Vacation Daytrip - Hanging Rock State Park

As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, this past Sunday, Kristy and I went hiking at Hanging Rock State Park. I've been wanting to check out the park for sometime, and it is also in a part of North Carolina that I haven't had a chance to really see.

Route: I-540, I-40, NC 68, NC 65, US 311, NC 89, NC 268, US 52, I-40, I-540.

If you were looking for road photos, you're out of luck on this post. The entire flickr set (over 135 photos) is here.

Hanging Rock State Park has over 18 miles of hiking trails, numerous rock outcroppings and scenic view, and at least five waterfalls.

Our first hike was along the Indian Creek Trail to check out Hidden and Window Falls. The Indian Creek Trail is also part of the statewide Mountains-To-Sea Trail which is currently under development. When completed, the Mountains-to-Seat Trail will run nearly 1,000 miles from Clingman's Dome in the Mountains to Jockey's Ridge State Park along the Outer Banks.

Hidden Falls:

To access the Falls from the Visitor Center, you will need to pass through the picnic area and onto the trail.

Window Falls:

A little further down the trail is Window Falls. Window falls has a slightly better open view area. The fact that you can walk under the falls makes it very popular with kids.

You are able to stand on the rocks above Window Falls and have a great view of the surrounding country side.

Hanging Rock Trail:

What it obviously the most popular hike at the park is the Hanging Rock Trail. From the visitor's center it is about a 1.5 mile hike to the top of the exposed rock.

Hiking to the rock can be strenuous at times, but at the end of the trail...the views are more than rewarding.

Upper Cascade Falls:

Our last hike was the short half mile trail to the Upper Cascade Falls. It's definitely worth it.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to the Lower Cascade Falls or hit a couple of other trails. However, we will certainly be back to enjoy what is fast becoming one of our favorite state parks.

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