Blue Ridge Parkway MST Hike

Monday morning, we checked out of the hotel and headed to E. B. Jeffress Park along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We got our stuff together and headed northbound along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  The trail followed Falls Creek down and there were some nice cascades along the trail.

Crossing a footbridge, the trails diverged and we went right towards Cascade Falls.

With high water and the leaves off the trees, this waterfall was looking really good.  There was some ice near the top.

The view from further down was great.

After some pictures, we headed up and got back on the MST.  Heading northbound from Jeffress Park, the trail followed along the top of a cliff.  It was very forested so the views were obscured but it was a scenic hike overall.

It crossed the parkway and climbed up, running high above the road.  A few parts of the trail were very narrow.

Soon, we descended to an open field where some guys were flying a model airplane.  Alex said hi to their dog and then we continued on, walking along the road a short ways before getting back on trail and climbing up.

We crossed the parkway one more time and hiked about a half-mile further and came to a nice spot for a snack break.  Then we turned back and hiked back to the car.

Driving southbound on the parkway, we made one stop at Elk Mountain Overlook.

The views from this overlook were really great and we could see Grandfather Mountain in the distance.

On the way home, we stopped in Winston-Salem at Foothills Brewery for an early dinner.  Then we drove the rest of the way home.