Great short hike. Make sure to include Craggy Peak. We visited the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway as part of a long weekend trip to Asheville. After reading the descriptions of the area and the trails we felt that this would make a nice place for an easy walk that my 77-year-old mother could also enjoy (she walks a few miles in the hills of southern WV and did 11 miles with us last year in Cades Cove in the Smokys, so I was not too worried about her). Turned out to be a very good option. There are two short hikes in the area, Craggy Gardens and Craggy Peak. Each trail is about a mile long round trip, but a little rough and uphill most of the way from the trailhead. We took our time and spent the better part of an hour on each trail, just enjoying the views along the trails and setting a pace that was good for Mom. We approached the area coming from the south along the parkway, so we hit the Visitor Center first. Nice views from both sides of the road at the VC. The Craggy Gardens trailhead is at the south end of the parking lot. The majority of the trail is through the woods so it is shaded and cool. The temperature was 10 degrees cooler at the Visitor Center than in Asheville on the day we were there (low 60s F when we arrived around 11:30 AM). The walk up to the heath bald is generally uphill but the elevation gain is only about 240 feet. The trail was a little wet in spots, but not muddy or slick. This was a very green hike with ferns being the main vegetation along with birch trees. The wooded part of the trial was basically like walking through a tunnel. But it made for a very pleasant stroll. The “tunnel” abruptly ends at start of the bald area where there is an open air pavilion (nice place for a picnic). The trail sort of splits at this point. We went up to the balds area on the trail east of the pavilion and returned on the trail that comes out to the west of the pavilion. Not much difference but a little change in perspective on the views. Beyond the pavilion the trail climb just a bit further through the balds are to an overlook just over the crest of the hill which provided a nice view of the ridges to the east. We enjoyed the views for a bit then headed back to the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is small and not well stocked, but we did find some trail mix for sale and a water fountain, so we took a little break before mounting up for the next hike. The staff there are very helpful and informative about the trails and sights to see along the Parkway. There are maps available (free) as well as more details trail guides and souvenirs for sale. We could see the folks up on Craggy Peak from the Visitor Center parking lot. They were well above us, so I was hoping for a good view of the surrounding hills and valleys. But that hike is the next story....

Hiking/Backpacking

Vinton, Virginia, United States

time : Jul 5, 2015 10:34 AM

duration : 0h 53m 48s

distance : 1 mi

total_ascent : 338 ft

highest_point : 5568 ft

avg_speed : 1.1 mi/h

user_id : OhioHick

user_firstname : Allen

user_lastname : Arrington

Great short hike. Make sure to include Craggy Peak. We visited the Craggy Gardens area along the Blue Ridge Parkway as part of a long weekend trip to Asheville. After reading the descriptions of the area and the trails we felt that this would make a nice place for an easy walk that my 77-year-old mother could also enjoy (she walks a few miles in the hills of southern WV and did 11 miles with us last year in Cades Cove in the Smokys, so I was not too worried about her). Turned out to be a very good option. There are two short hikes in the area, Craggy Gardens and Craggy Peak. Each trail is about a mile long round trip, but a little rough and uphill most of the way from the trailhead. We took our time and spent the better part of an hour on each trail, just enjoying the views along the trails and setting a pace that was good for Mom. We approached the area coming from the south along the parkway, so we hit the Visitor Center first. Nice views from both sides of the road at the VC. The Craggy Gardens trailhead is at the south end of the parking lot. The majority of the trail is through the woods so it is shaded and cool. The temperature was 10 degrees cooler at the Visitor Center than in Asheville on the day we were there (low 60s F when we arrived around 11:30 AM). The walk up to the heath bald is generally uphill but the elevation gain is only about 240 feet. The trail was a little wet in spots, but not muddy or slick. This was a very green hike with ferns being the main vegetation along with birch trees. The wooded part of the trial was basically like walking through a tunnel. But it made for a very pleasant stroll. The “tunnel” abruptly ends at start of the bald area where there is an open air pavilion (nice place for a picnic). The trail sort of splits at this point. We went up to the balds area on the trail east of the pavilion and returned on the trail that comes out to the west of the pavilion. Not much difference but a little change in perspective on the views. Beyond the pavilion the trail climb just a bit further through the balds are to an overlook just over the crest of the hill which provided a nice view of the ridges to the east. We enjoyed the views for a bit then headed back to the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is small and not well stocked, but we did find some trail mix for sale and a water fountain, so we took a little break before mounting up for the next hike. The staff there are very helpful and informative about the trails and sights to see along the Parkway. There are maps available (free) as well as more details trail guides and souvenirs for sale. We could see the folks up on Craggy Peak from the Visitor Center parking lot. They were well above us, so I was hoping for a good view of the surrounding hills and valleys. But that hike is the next story....