View from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center.
Peak bloom time for Rhododendron is mid June.
Elevation 5,892 feet, Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 364.4, Free.
Craggy Gardens Visitor Center is closed for 2008 due to Parkway closure.
Picnic Area IS OPEN: Read more.
A short drive (24 miles) from downtown Asheville takes you up, up, up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens. After you enter the Craggy Gardens area on the Parkway, you will see a sign for the Craggy Picnic Area to the left, a short drive up the mountain to many picnic tables and some great hiking trails. If you continue straight on the Parkway a few more miles, you will reach the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center for great views to the east and to the west. Enjoy the crisp air, summer rhododendron, and easy to moderate hiking trails. Since this location is more than 3,500 feet higher in elevation than Asheville, be prepared for temperatures 10-20 degrees cooler than the city. If you are greeted by low clouds and fog, wait a bit. The weather can change rapidly.
View from Craggy Pinnacle, looking south down the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center.
The Great Craggy Mountains are an area of exposed rock surfaces and high peaks that provides breathtaking views of distant southern Appalachian ridges. Large expanses of native rhododendron cover the slopes and summits of the Craggies. The area has long been known as Craggy Gardens. In mid-June, pink and purple blooms of Catawba rhododendron cover the Craggies. Throughout the summer, smaller native wildflowers cover the ground with vibrant splashes of color. These natural garden meadows are "balds."
The panoramic views from Craggy Pinnacle create a romantic setting!
Take along a picnic (and often a jacket).
Visitors come to see vistas, rocky crags, wildflowers in the summer and bouquets of red berries of the mountain ash in the fall. The berries are often encased in ice in the fall and winter. See Craggy covered in rime ice. The combination of high altitude, cool weather, and exposed rocky outcrops creates the necessary habitat for a number of rare and endangered plants. Craggy Gardens has been recognized by the state of North Carolina as a Natural Heritage Area and has been recommended as a National Natural Landmark.
Another view from Craggy Pinnacle.
Craggy Gardens Hikes:
Note: There are many fragile habitats with rare plants. Please stay on the designated trails. See a trail map.
Our favorite hike at Craggy (and one of our favorites in the Asheville area) is the Craggy Pinnacle Trail. From the visitor's center, drive north through a short tunnel and pull into the next parking area on the left. The Craggy Pinnacle Trail begins there. It's a 1.5-mile roundtrip hike to the top. The exceptional panoramic views are hard to top in Western North Carolina. The trail goes through tunnels of rhododendron, gnarled sweet birch trees and wildflowers.
The Craggy Gardens Trail crosses atop a bald mountain. It's a great place for a picnic!
The Craggy Gardens Trail can be accessed from the south end of the Visitor Center Parking area or from the north end of the Picnic Area. From the Visitor Center, the trail begins as a self-guided nature trail with a moderate uphill climb for .3 mile to a large trail shelter. A short spur to the left crosses the rhododendron bald to a overlook. If you begin at the Picnic Area, it's a .8 mile uphill hike to the shelter and bald area.
The Douglas Falls Trail (also known as Carter Creek Falls Trails) is via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. From the Greybeard Mountain Overlook (at Milepost 363.4, about a mile drive north of the Visitor Center), travel the MTS Trail south for one mile to the intersection with the falls trail. Follow the falls trail three miles through a mixed hardwood forest to its termination at teh falls. The trail winds past a series of cascades and two virgin hemlock groves before reaching the 70-foot Douglas Creek Falls. This strenuous, but rewarding, 4-mile hike (8 mile roundtrip) is a popular one.
 
Looking toward Craggy Dome (l). Craggy Gardens Trail (r), going toward the picnic area.
Trail Map
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