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Blue Ridge Mountains, Waterfalls Captivate Asheville Visitors
asheville, beauty, blue ridge mountains, outdoors, recreation, waterfalls,
Ask most people what first drew them to the Asheville area‚ and the answer will likely be the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ask Dale Cangelosi‚ and he gets much more specific - the waterfalls.
“When you see a beautiful waterfall‚ you don’t want to leave‚” he says. “I think they are our greatest treasure.”
More than 250 waterfalls grace Western North Carolina‚ and Cangelosi knows pretty much all of them by name and location. Last summer he decided to start sharing that knowledge by opening Waterfall Tours and Hikes. The Asheville-based company provides guided hikes and self-guided tours of some of the region’s most stunning waterfalls.
“There is no other place in the world that I know of where you can enjoy so many spectacular waterfalls in one afternoon‚” Cangelosi says. “It’s a great joy for me to see people experience these natural wonders for the first time.”
The outdoor offerings in the Asheville area can be overwhelming to first-time visitors‚ and even to those who return year after year. From peaceful hikes and paddle sports to fishing and wildlife opportunities‚ Asheville is a nature lover’s paradise.
Cangelosi not only tells people where to find waterfalls‚ he leads them there. The hikes themselves are actually short walks‚ requiring only “tennis shoes and a camera‚” he says. One of his itineraries in and around Brevard - a half-hour south of Asheville - includes Hooker Falls‚ Conestee Falls and Looking Glass Falls.
“We give people some history of the falls and how to photograph them‚ but we don’t make it a lecture tour‚” he says. “We want the falls and the mountains to speak to them.”
The mountains of Western North Carolina spoke to Todd Morse when he was a boy visiting from St. Louis. Today he is president and general manager of Chimney Rock Park‚ a 1‚000-acre recreation area about 25 miles southeast of Asheville in Hickory Nut Gorge.
Visitors can hike four miles of wooded and mountain trails‚ enjoy the 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls featured in the 1992 movie The Last of the Mohicans‚ and get a stunning view of Lake Lure from atop Chimney Rock‚ the 535 million-year-old igneous monolith for which the park is named.
“There are so many things in Western Carolina that are wonderful - hiking‚ interesting views‚ rock formations - and we feel like we have it all in one place‚” Morse says.
Morse has a vested interest in the park and protecting its natural beauty. His great-great-uncle‚ Dr. Lucius B. Morse‚ arrived from Chicago 100 years ago seeking a healthful retreat after contracting tuberculosis. The physician convinced his older brothers to help him purchase 64 acres in the primitive forest.
“He was quite the visionary‚” Todd Morse says. “He saw that Chimney Rock could be a wonderful natural attraction. His goal was to make it more accessible to more people.”
A winding three-mile road leads visitors on a scenic‚ uphill drive to the base of Chimney Rock. A 198-foot tunnel leads to a 26-story elevator shaft bored into granite that takes visitors to the top and leads them to the Skyline Trail and Cliff Trail‚ with resplendent views of the mountainous landscape.
“It doesn’t matter how many times I walk the trails‚” Morse says‚ “something new always catches my eye. I never get tired of it.”
Story by Noel Neff
