This state park in North Carolina ranks among nation’s best. Why adventurers love it
A North Carolina state park boasts “dramatic mountain scenery” — and ranks among the nation’s best outdoor spaces.
Chimney Rock State Park — a popular place for hiking, rock climbing and other recreational activities — earned a spot on a list of “50 U.S. State Parks Everyone Should Visit in their Lifetime,” according to results published Monday, April 10.
To create the list, the review website Yelp said it considered places that garnered several park-related comments.
The website “then ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning ‘state park’ between January 1st, 2022 and January 1st, 2023. This list looked at only businesses in the United States, with a limit of 5 spots in each state and excluded state natural preserves.”
Though North Carolina is brimming with outdoor destinations, Chimney Rock State Park was the only place in the state to land on the national list. The park, roughly 25 miles southeast of Asheville, gives adventurers a chance to explore the backcountry or soak in views of Lake Lure and Hickory Nut Gorge.
“At the fee-based Chimney Rock attraction, hike to Hickory Nut Falls and take an elevator or climb to the top of the park’s namesake, a 315-foot freestanding rock spire,” the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation wrote on its website.
Over time, several visitors have flocked to Yelp to rave about the park’s opportunities to see wildlife and high-elevation scenery. Many shared photos of the area’s waterfall, which some said was worth the hike.
Chimney Rock State Park, which earned more than four out of five stars on Yelp, isn’t a stranger to receiving recognition. Last month, Southern Living magazine named it North Carolina’s best state park, calling it a “hiker’s paradise,” CharlotteFive reported.
On the more recent list, the top-ranking destination in the country was Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 12:14 PM.
