Craggies / Big Ivy

The Craggy Mountains soar to 6,000 feet at Craggy Dome along the Blue Ridge Parkway. From the popular Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, trails wind through old-growth forests to 70-foot Douglas Falls. Hikers can find panoramic views from Big Butt Trai and Snowball Mountain, and mountain bikers ride epic loops—including some of the best downhill in Pisgah—on Staire Creek and Bear Pen Trails. Anglers fish the headwaters for native brook trout, and climbers cherish Snakes Den Rock and numerous boulder-fields throughout the forest. Brook trout and swimming holes abound in the Ivy River headwaters, and the Craggies are home to over 40 rare species and 4,000 acres of old growth, especially on Coxcomb Mountain and Snowball Mountain.