The Craggy Gardens trail located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway a short distance from the bustling town of Asheville, North Carolina, offers hikers an enormously satisfying view of the Black Mountain range with very little sweat. The visitors center at the trailhead even offers a bathroom. What can be better than that?
Craggy Gardens Trail
The Craggy Gardens trail is a self-guided hiking tour that winds its way through the Craggy Gardens, a forest of knobby trees with blooming rhododendrons.
For about 0.3 miles, the trail winds through gnarled and knobby hardwood trees with a moderate incline up to a trail shelter. The stunted shapes of the trees indicates just how cutting the wind can be here at times. Small signs provide hikers with information about the local plant life.
Just past the shelter, there is a small trail on the left that takes visitors up over a heath bald to an overlook of the Pisgah National Forest. Along here, there are rhododendron flowers everywhere that bloom in the early summer. In the later summer months, you can find blueberries along the trail. The top is grassy and meadow-like, and is a wonderful spot for a picnic.
From the shelter, the trail continues on to a picnic area where you can rest up before heading back to the visitor center. Overall, the trail is approximately 2 miles in and back out. We had a fussy child with us, so we had to cut the trail short, but even cut short, it was still beautiful!
Craggy Gardens Visitor Center
There’s a great little visitor center located at the northern end of the parking area near the trailhead. Inside, visitors can purchase drinks, snacks, or keepsakes. The bathroom offers a little bit of civilization for those used to hiking in the woods, and the wood stove inside the visitor center offers much needed heat on a chilly day. There is also a scenic overlook here and a great spot for pictures of the beautiful mountains on either side of the road!
Where is it Located?
The Craggy Gardens trail can be accessed from milepost 364.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway just about 18 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina. There is a parking area located there just south of the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center. The trailhead is located at the southern end of the parking lot just behind the rock wall.
Maps
A map of the Craggy Gardens Trail and other surrounding hikes can be found on the National Park Service website located right here.
