Explore One Of North Carolina's Most Iconic Attractions At This State Park

Western North Carolina rocks. Across the high country, millennia-old geological wonders have created massive rock slip 'N slides and gorgeous expanses that some folks call the Grand Canyon of the East. One rock in particular sits above the rest: Chimney Rock, a 535-million-year-old monolith that serves as the focal point for Chimney Rock State Park.

A man named Dr. Lucius B. Morse set this entire operation in motion after getting a donkey ride to the top of Chimney Rock. He was so captivated by what he saw here that he purchased the land around it in 1902 and dedicated his life to making it accessible to as many people as possible. The Morse family developed the area for almost 100 years before Chimney Rock was purchased by North Carolina and officially made a state park in 2007. During that time, they carved an elevator into Chimney Rock Mountain, with developers blasting 18 tons of dynamite to build a 258-foot elevator accessible via a 198-foot-long tunnel.

Since becoming a state park, officials have replaced Chimney Rock's elevator motor and improved the park's stair system, but the core remains the same. You can still rely on this elevator system for a quick ride to the top, which has helped turn this park into an iconic North Carolinian attraction. Take the lift or take the nearly 500 stairs to the top of Chimney Rock and enjoy the sights of Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. Through all these years, one important thing has never gotten old: the magnificent panoramic view from the top of the rock.

Chimney Rock State Park provides several different routes to reach the mountaintop. While it is impossible to stand on top of Chimney Rock without climbing any stairs, this park provides tons of control over how much trekking you do. Access to the elevator is included in admission to the park, which costs $17 for adults and $8 for kids. Park at the upper parking area and head directly to the elevator for the quickest Chimney Rock access. 

Once the doors close, you'll only be 32 seconds away from the rock. Enter this lift via a tunnel into the mountain from the parking lot and exit through the gift shop at Sky Lounge, a deli and souvenir stop that also gifts you with handicap-accessible views of the Chimney Rock itself. Or, you can take the old-fashioned way by trudging along the Outcroppings Trail. This route features wide, well-maintained stairways that can help you make it up in about 30 minutes of walking, passing by several other awesome geological features along the way.

If you hit Chimney Rock on a nice day, consult the broader trail map to stretch your hike further and spend your entire afternoon outside. The longest road to the top starts in the lower lot, also known as the Meadows lot. To get to Chimney Rock from there, head up the Four Seasons Trail. This trail ultimately leads to the Outcroppings Trail and the upper parking lot via another well-traveled trail called the Hickory Nut Falls Trail.

Chimney Rock is undoubtedly the star of the show around here, but this state park is also home to one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River, several hiking trails, and tons of bouldering routes. In fact, Chimney Rock isn't even the highest point in the park. After checking out the view on Chimney Rock, look for signs for the Exclamation Point Trail to view Exclamation Point. This route will connect you to the Sky Point Trail, a winding path along the mountaintop that takes you to a viewpoint at Peregrine's Point and to the edge of the headwaters that make up Hickory Nut Falls. Locals will proudly tell you that the climatic scene in the film "The Last of the Mohicans" was filmed at this very spot.

To get a better view of the falls, climb down from the mountaintop and look for the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, which leaves from the same upper parking lot as the Chimney Rock access trails. This pathway will take you directly to the base of the falls and provide a great look at the falling water. Because this route is only a 1.4-mile round trip, you can check out the falls during the same visit as your trip to Chimney Rock.

If you want to know these rocks even more intimately, check out the Rumbling Bald Climbing Access, a section of Chimney Rock State Park with iconic bouldering and technical climbing routes. This free section of the park has over 1,500 bouldering problems that invite you to scramble up the same Henderson Gneiss metamorphic rock that makes up Chimney Rock. All of this action, alongside the park's famous towering monolith, makes Chimney Rock State Park one of the best of North Carolina's many underrated outdoor paradises.