Our Backyard

Kade and I went back to Linville Gorge and Falls today in order to complete the remaining trails and overlooks.  We had done several last weekend. The one that was going to be the most challenging was easily Linville Gorge Trail. Although totaling only 1.4 miles roundtrip, the trail has a very high difficulty rating.  The terrain is tough, no doubt.  However, if you want a prime picnic spot and an incredible studio at the base of falls for videos and photos, well, you just have to summon up the courage and willpower.  The reward was worth it! Enjoy my video creation and the posted images! Today we walked/hiked a total of 4.6 miles.  2.8 miles of this was on a well-paved, two-lane road connecting the Parkway to the Linville Falls Visitor Center. The government shutdown has shut down the visitor center and the road leading in.  The way I see it, though, we just did more cardio!!!

view from Plunge Basin after hiking Linville Gorge Trail

view from Plunge Basin Overlook

Linville Falls is the most popular waterfall in the Blue Ridge Mountains because of its accessibility to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a spectacular three-tiered waterfall plunging into Linville Gorge, the “Grand Canyon of the Southern Appalachians.”  - Source

The Cherokee called it "Eeseeoh," meaning "river of many cliffs," a reference to the many vertical rock outcroppings that line the gorge. - Source

According to personnel at Linville Falls, the falls were used by local Native Americans to execute prisoners. No one is known to have survived a fall over the final plunge. At one time, the upper section of the main plunge was the same height as the lower section, but flooding caused the upper section to collapse on top of the lower falls, making the lower falls a considerably longer plunge. Today the lower plunge is 45′ long, a still-dangerous drop for anyone.  - Source

In 1952 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. provided about $100,000 for purchase of the land, including a 1,100 acres around the falls and a portion of Linville Gorge and donated it to the National Park Service. - Source

Linville Gorge, near the town of Linville Falls, North Carolina, is the deepest and one of the most rugged and scenic gorges in the eastern United States. Nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the East, it is protected by the 12,000-acre Linville Gorge Wilderness Area, one of the first areas to be included in the National Wilderness System with the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. - Source

Linville Falls is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Trails lead to views of both the upper and lower falls. Forests offer virgin hemlock mixed with other familiar trees such as white pine, oaks, hickory, and birch. A colorful and varied display of wildflowers decorates the trails in the spring. Red and golden leaves in fall beautifully contrast with the soothing green of hemlocks. - Source

For images and video from our first visit to Linville Falls, click here.