GetHiking! North Carolina's Classic Hikes: Tanawha Trail

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Think of Grandfather Mountain (http://www.romanticasheville.com/grandfather.htm) and you think of a rugged massif known for its jumbled rockscape. Think of Price Lake and your thoughts turn to a more passive mountain landscape with meadows and rolling terrain. Now think of a trail that links the two, exposing the hiker to a variety of mountain ecosystems in a relatively short span of time and you've got the Tanawha Trail (http://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/upload/tanawha%20trail.pdf).

Traversing the southeast flank of Grandfather Mountain, the Tanawha Trail runs for 13.6 miles. The southern section has its ups-and-downs, but there are no severe climbs. Further, since the trail parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are numerous access points, allowing us to offer options of 5.1, 8.5 and 13.6 miles. (Also because the trail parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway, the shuttle is quick and easy.)

We will meet at the Price Lake parking area at Milepost 298 and drive south on the Parkway to the trailhead, at Beacon Heights, dropping shuttle cars at the Raven Rocks Overlook (for the 5.1-mile hikers) and Boone Fork (8.5 milers) parking areas.

This hike is part of our GetHiking! North Carolina's Classic Hikes series (see below for more information). It will be the 11th hike in this series of 12 hikes in 2015.

This is a fee program; the is a per-hike charge of $25. The fee includes a swag bag, monthly enewsletter and discounts on hiking gear at Great Outdoor Provision Co. You will be sent a PayPal invoice upon signing up for this hike.

Estimated drive time: Charlotte: 2 hours; Greensboro: 2 hours; Raleigh: 3 hours, 10 minutes.

For more information on the GetHiking! North Carolina's Classic Hikes program go here (http://greatoutdoorprovision.com/blog/explore-more-in-2015-hike-north-carolinas-classic-trails/). To sign up, as well as for more information, contact Joe Miller at joe@getgoingnc.com.