Linville Falls, Blowing Rock, and what to hike in between

The one to do first. Trails are open, but the visitor center, picnic area and campground are still closed after Helene, so plan on parking at the Parkway spur at MP 316.4 or the Forest Service lot on Old NC 105. The Erwins View trail is about 1.6 miles round trip on a wide, well-graded path with four overlooks. The last one gives you the whole two-tier falls at once.

The Plunge Basin trail down toward the base is strenuous, steps and rock, and swimming and climbing on the rocks aren't allowed. It isn't the casual water hike people expect.

Check nps.gov/blri the morning you go, then go early. The lot fills by mid-morning on fall weekends and there is nowhere else to park.

The rugged one. Wiseman's View is a short paved walk to a rail with Table Rock and Hawksbill straight across the gorge. The drive in is rough gravel, passable in a normal car, slow, not a place to be in a rush.

For a hike, Table Rock Summit is about 2 miles round trip from the trailhead and steep, with the best payoff in the gorge. The picnic area and its parking are closed after storm damage, so you may add a walk on either end. Hawksbill is shorter, 1.5 miles, and just as good in evening light.

There is no cell service down in there. Tell somebody your plan.

When it's open, the stretch between us and Grandfather is the good stretch. The Linn Cove Viaduct is milepost 304 and Rough Ridge is 302.8, though the 302.8 to 304.4 section has been closed for construction. Chestoa View at 320.8 has been inside the Helene closure from 317.5 to 324.7, and the Table Rock Mountain View overlook is farther south at 329.8.

Repairs and ice both close sections without much warning. Check nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm the morning you go, not the night before, and drive whatever's open slow.

A day trip, not a detour. Main Street is a few walkable blocks of shops, bakeries and restaurants, with a park in the middle that has a playground and enough grass to let kids run.

The Blowing Rock itself is a small paid attraction with a genuinely big view off the cliff. Worth it once. Bass Lake at Moses Cone Park is the better free one, a flat loop of about eight tenths of a mile around the water, easy with anybody's grandparents.

Pair it with Blowing Rock and make one drive of it. The Mile High Swinging Bridge is the ticketed part; the state park side is free with a permit and holds the hard trails, Calloway Peak, ladders and cables on the Grandfather Trail.

It's colder and windier up there than it is at the cabin, every time. Take the jacket you think you won't need.