Five-Star Trails: Asheville. Jennifer Pharr Davis
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The Track Trail and informational brochures are part of an initiative called Kids in Parks. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation created the program. The mission statement of the Kids in Parks program as stated on the kidsinparks.com website is to “increase physical activity of children and their families, to improve nutritional choices, and get kids outdoors and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.”
As part of the initiative, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has constructed or designated several Track Trails near the Blue Ridge Parkway, which provide children with interactive and educational materials to help them make the most of their hikes. In addition to the trailhead information and brochures, your child can log on to kidsinparks.com to participate in the online Track Trail program. The website asks kids to answer a few questions about what they learned on the trail—in return for free prizes! (Sorry grown-ups, this online component is just for kids.) The following hike at the Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center was the first Track Trail created and serves as a pilot for similar trails underway in communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
From the Track Trail sign, travel into the woods on a dirt path behind the trailhead marker. In a few feet, the trail will split. Begin the loop by turning right and continuing slightly downhill. After 0.1 mile the blazes that mark the trail will lead past a large gray building to the right. This structure serves as the main headquarters for the Blue Ridge Parkway and its rangers, landscape architects, and park superintendent; they work to preserve and protect the National Scenic Road, which extends 469 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains near Cherokee to Rock Fish Gap near Waynesboro, Virginia.
After 0.5 mile you will exit the woods at the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the trail continues on the opposite side of the road. If you are hiking with children, exercise extra caution before crossing, as commuter cars often zip down the parkway. Across the road, the Track Trail joins the white-blazed Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) and veers east. The next 0.5-mile stretch is great for children to search for bugs such as granddaddy longlegs or grasshoppers. It is also a good area for using the brochures to help identify the different types of ferns that line the path, including hay-scented fern, bracken fern, and Christmas fern.
On this part of the path, 1 mile from the trailhead, you will come to a junction. The MST continues uphill to the right, but you will want to go straight and rejoin the blazes that lead back toward the Destination Center. The correct path will lead you through a tunnel underneath the parkway. In winter this tunnel often has bedazzling icicles adorning the front and back entrances.
Back on the other side of the parkway, you will pass a gravel ATV trail on your right that leads directly to the Destination Center. Your group may be eager to revisit the Destination Center, but to complete the loop you will veer left and follow the trail another 0.2 mile. Then turn right on the short trail stem that leads back to the Destination Center parking lot.
Directions
From downtown Asheville, take I-240 east toward Oteen. From I-240, turn left onto Exit 9 toward I-40 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, then immediately veer left onto US 74A. After 0.5 mile turn right onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Travel the parkway north 0.5 mile and then turn left onto Hemphill Knob Road. Park at the Destination Center.
3 Haw Creek Overlook
A VIEW OF THE SWANNANOA RIVER BASIN FROM HAW CREEK OVERLOOK
SCENERY:
TRAIL CONDITION:
CHILDREN:
DIFFICULTY:
SOLITUDE:
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES: N35° 35.556' W82° 28.856'
DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 4.8-mile out-and-back
HIKING TIME: 2.5 hours
HIGHLIGHTS: Exposed rock overlooking Haw Creek Valley
ELEVATION: 2,260' at trailhead, 2,830' at Haw Creek Overlook
ACCESS: Free and always open; vehicle access to the Folk Art Center via the Blue Ridge Parkway is also open year-round.
MAPS: USGS Oteen
FACILITIES: Restrooms, water fountains, and picnic benches at the Folk Art Center
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes, at the Folk Art Center
COMMENTS: This hike offers a great view of Haw Creek Valley and Town Mountain. The Folk Art Center, with its museum and store filled with Appalachian crafts, is a worthwhile stop in itself, as further described in “Nearby Attractions,” below.
CONTACTS: Blue Ridge Parkway: 828-298-0398, nps.gov/blri; Mountains-to-Sea Trail: mountainstosea.org
Overview
Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, this out-and-back Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) section hike starts at the Folk Art Center, which serves as a convenient and easily accessible trailhead. From the Folk Art Center, you will follow the MST east and steadily uphill. The reward for hiking up the ascent is a rock overlook with beautiful views of Haw Creek Valley, Town Mountain, and East Asheville—and a downhill trek back to the trailhead.
Route Details
Your 4.8-mile hike proceeds close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the road goes unnoticed. You will be hiking inside the dense hardwood forest and among pockets of mountain laurel that line the trail. In fact, the location by the parkway spells good news for hikers: Although much of the scenic byway is closed from late November to March due to winter weather, a small piece of it, off US 70, is open year-round. That allows the Folk Art Center to operate through four seasons, and it also means that this trailhead is always accessible. Many East Asheville residents will hike this stretch of trail before or after work because of its proximity to nearby businesses and neighborhoods.
To begin the hike, locate the informational kiosk in front of the Folk Art Center. At the kiosk you will leave the paved sidewalk and walk north on a granular path. This path is part of a short nature walk that surrounds the Folk Art Center and coincides with the MST. As your route is a small part of the 1,175-mile MST, you will want to look ahead to spot a white circle that marks the long-distance trail; that white blaze tells you that you are headed in the right direction.
After passing the Folk Art Center on your left, the MST ascends a small hill. At 0.2 mile it veers off to the right. Because the granular nature walk is so well defined and the MST looks like a dirt rabbit trail, hikers will often miss this turnoff. Be sure to keep an eye out for the double blaze—two offset white circles—that mark the change in direction. You will want to be on the MST.
Immediately after departing the nature walk and veering onto the MST, you will cross an overpass that spans the width of Rice-ville Road. Then you will start a moderate uphill climb. Because of its location near the Folk