The Backcountry Beckons

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Image Credits Below

Issue:

06/2025

Black Balsam Knob, a wide-open space perfect for camping.

Linville Gorge is one of the best places in WNC to watch the sunrise.

Horace Kephart's journals show original maps and historic photos along the Western North Carolina mountain range.

Grandfather Mountain State Park is one of the best options for backcountry camping since most of its trails and campsites are open after Hurricane Helene. This massive mountain is also home to the famous Mile-High Swinging Bridge and a renowned nature museum complex operated by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.

Doughton Park is the largest recreational area on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Historic Brinegar Cabin is nearby; built in 1886, the tiny homestead once housed the Brinegar family, who owned 125 acres of this land for their farm.

Many trails were damaged by Helene leading to downed trees and unstable ground. Volunteers and workers have cleared some of the debris but there’s still a long ways to go before the Blue Ridge Parkway is fully reopened.

Shining Rock Wilderness was one of the first areas to become part of the federal Wilderness System in 1964. It’s also the largest of its kind in the state.

Panthertown Valley, Schoolhouse Falls.

Linville Gorge Wilderness.

Grandfather Mountain.

South Mountains State Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

RESOURCES:

Photographs by Tom Moors; Jared Kay/visitNC; photographs (2) courtesy of Hunter Library, Western Carolina University; photographs (grandfather) by tom moors; (doughton park) courtesy of visitnc; courtesy of manufacturers; (grandfather) by Randy Johnson; (schoolhouse Falls) Serge Skiba/ shutterstock; (Great Smoky Mountains) Branding Pot/shutterstock; (south Mountains) Steve Yocom/VisitNC; (linville Gorge) courtesy of Visitnc

ISSUE DATE:

Summer 2025

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The Backcountry Beckons

The Backcountry Beckons

The Backcountry Beckons