Justin Costner

Start your hike from the Shortoff Mountain Trail off of Wolf Pit Road at the base of Lake James. From the summit there is a small grassy area off a side trail that provided awesome cliff side views of the Gorge and Linville River! You can setup after making the hour and a half trek (maybe just in time to witness one of the best sunsets ever). If you start the hike late and you're lucky, the sk...

Max Patch Mountain was once cleared for pasture land, leaving an expansive flat summit that now serves as the ideal location for a picnic hike, flying a kite, or laying in the sun surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains. With little elevation gain and a short distance it is also very family (and dog!) friendly. A section of the Appalachian Trail crosses right over the bald so keep an eye out f...

Please note, Catawba Falls is temporarily closed. You can learn more about updates at www.fs.usda.gov. This quick and relatively easy hike is located close to Asheville, NC. If you're looking to have the trail to yourself, it can be a little tough. It's best to get there as early as possible or on a weekday if you can swing it. As you head out on the trail, the elevation gain is very gradual,...

There are a few different access trails throughout the park and all are equally impressive with scenery and ease of hike but starting from the Hunting Island Campground take the beach access near the campground store and you have miles of boneyard beaches, dunes and groves of palmetto trees littered throughout the hike. The beach is fairly flat and walkable except for the sections of boneyard t...

At 5,946 feet, Calloway Peak provides hikers with perhaps the best view of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. You'll have to earn this view - it is a tough climb up, although not terribly long. Begin at the trailhead for Tanawha Trail in the Boone Fork Parking Area on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Take Tanawha Trail left (south) out of the parking lot for about a half mile where you'll hit the j...

This is a really nice, moderately difficult hike along a cascading creek, up switchbacks, and through wildflower fields. A couple miles in, you'll reach a helipad that is used for rescuing injured rock climbers - Looking Glass Rock is a popular destination for world class climbing. There is a small trail leading away from the helipad with nice views of the lower cliffs. Continue past the helip...