented on the view and when I said I wished I had a better camera or better camera skills to capture it, they assured me that all cameras were the same and it would all be okay. Like a child the patronization worked and I felt immediately reassured.

View from the other side of the Visitor's Center

Two trails begin at the Visitor's Center: Craggy Gardens Trail and Douglas Falls Trail. I started with the former and was met with a creek for a trail. The heavy rains had literally created a creek where the trail was supposed to be. I stepped on as many rocks as I could but I would be going home with wet feet.

The "balds" of Craggy Gardens Trail

The Craggy Gardens Trails leads to the "balds", or natural green, treeless meadows at the top of the mountain. It's a short trail, easy trail (or it would be if it weren't flooded) that leads to the picnic area if you continue beyond the pinnacle. Near the picnic area is what looks like another trail so I took that and soon discovered it was not an official hiking trail, and with the stream-like conditions it was a horrible trail to navigate.

Viewing point on the Craggy Gardens Trail

From the Viewing Point

Eventually it joined the Douglas Fall trail, though, and the water started to subside. I followed this trail as long as I could before I had to turn around. It's 6 miles round trip and concludes at 70-foot Douglas Falls. The trail is a wonderful mix of uphills and downhills and I wish I could have finished.

Douglas Falls Trail