One of the more accessible and popular locations along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Linville Falls. A spur road off the Parkway at mile 316.4 takes you to magnificent waterfalls with multiple vantage points. It is easy to spend many hours hiking and exploring here. Linville Falls is the dramatic start to the Linville Gorge - a 13-mile and 1,500- to 2,000-foot-deep natural wonder in North Carolina's mountains. The Spur Road leads to a parking area for the falls with numerous hiking trails. There is a visitor's center that is open seasonally. Map of the Linville Falls Area and hiking trails. (National Park Service) Two main trails provide access to the falls. The Linville Gorge Trail (1.4 miles round trip) follows the east side of the river and leads to the base of the falls and the Plunge Basin Overlook. The Erwin's View Trail (1.6 miles round trip) runs along the west side, leading to four different viewpoints - the Upper Falls, Chimney View, Gorge View, and Erwin's Vi
Caliente-Bodish Road is one of the finest driving roads in the southern Sierra Nevada range and has rich history. The approximately thirty-two-mile-long highway connects from Kern River Road in Bodfish south to Bena Road (former US Route 466) via Caliente siding. Caliente-Bodfish Road is a segment of Thomas Baker's stage road which facilitated overland travel to the claims of the Kern River Gold Rush. The Baker Stage Road was constructed during the 1860s-1870s and spanned from the outskirts of Caliente north to the Stockton-Los Angeles Road near Tailholt in Tulare County. The blog cover photo is from the nine-mile segment north of Caliente Creek Road which is known as the "Lion's Trail." Caliente-Bodish Road carries the internal designation of Kern County Road 483. Part 1; the history of Caliente-Bodfish Road Caliente-Bodish Road is a segment of what was Thomas Baker's stage road to Kern River Valley. The Kern River Gold Rush began in 1853 and spurred devel