The Craggy Gardens area was nearing peak on the weekend of October 5, 2015, and the long-range views were spectacular. We went to the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area & Visitor Center, then drove through the Parkway tunnel to Craggy Dome Overlook, where we hiked to the peak of the Craggy Pinnacle Trail. Fog rolled in and was stunning over the vistas, but when it rolled over us we hiked back down and made it to Glassmine Falls Overlook, below the cloud line, to see the soft colors of dusk.
Click on any photo to open the photo tour as a slideshow.
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- We started at Milepost 367.5, where a one mile spur road leads to the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area.
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- A lot of the trees at the picnic area lost their leaves in last week’s heavy rain, but the leaves remaining were a stunning orange.
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- The Mountain Ash Trees are starting to lose their leaves, but the red berries are bright and plentiful.
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- On the drive south to the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, cloud shadows covered the mountainsides.
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- The Craggy Gardens Visitor Center and the Craggy Pinnacle Tunnel were surrounded by oranges, dark yellows, and still some green.
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- The 180-degree view looking west from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center.
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- A little bit farther south at Milepost 364.1 is Craggy Dome Overlook, where the Craggy Pinnacle Trail starts.
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- It’s a short 0.7 miles up to the observation platform on Craggy Pinnacle, which offers an incredible 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains.
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- Cragginess! See how it gets its name?
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- This tree along the Craggy Pinnacle Trail was made famous when Sharon Canter’s photo of it won “Best in Show” in the 10th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition. View the photo at https://www.appmtnphotocomp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/canter-another-autumn.jpg
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- At several points along the trail, the craggy trees thin out and you can see long-range vistas.
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- Craggy Pinnacle looks down on a curving stretch of the Parkway.
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- Sunrays were cutting through the thick clouds over the mountains.
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- Sunrays lit up the fog as it rolled in.
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- We’d planned on watching the sunset from Craggy Pinnacle, but thick fog rolled in and obscured the view.
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- Several hikers started to make their way back down the trail when the fog rolled in.
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- We could just see the sun lighting up a small bit of the sky below the cloud line.
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- We missed the sunset, but the colors at dusk were lovely across from Glassmine Falls Overlook, Milepost 361.2.
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- Conclusion: loveliest road in the world.
