Chimney Rock State Park

State park in North Carolina, United States

35°25′59″N 82°15′02″W / 35.43306°N 82.25056°W / 35.43306; -82.25056Area8,014 acres (32.43 km²)^[1]Elevation2,280 ft (690 m)EstablishedMay 4, 2005Named forChimney RockGoverning bodyNorth Carolina Division of Parks and RecreationWebsiteChimney Rock State Park

Chimney Rock State Park is a North Carolina state park in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, North Carolina in the United States. The 8,014-acre (32.43 km²)^[1] park is located 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Asheville, North Carolina, and is owned and managed by the state of North Carolina.^[2]

The park features hiking trails for all skill levels, views of the Devil's Head balancing rock, and a 404-foot (123 m) waterfall, Hickory Nut Falls. Its most notable feature is a 315-foot (96 m) granite monolith named Chimney Rock, which is accessible by elevator and provides views of the park and surrounding countryside.

Early park development

In May 2005, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the creation of the "Hickory Nut Gorge State Park." In August 2005 the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy purchased a 1,568-acre (6.35 km²) tract of land south of Lake Lure known as "World's Edge" for $16 million with the intention of transferring the land as the first to be added to the new state park. World's Edge contains a mile-long set of steep slopes on the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpment (an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains), with more than 20,000 feet (6,100 m) of streams and waterfalls. From an overlook point, the land falls away to provide views of the Piedmont. The area provides habitat for rare flowers, diverse forest communities, endangered bats and salamanders, unique cave-dwelling invertebrates, and birds such as peregrine falcons and migratory neotropical species. Transfer of the World's Edge tract to state ownership was completed in 2006.

State acquisition of Chimney Rock Park

In 1902, Dr. Lucius B. Morse purchased 64 acres (26 hectares) at Chimney Rock Mountain from Jerome Freeman, a North Carolina state legislator and land speculator, including the Chimney and cliffs. Morse and his family owned and operated "Chimney Rock Park" as a privately managed park from 1902 to 2007. Many small tracts purchased over the years expanded the park to 996 acres (403 hectares). In 2006 the land was put up for sale.^[3] Many feared the park might fall into the hands of private developers, but the state and the Morse family completed a purchase agreement in early 2007.^[4]

In July 2007, the General Assembly renamed Hickory Nut Gorge State Park to Chimney Rock State Park.^[5]

Opera Box
Devil's Head
detail of stairs
Gneiss Cave

Nearby state parks

The following state parks and state forests are within 30 miles (48 km) of Chimney Rock State Park:

Caesars Head State Park, South Carolina

DuPont State Forest

Holmes Educational State Forest

Jones Gap State Park, South Carolina

Lake James State Park

Mount Mitchell State Park

Pisgah View State Park

South Mountains State Park

References

^ ^a ^b "Size of the North Carolina State Parks System" (XLS). North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
^ "Sale Frequently Asked Questions". Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
^ Randolph, JW (August 31, 2006). "Chimney Rock now for sale". The Appalachian Online.
^ "Gov. Easley Announces State Agrees to Purchase Chimney Rock Park" (Press release). N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. January 29, 2007.
^ "New Park Designations for Dismal Swamp, Elk Knob, Chimney Rock" (Press release). N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. September 5, 2007.

External links

Official website
Chimney Rock Attraction
Chimney Rock State Park Master Plan
Session Law 2005-26 established Hickory Nut Gorge State Park, which later was renamed Chimney Rock State Park.
Session Law 2007-307 changed the name of Hickory Nut Gorge State Park to Chimney Rock State Park.

Protected areas of North Carolina

Federal

National Parks	Great Smoky Mountains
National Historic Sites	Carl Sandburg Home Fort Raleigh
National Memorials	Wright Brothers
National Military Parks	Guilford Courthouse
National Battlefields	Moores Creek
National Parkways	Blue Ridge Parkway Crabtree Falls Craggy Gardens Cumberland Knob Doughton Park E.B. Jeffress Park Julian Price Memorial Park Linville Falls Moses H. Cone Memorial Park Mount Pisgah Waterrock Knob
National Trails	Appalachian Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
National Seashores	Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout
National Marine Sanctuary	Monitor
National Estuarine Research Reserve	Currituck Banks Rachel Carson Masonboro Island Zeke’s Island
National Forests	Cherokee Croatan Nantahala Pisgah Uwharrie
National Wildlife Refuges	Alligator River Cedar Island Currituck Great Dismal Swamp Mackay Island Mattamuskeet Mountain Bogs Pea Island Pee Dee Pocosin Lakes Roanoke River Swanquarter
Wilderness Areas	Birkhead Mountains Catfish Lake South Ellicott Rock Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Linville Gorge Middle Prong Pocosin Pond Pine Sheep Ridge Shining Rock Southern Nantahala Swanquarter
Wilderness Study Areas	Craggy Mountain Harper Creek Lost Cove Overflow Snowbird
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Chattooga River Horsepasture River Lumber River New River Wilson Creek

State

State Parks	Carolina Beach Carvers Creek Chimney Rock Cliffs of the Neuse Crowders Mountain Dismal Swamp Elk Knob Eno River Fort Macon Goose Creek Gorges Grandfather Mountain Hammocks Beach Hanging Rock Haw River Jockey's Ridge Jones Lake Lake James Lake Norman Lake Waccamaw Lumber River Mayo River Medoc Mountain Merchants Millpond Morrow Mountain Mount Mitchell New River Pettigrew Pilot Mountain Pisgah View Raven Rock Rendezvous Mountain Singletary Lake South Mountains Stone Mountain William B. Umstead
State Recreation Areas	Falls Lake Fort Fisher Jordan Lake Kerr Lake
State Natural Areas	Hemlock Bluffs Lea Island Masonboro Island Mount Jefferson Occoneechee Mountain Theodore Roosevelt Weymouth Woods
State Lakes	Bay Tree Lake Jones Lake Lake Phelps Salters Lake Singletary Lake Lake Waccamaw White Lake
State Trails	Dan River Deep River East Coast Greenway Equine Fonta Flora French Broad River Haw River Trail Hickory Nut Gorge Mountains-to-Sea Northern Peaks Overmountain Victory Roanoke River Saluda Grade Wilderness Gateway Yadkin River
State Rivers	Horsepasture River Linville River Lumber River New River
State Forests	Bladen Lakes DuPont Headwaters Rendezvous Mountain
Educational State Forests	Clemmons Holmes Jordan Lake Mountain Island Turnbull Creek Tuttle
State Historic Sites	Alamance Battleground Charles B. Aycock Birthplace Historic Bath Bennett Place Bentonville Battleground Brunswick Town / Fort Anderson C.S.S. Neuse and Governor Caswell Memorial Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial Duke Homestead Historic Edenton Fort Dobbs Fort Fisher Historic Halifax Horne Creek Living Historical Farm House in the Horseshoe North Carolina Transportation Museum President James K. Polk Historic Site Reed Gold Mine Somerset Place Stagville State Capitol Thomas Wolfe Memorial Town Creek Indian Mound Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace
State Coastal Reserves	Bald Head Woods Bird Island Buxton Woods Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Kitty Hawk Woods Permuda Island