New multi-use trails open near Lake Lure, NC

We’ve been hearing tidbits about the development of the new trails near the Hickory Nut Gorge and Chimney Rock State Park for the last few years. Now it looks like the first trail openings are happening, starting at Lake Lure’s Buffalo Creek Park. According to the Town of Lake Lure, there are a few miles of trail completed now, with some finishing touches to bring the first-phase total to 5 miles by this summer. Beautifully constructed by the folks at Trail Dynamics in Pisgah Forest, NC, the trails will be open to mountain biking and foot travel.

Beyond this first phase, an additional 5-7 miles of trail could connect the park to NC State Park property. Chimney Rock State Park’s master plan calls for even more multi-use trail mileage to be built in the years to come, and farther into the future these trails will form part of a much longer, hiking-only trail circumnavigating the Hickory Nut Gorge.

We get lots of questions regarding outdoor activities in this part of the region and, until now, there were limited options we could recommend. This is great news, as there aren’t really any other mountain biking opportunities in the vicinity of Chimney Rock. Even places to hike are kind of sparse.

We can’t wait to visit the new trails and see what they’re like, and when we do we’ll add all the info about them onto our own sites! Until then, here’s some links to help you plan your own exploration of the latest addition to WNC’s great trail networks.

Full article about the opening

A “behind the scenes” look at the creation of the park

Photo gallery of trail construction

More photos of trail construction, including some beautiful fall color shots and some shots that really show the interesting rock features and views from along the trail.