Updates to Hiking North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains
Pg. 33 - Pilot Mountain State Park
At 0.8 mile, the trail makes a right on a road. Stay on this road and don't look for that left back in the woods. At the "Y", stay left. New steps have been built and the trail is marked with blue and yellow circles. Toward the top, you'll pass a sign for Three Bears Gully on the right. Those are three rock formations which you'll access more easily on Ledge Spring Trail.
Pg. 61 Stone Mountain State Park
Soon the trail gets steeper and rockier. The trail now has steps, banisters and metal cables keeping you on the trail. There is now no confusion as to where the trail is.
Pg. 200 - Kitsuma Peak
The road (old US 70) has been resurfaced and renamed Point Lookout Trail. Also, at Point Lookout, two benches and a flagpole have been placed.
Pg. 205 - The Bottomless Pools, which were closed at the time of publication, will soon become part of Chimney Rock State Park.
Pg. 208 - There's a new trailhead for the Florence Preserve hike. It adds about 0.8 mile to the hike and 550 feet of ascent. See the blog entry.
Pg. 324 - Dry Falls
Dry Falls, outside of Highlands, has been reopened after being closed for a couple of years. There's a new parking lot and a wheel-chair accessible viewing area.

