The hike at Rough Ridge Overlook is a massively popular one. On an early Monday morning, however, the trail is beautifully quiet. Being up on the ridge in a bracing morning wind, surrounded by fall color and clear blue skies… it’s highly recommended. We forgot the zoom lens this morning, so you’ll just have to take our word that you could see the Charlotte skyline from the ridge today. But there was plenty more to enjoy besides the long-range views.
Rough Ridge, along with some of the slopes that can be seen from its vantage points, shows color earlier than many other places in the area. Today, it’s really evident that the area is perhaps a week behind last year in fall color development.
Rough Ridge Trail (Tanawha), Blue Ridge Parkway
elevation 4493 Feet
October 12, 2015
In fact, here’s a comparison from October 12, 2015. This is the same ridge in the above photo. The color was much more progressed this time last year. This is why it can be so difficult to predict fall color and peak times! To see more of the foliage at Rough Ridge around this time in 2015, see blowingrock.com/fallphoto-oct-12-2015