Rough Ridge Overlook is a very popular overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. It is located on Milepost 302.8 and the elevation is 4293′. There is a short hiking trail which starts from the parking area. It is about 1/3 miles long and is moderate in difficulty. The trail crosses a bridge over a small stream and leads to a wooden boardwalk offering spectacular views of Linn Cove Viaduct, Grandfather Mountain and surrounding areas of Blue Ridge. The views from the Board Walk are awesome on a clear day. The wooden walkways protects the fragile vegetation on the rocky mountainside.
Rough Ridge also serves as an access point to Tanawha Trail that originates at Beacon Heights and ends at Price Lake.
On the opposite side of the road from the parking area, you will have a grand view of the piedmont of North Carolina. As you look out, you will be seeing the towns of Hickory and Lenoir. On really clear days, you can see the Charlotte skyline.
Here are some photos which we took from our hike to Rough Ridge. We visited the parkway on Oct 11th and the fall colors were spectacular. The summit of Rough Ridge was covered in mist and so we missed the beautiful views from the Board Walk but it was still beautiful to see the summit with surrounding rocks and vegetation. You can easily spend 2 hours over here.
You can view some good photos taken from Rough Ridge here.
- Rough Ridge Overlook
- Bridge over a small Stream on Rough Ridge Trail
- Rough Ridge Trail Board at the Parking
- Beginning of Rough Ridge Trail
- Narrow Rough Ridge Trail
- Rough Ridge Trail is Moderate in Difficulty
- Foggy Rough Ridge
- Rocks and Vegetation around Rough Ridge
- Spectacular Fall Colors
- Amazing Rock Formation near Rough Ridge Board Walk
- Fog Covered Blue Ridge
- Beautiful Plants at Rough Ridge
- Rough Ridge Trail
- Rare Vegetation at Rough Ridge
- Vegetation on the Rough Ridge Trail
- The Wooden BoardWalk at Rough Ridge
- Rough Ridge Fall Colors
- Mist and Fall Colors at Rough Ridge
- Fall Colors seen from Rough Ridge
- Amazing beauty of Rough Ridge on a Foggy Day
- Rough Ridge Overlook
- Such Beautiful Fall Colors
- Rough Ridge Overlook
- Beautiful Fall Colors at Rough Ridge
- Fall Foliage around Rough Ridge Board Walk
- Views from Rough Ridge Overlook
- Rough Ridge Overlook on a Foggy Day
- The Boardwalk for Conserving Vegetation at Rough Ridge
- Dense Fog around Rough Ridge
- The Parking Area Seen From the Trail
- Parking at Rough Ridge Milepost
- Blue Ridge Parkway near Rough Ridge
- Fall Colors seen from across the Rough Ridge Parking Area
- Falls Colors seen from Rough Ridge
- Fall Colors from Milepost 302
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