Imagine being within a half hour or so of not one, but five of the state’s top adventure destinations. Well, imagine yourself in Morganton, where a short drive takes you to two state parks, three state trails, a wilderness area and “the Grand Canyon of the East,” offering a range of hiking, mountain biking, cycling, paddling, fishing and more. Plan to spend a day, at least, at each location.
South Mountains State Park
Adventure options: Hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing
Drive from Morganton: 25 minutes (15 minutes to the park’s Clear Creek Access)
Most come to South Mountains to visit High Shoals Falls, an 80-foot waterfall that keeps on giving even after reaching its rocky base. And you should pay a visit, too. But continue on and you’ll discover you pretty much have all to yourself the 47 miles of trail open to hiking, the 17 open to mountain biking, and the 35 for equestrians. For a slightly different experience, head to the Clear Creek Access where you can take a leisurely 1.3-mile walk around the lake, or enjoy some of the park’s elevation gain (700 feet worth) on the 2.2-mile Clear Creek Trail. Website: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/south-mountains-state-park
Lake James State Park
Adventure options: Hiking, mountain biking, fishing, paddling, swimming
Drive from Morganton: 25 minutes
At Lake James, it’s not a question of what can you do, but what will you have time to do. Will you have time to hike 22 miles on the park’s trails? Will you have time to hit the 14 miles of mountain bike trails, or paddle the 6,812-acre lake with 150 miles of shoreline, or swim at the Paddy’s Creek beach, or fish for muskellunge or white catfish (the state records for both were caught here), or picnic, or – whew!, it’s tiring just thinking about the options! And did we mention that the park is home to stretches of both the Overmountain Victory State Trail and the Fonta Flora State Trail, and that you can connect to the state-spanning Mountains-to-Sea Trail? The park opens at 7 a.m., btw; plan to get an early start.
Fonta Flora State Trail
Adventure options: Hiking, cycling
Travel time from Morganton: The eastern end of the trail is in town, Fonta Flora County Park is a 20-minute drive.
Though authorized just 10 years ago, the FFST already has 33 of its envisioned 100 miles complete, all but three of which are in Morganton’s immediate vicinity. In fact, you can catch the eastern end of the trail right in town, on a 4-mile stretch piggybacking on the Catawba River Greenway. If you want to experience what the bulk of the trail will be like – indeed, what the future of trails will look like – head to Fonta Flora County Park, where you’ll find about 9 miles of the most expertly groomed multiuse trail around (plus another 6 miles farther west at Lake James). The doublewide natural-surface trail is foot-friendly and is designed to roll with terrain. Experience the future of trails today, on the Fonta Flora State Trail. Websites: https://www.fontaflorastatetrail.com/; https://trails.nc.gov/state-trails
Linville Gorge
Adventure options: Hiking, fly fishing
Travel time from Morganton: 25 minutes
The 10,000-acre Linville Gorge Wilderness offers one of the most rugged adventures to be had along the East Coast – if you want it to be. If you simply want to see what the fuss is about, the Linville Falls Visitor Center remains closed from Helene, but you can still see Linville Falls and the gorge by hiking a short distance from Wiseman’s View Road. A more … vigorous way to experience the gorge is to take the gravel Wolf Pit Road access off NC 126, drive as far as you can, park and hike “up” (gaining 1,050 vertical feet) a mile and a half to Shortoff Mountain. From atop Shortoff’s many rocky overlooks you’ll have a sweeping view, of the Linville River 1,300 feet below, of Lake James to the south, of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. Pack a lunch and something comfy to sit on: you’ll want to savor one of the best views in the state. Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/northcarolina/recreation/linville-gorge-wil…
Wilson Creek
Adventure options: Hiking, whitewater kayaking, tubing, fly fishing
Drive time from Morganton: 35 minutes
You know you’re in for a good time when you discover your tires – your car tires -- will never touch pavement in this 49,000-acre playground. The main attraction here is 23.3-mile Wilson Creek, a National Wild and Scenic River that originates atop Grandfather Mountain.
The creek attracts skilled whitewater paddlers and tubers alike, not to mention fly fishing afficionados. If you’re into waterfalls you won’t be disappointed; Harper Creek Falls is just a mile-and-a-half hike from the Wilson Creek Visitor Center, and dozens of others are scattered throughout. The area is a gravel biker’s dream, with routes like the 56-mile Wilson’s Revenge, and the hiking – oh, the hiking! To stunning overlooks such as Big Lost Cove, to a series of stone-encased swimming holes on Gragg Prong (accessed via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail), to a seemingly endless supply of waterfalls. Website: https://www.visitnc.com/listing/P3Qq/wilson-creek-a-wild-and-scenic-riv…