Horseback Riding
Horseback Riding in Banner Elk
Banner Elk Stables
796 Shomaker Road
Banner Elk, NC 28604
Phone: (828)898-5424
Open year round. Trail rides, winter riding, horses rented by the hour,
horses and sadles for sale.
Children welcome. Reservations required.
Smith Quarter Horse Farm
"Home of the trail rides"
Phone: (828)898-4932
Guided horseback rides, full board $165, children and families are welcome.
Reservations requested.
Horseback Riding in Valle Crucis
Chadi Farm
4635 NC Hwy 194 South
PO Box 675
Valle Crucis, NC 28691
828-963-5399
www.chadifarm.com
If you are looking for more than a ride, Chadi Farm is your best bet in the High Country. All of our trails are privately located on the family homestead and offer terrain for all levels from the beginner to the advanced. Chadi Farm is an operating paint horse farm with newborns and much more to visit. We have Belgian draft horses, carriages and an 18th century style farm. We invite you to join us. Reservations are necessary. We cater to your family.
Campgrounds
Grandfather Mountain
Grandfather
Mountain Campground
R.V. Resort & Recreational Park
Hwy. 105 Near Foscoe/P.O. Box 2060 ~ Boone, NC 28607
Phone: (828) 963-PARK (7275)
1-800-788-CLUB (2582)
Linville Falls
Linville Falls Trailer Lodge & Campground
P.O. Box 205
Linville Falls, NC 28647
(828)765-2681
Valle Crucis
Valle Crucis Campground
293 Frank Mast Road
P.O. Box 657
Valle Crucis, NC 28691
Phone: 828-963-4423
Easy access to campground with level sites and full hook-ups for RVs. Shaded tent sites available along the banks of Dutch Creek. Bath house, picnic tables, and camp fires. 3/10 mile from Mast General Store. Centrally located to all other tourist attractions. Open May through October.
Hiking Trails
Beech Mountain
Upper Pond Creek Trail
From Tamarack to Lake Coffey
Easy 1.0 mile
From its starting point at Perry Park the trail travels through
Charter Hills to Lake Coffey and the recreation area one mile away.
Upper Pond Creek Trail has been designated as a nature trail. Be sure to pick
up a guide at the bottom of the stairs at the trailhead. Fifteen different
stations are located along the trail with interesting information about creek
life, trees, animals, and wildflowers.
Lower Pond Creek Trail
Lake Coffey to Locust Ridge Road
Moderately strenuous 1 mile
This is a single track-walking trail that leads through the woods down to its terminus at Locust Ridge Road, a distance of one mile. This trail offers some of Beech Mountain's greatest natural beauty.
Wild Iris Loop Trail
Moderate
1.6 mile loop
Best described as an easy woodland trail, Wild Iris Trail is
almost two miles in length with only a moderate elevation change along the
way.
Grassy Gap Creek Trail
Hawthorne to Buckeye Lake
Easy to Moderate
2.0 miles
Beginning at the Hawthorne Trail Head, this easy hiking trail heads a little
northwest dropping some 600 feet in elevation to Buckeye Lake. Please stay
on the marked trail and always respect the private property along the way.
A car can be left at the bottom point so that you can drive back.
Red Fox/Arrowhead Loop Trail
Easy to Moderate
1.6 miles
This is an easy trail through the woods. Watch for the green and orange arrows
along the way.
Smoketree Trail
Easy to Moderate
2 mile loop
This trail connects Beech Mountain Parkway to Pinnacle Ridge Road.
West Bowl/Buckeye Creek Trail
Beech Mountain Parkway to Pinnacle Ridge Road
Moderate 3.4 miles
Beginning at the Beech Mtn. Parkway Trailhead, this trail heads northwest,
going through a beautiful, wooded area, as natural as any found on Beech.
After about two miles through the woods, the trail enters an area known as
the West Bowl. Follow the trail to Pinnacle Ridge Road.
Buckeye Gap Loop Trail
8.4 mile loop
Moderate
This is a vigorous hike that will take you over a variety of terrain including
grassy paths, old logging roads and unimproved town roadways. This will test
your hiking stamina and give you a great hike.
Falls Trail
Starting at Buckeye Lake this trail follows lower Buckeye Creek to an area
below the lake and spillway.
Grandfather Mountain Hiking Trails
Download Grandfather Mountains Backcountry Trail Map
The Woods Walk
Circumscribing the attraction's picnic area on the lower slopes of the mountain, the Woods Walk offers visitors a leisurely 4/10 mile loop through mature Appalachian forest. The trailhead is located in the picnic area (first right after you enter the Gate).
With very gradual grades and wide paths, this path will appeal to guests who are looking for a casual encounter with nature. At least 64 different flower and plant species grow at trailside, as well as 19 tree types.
The Black Rock Nature Trail
This self-guided nature trail begins at the Hiker's Parking Area (three curves below the summit) and slopes out gradually to a wide angle view of the Swinging Bridge, MacRae and Attic Window Peaks, as well as Beacon Heights and Grandmother Mountain to the southwest.
The trail runs out a mile through northern hardwood and spruce forests and, most any time of year, through neighborhoods of songbirds. Pick up a guide at the trailhead that describes 35 natural features found along the way. Allow 1 hour round trip.
The Bridge Trail
One of Grandfather's newest, also begins at Hiker's Parking Area and moves quickly into a natural area where visitors can walk through red and white rhododendron, galax, red spruce, Fraser fir, and yellow birch. Four-tenths of a mile in length, the trail switchbacks up the mountain, traveling under the Swinging Bridge before ending at the Visitor Center. You'll be awed by the massive rock outcroppings on this trail. Allow 20 minutes each way.
