Blue Ridge Music Center Trail Map (click to enlarge)

Length:  2.75-mile loop
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: High Meadow Trail: easy / Fisher Peak Loop Trail: moderate

There are two trails at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The High Meadow Trail runs approximately 1.25 miles from the Music Center to the hiker parking lot on Foothills Road (State Route 612). The Fisher Peak Loop Trail branches off from the High Meadow Trail and forms a C shape. You must hike back on the High Meadow Trail to return to either the hiker parking lot or the Blue Ridge Music Center parking lot. You can access the trails from either location.

The High Meadow Trail is easier and more scenic, but it is an out-and-back trail, and I hate seeing the same things twice. The Fisher Peak Loop Trail is a little tougher, but to hike it you must also hike the majority of the High Meadow Trail, thus killing two birds with one stone. That’s what I opted to do.

As mentioned, there is a parking lot on SR 612 specifically for hikers so that they don’t have to deal with the crowded parking lot at the Blue Ridge Music Center. Also, the Music Center gate is locked when the facility closes, so if you park at the Music Center and aren’t done hiking by closing time, you’ll be locked in. There is no gate to the hiker parking lot. However, DO NOT USE IT unless you have to. First off, it’s a half-mile hike from the hiker parking lot to where the Fisher Peak Loop Trail starts versus a quarter mile if you park at the Blue Ridge Music Center. Second, you must travel up and down a steep hill from the hiker parking lot versus hiking along a relatively flat and easy trail from the Music Center. Therefore, if you can find a parking spot at the Music Center and are sure to be out before closing time, that’s where you’ll want to start your hike.

The High Meadow Trail begins behind the Blue Ridge Music Center on the left side of the building (if standing in the parking lot and looking at the building). There is a staircase that leads down to the trail, and from there it’s an easy hike to the intersection with the Fisher Peak Loop Trail. Along the way you will pass a field and cross over East Fork Chestnut Creek on a footbridge. Later on in the hike you must cross a few streams on stepping stones, and some of these areas tend to be muddy. Do not wear your Sunday-best shoes for this hike.

Picturesque field passed on the first quarter mile of the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

I decided to take the Fisher Peak Loop Trail first and return on the High Meadow Trail. To do so, take a left at the intersection, which is clearly marked with a directional sign. The trail leads to the top of Fisher Peak and immediately begins uphill, and it’s pretty much an uphill slog for the next .6 mile. However, the climb is moderate, and any really steep sections—there are a few, particularly on the last quarter mile—only last a hundred feet or so. There are also short, level reprieves here and there.

Hilly terrain on the Fisher Peak Loop Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

In the fall the trail will be covered with leaves, and at some sections it’s hard to see. To keep on the right path, look for blue blazes whenever the trail appears to peter out. Blazes are paint splotches on the trees that you follow like Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. Also be aware that the trail is narrow and there are plenty of roots on the surface. In the fall the leaves cover these up, making them hard to spot when it comes to putting your foot down in the right place.

Blue blazes mark the Fisher Peak Loop Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Once you reach the top of Fisher Peak you have about a tenth of a mile of fairly level terrain before starting back downhill. Depending on the season, you may be able to see the Blue Ridge Music Center from here.

The downhill section of the trail lasts about .3 mile and is comprised of a series of ups and downs, with more down that up. The difficulty is similar to the uphill climb you just made. There is a small creek at the bottom that you must cross on stepping stones. Since creeks and streams usually lie at the bottom of ravines, it should come as no surprise that not long after crossing you’ll be heading back uphill, but this time only for a tenth of mile. After that, it’s downhill once again for .4 mile until you reach the intersection with the High Meadow Trail.

As you get nearer to the High Meadow Trail, the forest thins, the trees get taller, and the Fisher Peak Loop Trail widens from the narrow footpath hemmed in on both sides with vegetation into a trail wide enough to drive an ATV on.

The Fisher Peak Loop Trail widens as it nears the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The intersection with the High Meadow Trail (and the turnoff for the hiker’s parking lot on SR 612) comes 1.8 miles from the start of the hike at the Blue Ridge Music Center (1.5 miles on the Fisher Peak Loop Trail). At this point you are still in the forest, but just a minute farther ahead the trail emerges from the woods and onto a large meadow. (Note that the High Meadow Trail route is marked with red blazes.)

Transition from forest to meadow on the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

I started the hike around 11 AM in mid-October, and it was 12:30 PM when I came to the meadow. This turned out to be the perfect time to do the hike, for the sun was behind my back and illuminated the meadow perfectly.

Meadow on the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Panoramic view of the meadow on the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway (click to enlarge)

The High Meadow Trail follows the tree line around the meadow for just a few minutes, then briefly darts back into the forest before coming back out on the same meadow. I have no idea why it goes into the forest, as it could just as easily continued following the tree line, but that’s the route. When you get back to the meadow, look for a stone post near another wooded area. There is a second meadow on the other side of the trees, and this post marks a path that connects the two meadows together. It’s short, no more than fifty yards.

Location of the short path that connects two meadows on the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Entering the second meadow on the High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The trail then cuts across the second meadow for a tenth of a mile before entering the forest once again. And by the way, just because you are walking through a meadow doesn’t mean the terrain is flat.

The High Meadow Trail at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway enters back into the forest

The last leg of the journey proceeds once again through the forest along a narrow footpath just as it did at the start of the hike. There are a lot of rhododendrons in this area, and that usually means plenty of roots on the trail, so watch your step. You have about .4 mile to hike before reaching the intersection with the Fisher Peak Loop Trail and starting the final quarter mile back to the Blue Ridge Music Center.

Arriving back at the Blue Ridge Music Center after hiking the High Meadow and Fisher Peak Loop trails

The High Meadow Trail – Fisher Peak Loop Trail hike is not a bad way to spend your time. The meadow is very pretty, and the hike through the forest is also enjoyable. I wasn’t expecting to see many people on the trails, for I assumed most everyone who stopped at the Blue Ridge Music Center was there to hear music or visit the Roots of American Music Museum, but I ran into a half dozen or so hikers along the way. One man who started at the Music Center was hiking only the High Meadow Trail and had planned to travel all the way to the hiker parking lot. I explained to him that this was a bad idea because there was nothing to see beyond the meadows, and no reason to continue farther unless he planned to hike the Fisher Peak Loop Trail. This is my suggestion for anyone hiking only the High Meadow Trail starting at the Blue Ridge Music Center.

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