May 13 Chimney Rock

The tourist attraction and now state park has an interesting history. The rock itself and 64 surrounding acres were purchased by Dr Lucius Morse and his two brothers in 1902 for $5000. In the background of the above photo, you can see the Broad River and Lake Lure. 

The Morses had to get folks across the river to trek up to the rock. In 1916 they built a bridge which washed away about a month later during the great flood of 1916. They rebuilt and folks could drive a dirt track up the base of the rock where they could climb a wood staircase to the top.

In 1949 an elevator was built through nearby rock to get tourists up for the final staircase climb. The elevator shaft is 258 feet through solid rock. A 198 foot tunnel was bored to access the elevator. And, of course, the elevator lets you out at the top in a gift shop.

In 2005 the state of NC learned that the Morse family was interested in selling the 996 acres they had acquired. Working with a Land Trust, the park was purchased for $24 million which included a huge $2.35 million gift from Fred and Alice Stanback. The state has also acquired some nearby properties on the other side of the gorge. Two of these, World's Edge and Rumbling Bald are now open to the public.

Initially the state named the state park Hickory Nut Gorge State Park but changed the name to Chimney Rock.

Poison Ivy in bloom

Solomon's Seal

It cost me $17 to enter the park. The stair system is massive. It appears to be prefab sections of galvanized steel staircase networked together. It was impressive. I was surprised to learn the elevation on top of Chimney Rock itself was only 2280'. After a quick visit to the rock, I climbed further and took the trail to the top of Hickory Nut Falls. The photo above is part of a staircase of falls before the water freefalls out over the rock face for 404 feet.

198' tunnel to access the elevator

After returning from the top of the falls, I rode the elevator down and hiked the trail to base of the falls. The sun was just shining on the top of the waterfall at that time.