You’ll Have A Blast Exploring The Best State Park In All Of North Carolina
North Carolina currently has 41 state parks, state recreation areas, or state nature areas for residents and visitors to enjoy. And with so many fantastic choices, it’s quite simply difficult for anyone who has spent any time in (or lives in North Carolina) to narrow down all of the wonderful state parks here to just one we’d call a favorite. But recently, the editors of Travel & Leisure magazine did just that and came up with Chimney Rock State Park. What a fun place to visit! Here’s what you’ll find:
While a number of states in America have natural wonders they've dubbed "chimney rock" (Nebraska, Minnesota, and Kentucky, to name only a few), the 315-foot naturally occuring chimney rock at Chimney Rock State Park is very unique.
That's because most of the other chimney rocks in the U.S. don't offer the ability for visitors to trek all the way to the top of that chimney for fantastic 360-degree views. Chimney Rock in North Carolina does!
Although the attraction known as Chimney Rock has been open for decades and decades, the state park here wasn't established until 2005.
But so many generations of North Carolinians and visitors to the state remember visiting the chimney rock here and either climbing the 500 or so steps to the top of the rock, or taking the elevator (seen below) to near the top of the attraction.
The elevator debuted in 1949 and makes it so much easier to get to the vantage point high atop Chimney Rock. But aside from the rock itself, there are scores of other fun things to discover at this amazing state park.
The park is home to some can't-miss trails that lead to extraordinary views.
The trail to Hickory Nut Falls is .75-mile each way and drops visitors on a viewing platform steps away from the base of this 404-foot waterfall that was featured in the 1992 major motion picture, "Last of the Mohicans." The park has a total of seven trails ranging from easy to difficult.
Kids and families together will have a blast exploring the Great Woodland Adventure trail.
There are 12 discovery stations complete with sculptures of local fauna that call the park home.
The park's Animal Discovery Den begins at the end of the Discovery Trail. While on the trail, kids learn about the animals in the park. But at the Den, they'll get to see live animals they've just learned about.
With so much to see and do here, you and your family could easily spend an entire day exploring Chimney Rock State Park!
You’ll alsp be charmed by the enchanting little Village of Chimney Rock that sits at the base of this park. Learn more and plan your trip to Chimney Rock State Park with a visit to the park’s official website, here.
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Address: Chimney Rock State Park, 431 Main St, Chimney Rock, NC 28720, USA
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Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
