Old Fort is all about escape, whether it’s deep into the woods on a trail or into the past in a museum. A weekend in Old Fort offers a diverse mix of history, hiking, and hucking.
Day 1
Morning
Hike the Fonta Flora State Trail. Someday it will be possible to hike from Morganton to Asheville, on the Fonta Flora State Trail. Currently, about 33 miles of the 100-mile trail are complete, including a 3-mile run just outside Old Fort also known as Copper Ridge. The trail, which can be accessed off Old U.S. 70 in town, has its ups and downs as it explores the Blue Ridge Escarpment. A great way to sample a more rugged stretch of the Fonta Flora State Trail. Distance: 3 miles of trail. Difficulty: Moderately strenuous.
Afternoon
The Way We Were: Mountain Gateway Museum. A morning of exploring the challenging terrain outside town will set the stage for appreciating the transportation challenges faced by 19th Century residents. Appreciate those challenges and others with a visit to the Mountain Gateway Museum. Two cabins – one with the “lucky 13 configuration” (13 logs, 13 beams, 13 joists) believed to conjure good luck – give a sense of domestic life, while an economic driver of the time is reflected in “The Spirit of the Mountains: Moonshine and Appalachian Life” exhibit. The museum is part of the Division of State History Museums in the NC Office of Archives and History.
- Website: https://www.mgmnc.org/
Early evening
The Falls we Fall for. “Waterfall” is a casually used term. Often, it’s used to describe a mere plunge over rock, a modest cascade. But when it comes to Catawba Falls, there’s no mistaking that this is a Bonafide Waterfall, consisting of the 205-foot Upper Falls and the 80-foot Lower Falls. A1.5-mile trail takes you upstream along the Catawba River to the falls, which were made all the more accessible in 2024 with the opening of an impressive staircase that includes three overlooks and a 60-foot observation tower. You can either return the way you came or continue on the loop’s more challenging upland route for a 3.5-mile round trip.
Day 2
Morning
Go for a ride. Old Fort is the start and finish to the Off-Road Assault on Mount Mitchell, a 60-mile mountain bike race with more than 9,000 vertical feet of climbing; it’s home to a private mountain bike park; and it’s the gateway to the newest and hottest trail network in the Pisgah National Forest, the Old Fort Gateway Trail System. Eventually, the Gateway network will total 42 miles; currently, about six are on the ground offering something for all levels of riders, from beginners to hucksters. The trail network is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, the non-profit Camp Greer, and local communities known as the G5 Trail Collective.
Afternoon
From Trails to Rails: Historic Old Fort Train Museum. The railroad once played a key role in Old Fort life, with track reaching town in 1869 and eventually making it to Asheville 11 years later. The struggle to make that connection, which required seven hand-dug tunnels, is just part of the story told at the Old Fort Train Museum; you’ll also learn about what travel by rail was like until passenger service ended in 1975. After recovering from Helene and reopening in July, the museum will only be open the fourth Sunday of every month through 2025.