A mountain of stone and a great state park in North Carolina.
What’s so special about Stone Mountain State Park? The park has eighteen miles of hiking trails and two waterfalls, plus Stone Mountain, a huge dome of exposed granite, which is also cool.
Stone Mountain is located very near the Blue Ridge Parkway, something I didn’t know when I booked the campground here. I was looking for a campground on my way back to Maryland and this one was available. I didn’t know how awesome the park was until I got there.
A very hazy view of Stone Mountain from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Well, that’s what the sign said.
I was looking forward to hiking the Stone Mountain Loop Trail, but I arrived at the park too late. So, I deviated to the next ridge on a shorter loop.
I started on the Stone Mountain Trail from the Lower Trailhead Parking lot, heading through a narrow valley. It felt very junglely in there.
A small creek passes through the valley.
A really cool cup-like mushroom.
The trail leads to an historic homestead, the Hutchinson Homestead, at the base of Stone Mountain. The Hutchinson family lived on what is now Stone Mountain State Park for generations. The family spread out throughout the area, building several homes. Only this homestead still survives, but luckily it was preserved in the 1980s.
The restored Huchinson Homestead.
A very nice little barn, built in the early 1900s, with Stone Mountain in the background.
The corn crib. Corn was a stable crop of settlers in the Appalachians.
The blacksmith shop, maybe?
The Hutchinsons lived in the shadow of Stone Mountain’s bare granite.
Stone Mountain is super cool looking.
I then headed up the Black Ridge Trail to the Wolf Rock Trail, which had great overlooks.
I’m not sure what mountain I climbed up, but the views were great. It also had the super cool bare granite.
A quick view of Stone Mountain.
The trail leads to a ridge of bare granite. It really reminded me of the bare granite mountains of Acadia National Park.
More bare granite in the distance.
I think the Blue Ridge Parkway is up that way.
Farm ruins in the woods.
Another section of bare granite with fantastic views of the nearby mountains.
I was pretty exhausted after that hike and missed stopping at Widow’s Creek Falls. Early the next morning I made my last stop of a two-week journey, Stone Mountain Falls. Beware, there are a ton of stairs.
There was a random chimney next to the trail.
It was super early.
The creek flows over bare granite, making what you would think would be a great waterside, but it’s not.
The natural waterside does a bit of a drop.
I’m in love with this waterfall.
It just keeps going.
Such a unique waterfall!
There are a couple of bumps on the way down where rock had broken off.
I accidentally snuck up on this lady on my way back up the trail.
Stone Mountain was an unexpectedly fantastic park. It was a perfect random selection for a park to stay in. I just wish I had more time to check it out.
Check out my next update where I somehow finally get to Spain!
or
Start at the beginning of my Blue Ridge Mountains adventure!
