Agile Trekker: Fork Ridge Overlook to Woodfin Creek, Mountains to Sea Trail, Segment 2, miles 2.5

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/6/2024	5 miles	2 hours 40 minutes	756'	2.1 mph	514.6 miles

Parking:

Fork Ridge Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway

Map:

Gai Gps app
FarOut app

Directions:

From the parking area, cross the street, and turn right on the BRP. Pass the immediate trailhead for the MST and continue to walk next to the BRP until the trail enters the woods on the left side. Follow the MST to a creek with a bridge over it (just before another parkway overlook). Return the same way.

This morning, we looked for a place with a good weather forecast and found that there was no rain forecasted for the Waterrock Knob area. So, we headed out to that area to do another section of the MST. We parked at Fork Ridge Overlook, which has an amazing wildflower display right across the street. We stopped there on the way back to look at all of the butterflies. There is milkweed growing there, but we didn't see any monarch butterflies.

The road walk along the BRP wasn't too bad as far as road walks go. I mean, I wouldn't do it again, but we felt safe walking on the grass next to the parkway. Once on the trail, I expected not to see any hikers, but we did run into 3 groups, some with dogs. This section of the trail has no views and had some BRP noise at some points, but I still enjoyed it. Why? The trail was well maintained, and the tread was pretty good - lots of sections with no rocks or roots. The hike was downhill during the first part and uphill during the second part. I would recommend doing this hike starting at the Woodfin Cascades Overlook Parking lot, and hiking to the BRP, then tuning around. That way you skip the parkway walk and you do the uphill portion on the first half of the hike (always more enjoyable that way). We didn't bother stopping to see the waterfall at the Woodfin Cascades Overlook parking area, as we've seen it before and were not particularly impressed by it.

A great day to be out - we had cooler weather than Asheville, and no rain :)