This might just be the perfect week at Chimney Rock State Park. Even though the brilliance of fall leaf color has past, the views are now more wide open along the trails, ridges and rock ledges. And parking should be a lot easier.
After three years of landslides, road washouts, closings and temporary patch jobs, the upper parking lot providing access to the most popular trails at the Chimney Rock attraction in the state park 25 miles southeast of Asheville, has been sturdily replaced and parking expanded.
The 10-month-long construction project – at a cost of nearly $3 million - restored the retaining wall and upgraded and expanded the upper parking lot that was washed out during heavy rainstorms in 2017 and 2018, said superintendent James Ledgerwood.
Visitors are once again able to drive the 3-mile road from Chimney Rock Village to park near the base of the iconic, 315-foot-high Chimney Rock. From there, they can take the 26-story elevator through the mountain or hike the nearly 500 steps up the Outcroppings Trail to view Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure from the Rock, or head out on a network of hiking trails.
Related:Chimney Rock State Park closed to cars while work underway to fix collapsed retaining wall
Chimney Rock Management, operators of the Chimney Rock attraction of Chimney Rock State Park, had been shuttling guests from midway up the mountain to the upper parking lot throughout the season.
There is an entrance fee to access the attraction section of the park, which includes the elevator, trails like Hickory Nut Falls and Skyline Trail and Cliff Dwellers gift shop.
“We are pleased to reopen the Cliff Dwellers parking area after three years of planning and construction,” Ledgerwood said in a statement.
“This improvement continues the over 100-year legacy of providing access to Chimney Rock Mountain and Hickory Nut Gorge for the public.”
The project was in some ways similar to the efforts it took to create the park, which was owned by the Morse Family, in 1916, building precarious trails over ridges and rock faces, and later punching a gigantic hole in the mountain to build an elevator. Chimney Rock became a state park in 2007.
N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation contractors, GLF Construction Corp., had to dig down 26 feet and remove 24,300 cubic yards of dirt, rock and debris that formed the foundation of the original parking lot and remove what was left of the old retaining wall.
"Going into this, the hardest part was not knowing what we were going to find when we started excavating,” said Lenny Hodge, GLF site superintendent for the project.
Related:Chimney Rock State Park closed for road, parking lot repairs
Once the space was cleared, GLF crew, which fluctuated between six and 18 people throughout the project, laid 400 linear feet of pipe between 24-36 inches wide and added seven new storm drains to handle the volume of water that runs off the mountain.
It took several months and more than 900 dump truck loads to haul in nearly 18 thousand tons of gravel to rebuild the parking area.
“Water is always moving – that’s why the Chimney is there,” Ledgerwood said after the retaining wall slid down the mountain, crumbling after heavy rainstorms in fall of 2017 and more record rainfall in spring of 2018.
“We built in an area where water is constantly cutting the mountain in half. It’s going to do that to us, as well. Water management is probably one of the most difficult things to do,” he said.
The new 670-linear-foot retaining wall was built using 1,600 interlocking blocks with a cobblestone finish. At its highest point, the wall is 40 feet high. A walkway along the side of the lot was added to give guests a safe designated path up the parking lot to the attraction.
Pavers then laid 1,400 tons of asphalt before the parking spaces were striped and the project was completed.
"It took a lot of communication and scheduling between N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Chimney Rock Management and GLF to undergo such a huge project,” Emily Walker, Chimney Rock LLC general manager, said in a statement.
“We would not have been able to continue to operate if GLF had not been so accommodating. We are so thankful to everyone involved, including our guests, who continued to be flexible throughout the process."
"The original wall held from the 1940s, which is a real testament to the first builders. When you think of the lack of technology and hard access up here, it's amazing," Hodge said.
Related:After nearly 3 years, Chimney Rock State Park gets its elevator back
The state park, which includes an entrance off U.S. 64/74A as well as a free entrance to the Rumbling Bald Trail and climbing area off Boys Camp Road, had no shortage of visitors this year, said attraction spokesman Nick Stauber.
“Despite a two-month COVID-related closure, we are on track to almost matching last year’s visitation numbers. We had a record-breaking fall and a very busy summer,” Stauber said.
Related:Wilderness Gateway State Trail to be 100 miles and connect Chimney Rock to South Mountains
Related:Ambitious Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail to link Fairview with Chimney Rock and Lake Lure
He added that now that leaves are off the trees, the park views are even richer.
State park administrative specialist Jane Clark said the park’s attendance for the fiscal year of July 2018-June 2019 was 278,193. That same time period this year, ending June 2020 drew 291,252 visitors, a mirror of the crowds that descended upon many public days this past summer and fall.
Clark said Oct. 24 was a record-breaking attendance number for a single day of 3,903 visitors at the main attraction.
The Chimney Rock attraction is open daily except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Visit chimneyrockpark.com for details.
Karen Chávez is an award-winning outdoors and environment reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and USA TODAY Network. She is theauthor of "Best Hikes with Dogs: North Carolina," andis a former National Park Service ranger.
Reach me:KChavez@CitizenTimes.com or on Twitter @KarenChavezACT
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