Linn Cove Viaduct Boulder Field

Tuesday August 23, 2022
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Linn Cove Viaduct is a 1243 foot long concrete segment bridge that snakes around Grandfather Mountain and over its massive boulder field.  It sits at 4300 feet in elevation.  This bad photo is a picture of a picture and came from the signage outside the visitor center.

The Viaduct was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be completed in 1987, 52 years after the Blue Ridge Parkway was begun. The Viaduct took 8 years to construct and is the first bridge of its kind in the United States. 

The S shaped structure contains 153 concrete segments.  Only one of these is straight.  They weigh 50 tons each and are joined by epoxy and massive steel tendons.  The segments form a deck nearly a quarter mile long that is supported by 7 pillars.   And Yes, as you can see from the picture, the trail goes under and beside the viaduct.  So fantastic!

Computer technology enabled engineers to design and construct this geometrically complex structure.  The technique used in its building allowed the rugged terrain and the forest of this ancient mountain to be preserved for which I am so grateful.  Worth the wait in my opinion.  Conventional construction techniques would have obliterated Linn Cove’s massive boulder field and severely altered the steep mountain’s profile.

I learned all of this from the sign on the path to the hike.  I took the first picture of the straight section from the sign which is quite weathered.  Unfortunately as you can see, the visitor’s center with all its information and the restrooms were closed due to a water system malfunction the sign said.  But I have read that the VC has been closed for a very long time.  Remember the one at Crabtree Falls.

But that certainly didn’t impact the wonder of this hike.   Take a look at the size of these boulders.

The trail begins at the far end of the VC parking lot and is paved for a 1/2 mile to allow access under the viaduct.  You can hear the cars rumbling over the viaduct.  That’s all most people do.  But at the end of the paved section a set of steps climbs up a hillside and  a trail runs through the woods parallel to the viaduct.  Continuing uphill you find yourself on the Tanawaha Trail which runs through the woods and climbs through the boulder field under the viaduct. 

Yes, go right through there.

The Tanawaha has a sweet white feather as its trail sign.  It is 13.5 miles one way and parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway between Beacon Heights, which I posted about here, and Julian Price Memorial Park, which I visited after hiking this trail.  If I’d had a shuttle, I’d have hiked the whole Tanawaha but 26 miles round trip is too much for me.   So if you’d like to hike it with me, let’s make plans.   Oh and the Tanawaha is part of the Mountains to Sea Trail, North Carolina’s State Trail stretching 1175 miles from the Outerbanks to the Great Smoky Mountains.  The MTS is only 700 miles complete at this time.

I was continually amazed at the trail construction which included stone steps

and ledges under boulders braced by other boulders.

Up and Over

No, I didn’t have to crawl through there but I wondered who might be in this pile of huge rocks.

Two trees holding on to each other and the rock.  Nature is amazing.

The trail weaves closer to and then further away from the viaduct.

The size of the boulders is just amazing.

Glad I thought to get a picture of the sweet trail marker.  Love the feather.  The dot is the symbol of the MTS trail.

Amazingly, this is one of only two fungi pictures I took on the hike.  I was so absorbed by the boulders and the trail required careful watching.

This and so many of the boulders were so big, I could not get the entirety of them  in the picture.  There was no way to get far enough away from it.

Look closely and you can see the viaduct through this narrow section of the trail.

Finally I came as far as I was going to go on the Tanawha.  I arrived at what I later learned was the Wilson Creek Bridge.   After reading the sign below, I decided I’d gone far enough.

In addition to this sign, there was another much smaller that pointed down and off the trail and said stream.   I could hear what I assumed was Wilson Creek.  That’s all it took.

The path led down and under the viaduct then stopped and it was clear from the sound that if I wanted to see this water I’d have to climb down this steep dirt.  I’m amazed I didn’t end up scooting down.  Very glad I had a hiking stick coming straight up.  This is what they call “a social trail”.  Not sanctioned for sure.  I could have walked up there on the left and touched it. 

And then down the rocks.

And look what I found on Wilson’s Creek.

Small cascades but lovely.  And a delightful surprise.

  Here’s the requisite video.

I sat down on some of the rocks for a while knowing that when I climbed back up I’d be turning back.  A young couple came down and we ended up hiking back together.  It was delightful having their company.

I didn’t take many pictures on the way back which of course looked totally different than it did from the other direction.  I was too busy enjoying the company of  Tristen and Mackenzie.

But I did get some pictures of a stackable and a large stand alone.

I wonder when it’s going to tip on over.

Not what you’d call smooth passage.

White Coral mushroom??

They spotted the cut off to the view that we had both missed on the way up and that I probably would have missed on the way back too.  Glad I hiked back with them.

Tristen took this selfie and sent me a copy.  He is an assistant golf pro at the Grandfather Mountain Course and she is his college sweetheart.  Sadly I don’t remember what she is doing now but they were such fun to hike back with.

I left Tristen & Mackenzie and drove a tad further along the parkway to Julian Price Memorial Park to check out their trail system.

There were 3 trails.  The Price Lake overlook trail,  Green Knob Loop Trail and the Boone Fork Loop Trail.  Had I not just done the boulder field trail, I would have done the Boon Fork which is 4.3 miles long but I settled for the 2.5 mile Price Lake trail.  Additionally, I could check out the lake for possible kayaking.  An added bonus is that the loop goes through the campground at the end. So I could check that out too.  

It was a very nice and very easy flat hike around the 47 acre lake which at its end took me right along the Blue Ridge Parkway just before hiking through the campground.  The park is 4200 acres at the foot of Grandfather Mountain and a great location for visiting this area.  It is located at MP 296.7 and adjacent to Moses H Cohen Park.

For whatever reason, I took no pictures of the campground which had some smaller sites on the water.  I apologize for dismissing it after I determined I probably would not want to try it with Winnona.  I’ll try to make up for that with information I researched later. 

The campground has no hook ups.  It does have restrooms with flush toilets and at least one loop has showers.  There is a dump station though I didn’t see it.  The campground was very serene and the sites on the water were wonderful if you are small or a tent.   The longest RV reported in the campground on Campendium was 29’.  There are 129 tent sites and 68 RV sites. 

The lake was lovely and I passed only one other person hiking around it but I saw absolutely no wildlife.  No ducks, no nothing.  Not even canada geese or crows.  So I doubt I’ll come back to kayak it.

The clouds reflecting in the water were lovely.  It looked like a painting and was a sweet end to my more strenuous morning at the boulders.