© Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com Mount Mitchell State Park is more than doubling in size after The Conservation Fund purchased thousands of acres in the Black Mountains, the highest range in the Eastern U.S. Black Mountain Crest Trail will now officially lead to Cattail Peak.

Is hiking in the Western North Carolina mountains, which by the way are the highest in the Eastern United States – the best idea?

Yes, actually. While we can have wildly vacillating temperatures and precipitation from the 2,200-foot-elevation of Asheville up to the tip of Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi at 6,684 feet, having the proper gear, clothing and know-how can make WNC winter hiking spectacular.

“It’s a great time of year to hike. You get views. A lot of trails are so wooded the rest of the year, but in the winter, with leaves off trees, you get great views, there’s no bugs, and the temperature can be invigorating. People just have to be careful about snow and ice,” said John Whitehouse, president of the North Carolina High Peaks Trail Association.

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And he should know. The Burnsville-based nonprofit not only leads hikes and does trail maintenance year-round in the Black Mountain Range, which includes Mount Mitchell, it doubles as the Friends of Mount Mitchell State Park, raising funds for a wide variety of much-needed park improvements.

On Jan. 16 the group was named the 2019 recipient of the Locke Craig Award, the highest honor given yearly by the N.C. State Parks System to a private group or individual for exceptional dedication to public service and commitment to conservation.

In presenting the award, Parks and Recreation Director Dwayne Patterson called out the group for its “exceptional spirit of dedication to public service and the commitment to conservation.”

NC High Peaks, founded in 2010 by Whitehouse, Jake Blood and Alan Orovitz, has accomplished much in the past decade, including installing a state-of-the-art weather station at the park, purchasing and installing a low-power radio station – 1630 AM - that will broadcast traveler information, at $13,000, a fraction of the original price, with donations left in collection boxes at the park.

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“The radio station will be a big help,” said Mount Mitchell Superintendent Kevin Bischof. “We can transmit everything from emergency road closures to basic information that visitors frequently ask about. You wouldn’t believe how many people think there is a gas station someplace high on the mountain.”

The most recent project has been rehabilitating the badly-eroded Mount Mitchell Trail. The 6-mile trail starts at the Black Mountain Campground off N.C. 80 in the South Toe River Valley to the summit of Mount Mitchell.

“The trail is the main route hikers take when they want to climb Mt. Mitchell,” said Blood, who spearheaded the group’s initial efforts to win a succession of three $60,000 grants. “It’s so eroded in places that hikers are literally walking down a muddy wash that’s cut four- or five-feet deep into the mountain.”

“The Craig Award was a complete surprise. There are 41 state parks and many volunteer groups so as a relatively new group, we’re very honored. It will help us in future in getting more grants for work on trails,” Whitehouse said.

See below for WNC winter hiking spots.

Stay safe: 10 tips for safe winter hiking

The North Carolina Arboretum

For those looking for less of a winter adventure and more well-maintained trails in a beautiful, wooded setting, visit the N.C. Arboretum, just south of Asheville in the Bent Creek Area. Access the Arboretum off N.C. 191 or at Milepost 393 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Bonus: While there is a parking fee, it is half-off the first Tuesday of every month, which is Feb. 4. AAA members also receive $1 off personal vehicles, and parking is always free for N.C. Arboretum members.

© File photo A little hiking each week will clear the mind, body and soul.

“It’s 434 acres and the majority is within forested areas, and there’s the serenity of Bent Creek running through the property, the rushing water a beauty in itself," said Arboretum marketing manager Whitney Smith."

The Arboretum has 10 miles of trails, ranging from the easy to strenuous. There’s the ¾-mile Natural Garden Trail, which connects the main two garden areas and also serves as a TRACK Trail, a self-guided trail aimed at children through a partnerships with the parkway and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

The moderate, Carolina Mountain Trail is 1.2 miles one-way and highlights native trees, runs along Bent Creek and Running Cedar Road.

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The strenuous Owl Ridge Trail is the upper portion of a recreational loop open to hikers and pets on leashes and mountain bikers. The natural-surface section of the loop is about 1 mile, joining Rocky Cove Road with Hard Times Road, and is a connection to the lower trail which crosses the creek to rejoin Bent Creek Road, making the whole loop about 3.5 miles.

For more information, including fees and hours, visit www.ncarboretum.org.

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Mount Mitchell State Park

If the highest peak in the East sounds cold, it is. Ranger Jake Gardner said the state park about an hour’s drive northeast of Asheville, at Milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, can be 20 degrees colder than Asheville on any given day, with winds blowing 30-40 mph.

But as long as the parkway is open – the only vehicle entrance to the park is at MP 355 off the parkway at N.C. 128 – the hiking is grand, Gardner said.

“Since we’re so high up in winter, our views, whenever it’s clear and you’re hiking, are truly spectacular,” he said.

© Maddy Jones/mjones@citizen-times.com Mount Mitchell State Park will be more than doubling in size after The Conservation Fund purchased thousands of acres in the Black Mountains, the highest range in the Eastern U.S.

As of Jan. 18, the entire parkway was closed for snow and ice from MP 402-382. The Visitor Center (MP 384) and Folk Art Center (MP 382) remain open. A section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail connects the two. Parkway spokeswoman Leesa Brandon said she hoped parts of the parkway would start to open by the end of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Gardner suggests the Old Mitchell Trail, which starts at the park office and heads 2 strenuous miles up to the summit. Expect some muddy sections, some really steep steps and a section where you need a rope to assist yourself up or down. At least ankle-high hiking boots are a must, Gardner said.

The trail to Mount Craig, which starts at the summit picnic area, goes out about 1.5 moderate miles to the park’s second highest summit at 6,648 feet, for a 3-mile round-trip.

“There are some strenuous sections and rock crossings. The view from Mount Craig is more open and you’re usually beating the crowds since most people are going to the summit overlook,” he said.

RELATED: Mount Mitchell State Park doubles in size

The nearly 11-mile round-trip Mount Mitchell Trail, accessible even when the parkway is closed, starts at the Black Mountain Trail in Burnsville. It is still under renovation, but is open to the public. It is strenuous, with an elevation gain of 3,500 feet. The upper section, where there is noticeable improvement with the installation of box steps, can be accessed from the summit.

For more information and weather conditions, visit the N.C. High Peaks Trail Association.

DuPont State Recreational Forest

The 10,000-acre state forest about an hour southwest of Asheville in Henderson and Transylvania counties is free and open year-round. There are more than 80 miles of roads and hiking trails, some open to just hikers, some to hikers, horses and mountain bikers.

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The state forest is most well-known for its luscious waterfalls, including the easy 0.75-mile-round-trip Hooker Falls, and the more strenuous climbs to Triple Falls and High Falls, accessible off Staton Road at the Hooker Falls parking area, or from the Visitor Center.

Want to try something different? Try the Cedar Rock Trail to get on top of large slabs of exposed granite and sweeping winter views of the surrounding forest.

Start at the Corn Mill Shoals Access Area on Cascade Lake Road in Cedar Mountain for a nearly 3-mile loop trail. This trail is shared with mountain bikes. Enter the woods at the sign for Corn Mill Shoals Trail, which bears to the right. Very shortly, turn left onto the Big Rock Trail. Climb through a trail heavily lined with rhododendron and arrive at an opening in a half-mile. Continue northeast up the big rock slabs, then enter a pitch pine forest. After about a mile, you’ll emerge on another granite overlook.

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Continue to the trailhead for the Cedar Rock Trail. To make a loop, turn right and start descending until the intersection with the Little River Trail. Turn right at the Corn Mill Shoals Trail and then left at the fork with the Big Rock Trail to return to the parking area.

Call the park office ahead for weather and road and trail conditions before heading out at 828-877-6527 or visit www.dupontforest.com.

Chimney Rock State Park

The 5,700-acre park in Rutherford County is 25 miles southeast of Asheville on U.S. 64/74A. For the Chimney Rock attraction (which includes the elevator, the Chimney Rock, Hickory Nut Falls, Exclamation Point and other popular hiking trails), turn right at the entrance sign in the village.

For the Rumbling Bald Access, which contains hiking trails and rock climbing, continue one mile on U.S. 74A. Turn left on Boys Camp Road. Travel 2 miles and turn left at the climbing area entrance. Access here is free.

© Courtesy of Chimney Rock State Park A wintertime view of Hickory Nut Gorge, including Lake Lure, from the top of the Chimney at Chimney Rock State Park.

The attraction portion of the park is closed Wednesday and Thursday through early March as repairs continue on the upper parking lot that collapsed two years ago, said park spokesman Nick Stauber. The good news is that during the winter the park admission fee is discounted.

The most popular trail is the Hickory Nut Falls path to the 404-foot waterfall, made famous by the 1992 film, “Last of the Mohicans.”

“Most people like seeing it in all seasons, but what’s nice about winter, you can see more of it because it’s usually covered by leaves,” Stauber said. The hike is 1.5 miles round-trip. While it’s not suitable for strollers, the park offers baby backpack carriers for rent.

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“The newly renovated Skyline Trail is also a great way to capture some other vantage points that you usually don’t see just going up to the Chimney. You get great views of the Hickory Nut Gorge along the way,” he said.

It’s a moderate to strenuous 2.2 miles to the top of Hickory Nut Falls, for 4.4 miles round-trip, starting at the Outcropping Trail, or steps, in the upper parking lot, which is open to the public the rest of the week.

© Courtesy of Chimney Rock Park Hikers take part in a First Day Hike at Chimney Rock State Park Jan. 1. The park in Rutherford County offers many trail options throughout the winter.

The trail fluctuates with up- and down-hills, switchbacks and stream crossings, but with natural places to stop along the way and catch your breath with overlooks and picnic tables. The highest point is Peregrine’s Point at 2,600 feet.

The elevator is now open, in case you want to skip the 500 steps of the Outcropping Trail that leads to the overlook at the iconic Chimney Rock.

Winter rates are $10 per adult, $5 for ages 5-15 and free for ages 4 and younger through March 8. For more details visit chimneyrockpark.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC hiking trails: These are the best winter hiking spots