A FREE Daily Visitor Guide for the North Carolina Mountains and 50+ NC Mountain Cities: NC fall leaf color

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

Fall Leaf Color Lingers in Chimney Rock Park

November 7, 2012 at Chimney Rock Park - Not ready for winter yet? Though the NC fall color is past peak or gone in the High Country, there are still many yellows, golds, oranges and a few reds to be seen throughout the Park. The most vibrant colors are in the northern red oaks and golden hickories in the lower elevations.

Fall foliage is beautiful down around Lake Lure, making the 75-mile views from atop the Chimney even more breathtaking. The colorful drive up the Park road, from the Village to the Ticket Plaza, looks great right now. Although trees in the higher elevations have lost their leaves, leaf peepers should still be able to find reasonably good color in lower elevations of Hickory Nut Gorge through mid-November, weather permitting. For the latest updates, check out our Weekly Fall Color Reports and Photo Gallery.

Get lodging information and local details on the Chimney Rock Visitor Guide.

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The Blue Ridge Parkway at 469 miles long is the nation's longest scenic rural parkway. Now 70 years old it is administered by the National Park Service and host to approximately 20 million visits annually. It connects the Shenandoah Valley National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Along the route are opportunities for lodging, dining, camping, hiking and simply enjoying breathtaking views from easily accessible overlooks and picnic areas. For additional information visit :The Blueridge Parkway Association

The River Arts District is open year around with the opportunity to meet artists in their studios. Schedules are available online. This unique area along the French Broad River is home to more than 165 artists with working studios located in 18 turn-of-the-century industrial buildings. The artists of the River Arts District welcome you into their studios to talk with them, see their latest artwork, watch demonstrations, and experience for yourself the magic hidden inside the time-worn factories and warehouses along the French Broad River.

Chimney Rock Park is named for a 500 million-year-old giant granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge. Visitors are awed by the breathtaking view that spreads 1200 vertical feet beneath them and 75 miles across the Carolinas. The now state owned park encompasses 1,000 acres offers the best of the mountains in one place with spectacular 75-mile views, hiking trails for all ages, a 404-foot waterfall, a variety of special events and much more. Chimney Rock NC

The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has provided funding for almost 1500 state and nationally designated byway projects in 48 states. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.

Tsali Recreation Area is an outdoors lover's paradise. Probably the most popular features of Tsali Recreation Area are the 39 miles of trails suited for mountain bikers and horse-back riders, as well as hikers. The 4-loop system offers a variety of landscapes. You can climb 1-foot wide rugged paths or travel flat, well-beaten roads. The four trails--Right, Left, Mouse Branch, and Thompson Loops--meander through mixed pine and hardwoods on a peninsula stretching into Fontana Lake. Near Bryson City NC and Robbinsville NC.