Stony Bald View on the Blue Ridge Parkway

View: ♦ ♦ ♦ / 5
Trails: Mountains to Sea Trail, Shut-In Trail
Picnic Tables: None

The Stony Bald View pullout is one of seven overlooks within a 4-mile span along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’m not sure where Stony Bald is—the term “bald” refers to a mountain with grass and shrubs on its summit instead of trees—because every mountain in the vista is covered with trees. Perhaps the “names of old” have been made obsolete by the new growth on mountains that were once heavily logged. The view is rather flat, with a couple rows of mountains running parallel to the viewing area, but you do get a clear look at the vista.

Panoramic view from Stoney Bald View stop on the Blue Ridge Parkway (click to enlarge)

You can also pick up the Mountains to Sea / Shut-In Trail from here. The trail passes through the overlook, with one trailhead located on the right side of the parking lot (if you are looking at the mountains) and the other on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Walk back out to the road and take a right. The trail beings a short ways down and on the opposite side of the road.

The Shut-In Trail runs 16.3 miles from the Buck Springs Gap Overlook parking lot to Bent Creek near North Carolina Highway 191 (near Blue Ridge Parkway Mile Post 393). For its entire length, it and the Mountains to Sea Trail are the same (the trails stick closely to the Parkway route).

The Mountains to Sea Trail is a 1,150-mile trail that stretches from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the North Carolina Outer Banks. However, only about half of the miles are on original trail, with the rest following the paths of existing trails such as the Shut-In Trail. The MTS is not part of the National Park system, so I did not hike or review it, but you can get information on the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail website.

Next Stop South | Next Stop North | Scenic Overlooks

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