Pisgah National Forest Trail Projects – October 2009

posted in: Outdoors | 1

A number of trail projects are listed on the Forest Service’s 2009 Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA). A lot of these will undoubtedly be placed on hold or canceled as they wind their way through the bureaucracy, but we might actually … Continued

Pink Beds Trail Relocation

posted in: Outdoors, WNC Hiking | 1

According to the Forest Service’s Schedule of Proposed Actions for October 2009, the trail reroute around the flooded area of the Pink Beds is complete. I haven’t had a chance to field check this so anyone who’s hiked this part … Continued

Craggy Gardens Picnic Area Closed due to Bears

posted in: Outdoors | 0

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, officials have closed the picnic area due to bear activity in the area. I can vouch for that – on a recent family trip to the area, we witnessed a bear chase a family out … Continued

Pisgah Area Trail Updates

According to the Pisgah Ranger District office, in the Bent Creek area, North Boundary Road will be closed Mondays through Fridays for road re-construction. This might put a few folks onto alternate routes if you used that old road to … Continued

Yellow Gap Road Reopened

posted in: Outdoors | 2

Though I didn’t see a Forest Service announcement to this fact, I have confirmed with a personal visit that Yellow Gap Road appears to be open again. This closure was in the Pisgah National Forest near the Pink Beds area. … Continued

Panthertown Valley Trail Names and Uses Designated

posted in: WNC Hiking, WNC Mountain Biking | 0

The US Forest Service has issued a decision regarding the trail naming and use designations within Panthertown. Most of the trails themselves remain uncharged, however, as a lot of the maintenance budget was lost and that project was mostly scrapped. … Continued

Gorges, Mount Mitchell State Parks Officially Reopening

posted in: WNC Hiking, WNC Waterfalls | 0

Although Mount Mitchell’s new observation deck has been open for a while, the Park will hold a dedication on Saturday (May 9) which marks its official unveiling to the public. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 AM at the … Continued

A New Battle Between Mt. Mitchell and Clingman’s Dome?

posted in: Miscellaneous | 11

In response to my post about the new observation platform atop Mt. Mitchell, Allen said: “Now that the old 45 tower has been replaced by the observation deck on Mt. Mitchell, is a person standing on the Clingmans Dome tower … Continued

Blue Ridge Parkway to Reopen May 15

posted in: Outdoors | 2

According to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times (which I won’t link to anymore since they delete their articles from their web site after a few days), the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area will be reopening … Continued

GPS Trail Data Available

posted in: Indoors | 1

As part of the new maps initiative, all trails, hikes, and rides on WNCOutdoors.info will eventually be GPS-mapped and all the GPS data will be available for download. Right now, a number of trails in the Pisgah National Forest, as … Continued