Stack Rock Parking Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway
View: ♦ ♦ ♦ / 5
Trails: Tanawha Trail / Mountains to Sea Trail
Picnic Tables: None
There is no view from the Stack Rock Parking Area. The pullout serves as parking for the Tanawha Trail, which runs from the Beacon Heights Parking Area one stop to the south to Julian Price Park farther north, a distance of 13.5 miles. The Tanawha Trail is also part of the Mountains to Sea Trail, a collection of shorter trails that when strung together makes a 1,150-mile path across the state of North Carolina, connecting Great Smokey Mountains National Park with the Outer Banks on the Atlantic Ocean. A connector trail is located on the left side of the parking area. It’s only 100 feet before you come to the intersection with the Tanawha Trail.
While there is no view at the Stack Rock Parking Area, all you have to do is walk down the Blue Ridge Parkway to a makeshift overlook to get a great view of the valley.
Makeshift overlook down the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Stack Rock Parking Area
Panoramic view of valley from the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Stack Rock Parking Area (click to enlarge)
Farther down the Blue Ridge Parkway is Stack Rock Bridge, and if you make the short trip to it, you can see the namesake “Stack Rock.” Keep in mind that there is no pedestrian walkway on the bridge, so it’s not the safest decision you’ll make that day. You can also see the Stack Rock by hiking north on the Tanawha Trail (left at the connector trail intersection) for about a quarter mile. The Tanawha Trail is extremely rocky, though it is fairly level. I didn’t hike the trail here, but I did hike a segment of it farther north.
Stack Rock as seen from the Stack Rock Bridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Next Stop South | Next Stop North | Scenic Overlooks
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Last updated on December 13, 2023
