This section of the Appalachian Trail is absolutely breathtaking. It's about 45 minutes from Hot... read more
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This section of the Appalachian Trail is absolutely breathtaking. It's about 45 minutes from Hot... read more
The day we hiked up to the top the trail was muddy, but the views from the top made the messy walk... read more
This was an easy climb to the summit, a beautiful 360 view of three other States (Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia) mountains.
I have hiked and driven to most places in the Smoky Mountain and Western North Carolina mountains (actually was raised in WNC), but this is by far the best 360 degree panoramic view I have ever seen of them. I will be returning to see them again in the fall.
Max Patch is such a wonderful place to go and hike. Take the left side up and the right side down. The left is a little shorter it is easier. The right side does have some stairs if that is hard on you stick with the left both ways. We were fortunate to meet a group of young ladies and their children when we got to the top. We had fun taking pictures of them with their dogs. Several families and couples were walking around and it seem to get more crowded as the day went along. The views are just amazing.
After an interesting drive, up a seldom marked gravel road, you park along the side of the road. But the best part is ahead.
Follow the easy trail up the mountain, join the AT (Appalachian Trail, white stripe) and quickly arrive at he summit. WOW, what a 360 degree view atop the bald! It was a beautiful day today, the mountain top was full of happy families, couples, dogs and children enjoying the awesome scenery, open spaces and kite flying. A day to remember.
The road to Max Patch is well travelled, but you may not realize that at first. I was meeting a hiker at Max Patch and had never been there. I was seriously wondering if I'd made a wrong turn as I bumped along the dirt road. I started seeing cars parked on the side of the very narrow road. I was in a Mercedes Sprinter van and was doubting whether I should continue on and risk needing to back up if I met someone coming from the other direction. I passed the first/smaller parking area and much to my relief came to the second parking area and made a parking spot for myself. It is a small lot, but wide enough to parallel park on one side and leave room for the other cars to back out. Because there are two parking areas I did worry that my hiker may stop at the first one, so I hiked back towards the direction he would be coming from and ended up having no problems. We were amazed by how many people were there until very late into the night - we spent the night in our van. We found out later that there was a big meteor shower and that's why it was so packed that night with lots of coming and going late into the night.
We went for a Sunrise hike last week. It was dark when we started and the star gazing was AMAZING we were traveling with small kids so we used the left side hike (marked as easier) it took about 15 minutes or so to get to the vista. There were a handful of campers there and we watched the sunrise in silence it was surreal and amazing. The wildflowers were in bloom and the colors were just magnificent. Really a place to appreciate nature
