Wild Beauty: Hiking Graveyard Fields, NC

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Our review of the Graveyard Fields hiking trail in North Carolina through unique, rugged terrain along the Blue Ridge Parkway leading to a spectacular waterfall.

Along the picturesque stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Asheville, NC and the Smokey Mountains is a wild, rugged terrain named Graveyard Fields – an excellent hike following a stream through thick rhododendron, over a cleared expanse of knotty shrubs covering small, moundy earth, and up to a spectacular waterfall at the end of the hike.

This hike is nothing but fascinating, and seems to get better on every visit, with seasonal changes making the terrain always-changing (this was our 3rd hike on this trail, having found it 4 years ago – we’re eager to return any time our travels take us on this stretch of the Blue Ridge).

Turn off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 418 into the paved parking area on the North side of the Parkway. You’ll find several trails leaving the parking area – all wind through similar terrain and hike through to the same destination – the falls. Total loop distance to the upper falls and back is a moderate hike of 4 miles.

The knobby, rolling terrain of the area – both beautiful and seemingly alien – is guessed to have been formed by a windstorm that felled the large trees in the area, followed by extensive fires in the 30s that destroyed the remnants of the forest and created the continuous terrain of small mounds between the mountainous peaks that form the valley.

Cross over the first falls by footbridge and wind through the rolling terrain along the stream, passing many primitive campsites along the way. (If you choose to camp, please use one of the already-used sites – in the 4 years since we first visited, the number of campsites has likely tripled and the signs of overuse are starting to show). The payoff at the end of the hike – a set of falls that cascades – and then slides – down a long expanse of rock.

This hike has become one of our favorites – we hope you find the beauty of the area as striking and alluring as we have. GPS Coordinates: 35.320168,-82.823181 (click here for directions)