Cragway Fall Foliage Hike

Saturday, we headed back out to the mountains for some more fall foliage.  We headed west towards Boone and got to the Blue Ridge Parkway right around sunrise.  We made a quick stop at Stony Fork Overlook to watch.

We made another stop a short ways further at View Osborne Mountain.

Driving further southbound, we made one more quick stop at Price Lake.

The fall color was just beautiful and there was steam rising off the lake on this chilly morning.

After a couple pictures, we continued on to Boone Fork Parking to hike into Grandfather Mountain State Park.  We took Tanawha Trail to Daniel Boone Scout Trail and started heading up.  The first part isn't too steep and it was pleasantly cold.  In about 1.5 miles, we made it to Flat Rock View and enjoyed the nice views here.

Here we got on Cragway Trail and started heading down.  About half-way down the trail, we came to the fantastic Top Crag View.

The fall color was just about peak and the panoramic views were really phenomenal.

I think this has been the best fall color we've had in several years.

When we first arrived, we had the overlook to ourselves but soon some backpackers showed up so we continued on.

There were a number of other rocky crags along the trail to climb up and enjoy the view, though none could beat Top Crag.

Cragway Trail ended at Nuwati Trail along Boone Fork.  There were some bottle gentians blooming here.

A left turn on Nuwati Trail led just under a mile to Storyteller's Rock and one last beautiful view in the park.

Then we took Nuwati Trail back to Tanawha Trail and the Boone Fork parking area.

It was still early enough so we continued on the parkway.  The traffic was like RTP in rush hour, but at least we could enjoy the views around Lynn Cove Viaduct.  We continued to Linville Falls, where not surprisingly, parking was a mess, but we caught someone leaving and took their spot.  We took Duggers Creek Trail to Linville Gorge Trail and headed out to the Plunge Basin Overlook for a view of Linville Falls.

The lighting wasn't great, but the falls were beautiful surrounded by fall color.  It was rather crowded so we didn't stay long.  On the way back, we stopped at Duggers Creek at a less crowded spot below some scenic little cascades.

A rhododendron had fallen and blocked the view of the waterfall, but the little cascades were very pretty.

After a nice break, we got out of there.

Heading back northbound on the parkway, we made a couple stops along the way.  First we stopped at Camp Creek Overlook.  There is no view here, but the fall foliage was really pretty.

A short fisherman's path led down to Camp Creek.

Our next stop was at Stack Rock Parking Area.  We had to walk a short ways up the road for a very nice view.

In the direction, we could see Grandfather Mountain and the swinging bridge.

Driving on, we made another stop at View Wilson Creek Valley.

Walking up the road to Boulder Field Overlook, we had another view of Grandfather Mountain.

Finally, we made one last stop at Sims Pond Overlook.

From here, we headed to Boone for dinner at Booneshine.  It was very busy and a wait for the restaurant, so we got barbecue and drinks from the food truck and ate outside with Alex.  He made friends with another dog named Gracie.  After dinner, we checked into the Quality Inn and retired for the evening.