Rumbling Bald is a satellite area of Chimney Rock State Park. The State Park was created in 2004 with the purchase of most of the private attraction "Chimney Rock". We are all familiar with that attraction, elevator in the rock, flagpole and the myriad staircases among the craggy rocks. That is just a small part of a wonderfully sculpted topography collectively known as Hickory Nut Gorge. In 2008 Rumbling Bald was purchased and added to the State Park. It contained a local party spot, known as "Party Rock". A 1.6 mile trail was completed in 2015, connecting several boulder fields and cliff climbing areas. That is the hike we took today.
Beauty Bush
The park map and description does not go into full detail of this area. I thought we were going to do a 1.6 mile loop trail but it was so much more. The climbing areas are designated as Hanging Chain, West Side, Central and East Side Boulder Fields. They are all areas of large rocks which have fallen off the vertical cliffs above. Hanging Chain is off limits now, officially, but that has not stopped bouldering enthusiast from trespassing to this area.
Each bouldering area has a rabbit warren of trails through it. We meandered on a number of these. Who knows how many miles of social trails are here, but my guess is a full days worth of wandering.
If you are interested in coming here, it is a popular place. Despite the recently constructed 100 space parking area, the place does fill up and closes.
I think the rock came first
There is evidence of a wildfire which burned through here in 2016. We could see a charred log here and there. Most of the forest lived through that fire and thrives today.
At the kiosk, we read a notice that caves are now closed to entry. As we walked near the cliff, you could see several spots which were likely caves. We also saw a number of spots where you could passage under the rocks. So there is much exploring to do here. Waiting until the leaves have is a good idea, since the cliff views will be much more evident.
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