Easy parking to head of the trail taking you to the waterfall…read more The cascades. So beautiful. We enjoyed reading about different trees & vegetation along the way. Terrific short hike with easy to moderate difficulty. Great hike with kids. Rewarding to arrive and just sit and listen/watch the falls.

Great rest stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway with picnic tables, overlook, and hiking trail with…read moreoverlooks of the Cascade Falls. Hike is easy to moderate and 30-45 minutes round trip. Restroom facilities are currently not available.

This passive park is at the corner of Main Street and Pine Street. It is a passive park with a…read moremarker that provides some context. It reads, "The park design pays tribute to the architecture of the Blue Ridge Hotel, which once stood on the very same corner where the park will be. Robertson recalls living in the Blue Ridge Hotel with Carlos Jones as they both lived and worked on Main Street. "Carlos was killed in 1945 during WWII while he was serving in the Navy. Before he left, he and I both worked downtown. Memories with Carlos were mainly from staying at the hotel had one room together. I don't know how we paid for it... I didn't make but $6 a week and he didn't make much more - hotels must have been right cheap in those days. "He was a nice and friendly person. We got along real well... he was easy to get along with. He came from a good family and had several brothers..." The park officially opened on September 20, 2014. "The Blue Ridge Hotel (Inn) once stood on this corner of Oak and Main Streets; actually four of them were located here throughout the years. The first one was built around 1823 (made of wood)and after several years, it burned to the ground. The second Blue Ridge Hotel (Inn) was rebuilt sometime between 1835 and 1840 and it stood until the 1880s. The coming of the railroad in 1888 catapulted the Blue Ridge Hotel (Inn) to great heights. Around 1891 the third Blue Ridge Hotel was rebuilt at the same location, but the Great Fire on New Years Day in 1892 destroyed the hotel and the whole city block. Shortly after, a group of business owners rebuilt the hotel, which was revered as one of the best in the state, serving the community and many visitors until around 1965. The park design was built to commemorate the unique architecture of this iconic, grand hotel that was a beacon in this region for nearly 150 years." There are some benches and some cover here but there isn't a playground or anything like that. There is street parking all around. [Review 1752 of 2024 - 3672 in North Carolina - 22775 overall]

It was an amazing day outside and so we wanted to take our two dog babies out for a walk. We went…read moreinto this facility and it was extremely clean and well maintained! The trail was very easy to find and it had a few different loops. Even though the distance isn't that far, the elevation was a little bit more of a hike than we bargained for. There were amazing views and it was a pretty easy trail to walk. 10 out of 10. Highly recommend! We will be back to hike next time here as well. The best part of it is that the trail ends the river which is a beautiful view and there are benches and tables if you want to sit down and have a snack and rest.

The Camp Host at the RV section shows up at my rv door about an hour into getting set up. I open…read morethe door thinking it's my people and this dude about gets his face ripped off by a Belgian Malinois! Maybe try to just leisurely chat with people outside if you don't like the fact someone is parked kinda in the grass. Would that really have been worth it dude? Anyways, the park is another amazing NC State Park.

After a couple of hours on the road, Foster-Tyson Park in Jefferson made for a really welcome…read morebreak. It's a small, easy-going spot with a gazebo, a picnic table and a few short walking trails that let you stretch your legs without committing to anything strenuous. The park has that quiet mountain-town feel, and it was exactly the kind of place where you can take a slow stroll, breathe a little and reset before getting back into the car. [Review 875 of 2026 - 4766 in North Carolina - 26056 overall]

Town Park, home to the Independence Farmer's Market, sits just off Main Street and even late on a…read moreFriday with nothing set up you can still picture how lively it must get, with the open pavilion anchoring the space, grassy edges framing where vendors set up, and clear spots where tents, produce tables, baked goods, and musicians would normally gather. It's a simple, useful small-town civic green that turns into a community hub when the market is in full swing, and even when it's completely you can sense exactly how the place comes alive on a Saturday morning. [Review 888 of 2026 - 1539 in Virginia - 26069 overall]

This is an amazing little campground right on the New River. Exceptionally manicured and…read moremaintained grounds with level, gravel RV sites, all full hookup and excellent free WiFi access throughout the campground! The bathhouse is clean and modern. They also have a few tents sites as well as two bunkhouses with air conditioning, beds, small refrigerators, and coffee makers. The owner are onsite and are most gracious, friendly, and welcoming people you will ever meet. They have kayaks and canoes for rent and a shuttle service up and down the river from their site. Whether you want to fish, tube, or just enjoy the river, this quiet, family friendly campground is one of the best places to hang out. They go out of their way to make sure everyone has a great experience here. Definitely one to make a regular stay.

A very nice stop along the parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway…read moreis a 470-mile-long roadway that meanders through the mountains and connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The parkway boasts about 170 official stops along the path. This site is one of these many stops. This particular stop is just before a sharp turn when coming from the north and just after it when coming from the south. Like many other pull-offs, it has a small area to pull off the road and stop. It does not have diagonal parking spaces but it does have a pretty view across several ranges. This particular view is looking down a valley and so most of the ranges aren't perpendicular to you. The ranges are at an angle to you. We got there at a good time and could see the broad panoramic view. There were not many trees in the way and so the view is a very nice one. This particular stop does not have any restrooms, trailheads or tables. It is just a stop with a nice view of several ranges south of the Blue ridge parkway.

This is a very unusual tree along the side of a rural residential road. There isn't much to see,…read morebut nobody will bother you if you stop to take pictures.