The last time we'd been to North Carolina had been Thanksgiving weekend, 2007. We'd gone to Pisgah National Forest and went backcountry camping - at this point it was just the two of us; no kids, no pets. So this was going to be a completely different experience for ALL of us.
Betsy, our daughter, will be two in October - and our son, Ben, will be one in October. With this in mind, we knew backcountry camping was out of the question. We chose Chimney Rock because it catered to families with children, even offering the option of taking an elevator to the top of the Rock - gratis.
On Chimney Rock State Park's website, we located a nearby campground for $30 a night and discovered we could rent a baby carrier pack for $8 a day from the park's gift shop, instead of purchasing a pack of our own for upwards of $150, which would have likely only been used one time. Betsy would be hiking it, and we bought an inexpensive toddler pack with a detachable tether for her to carry.
We also have a puppy, as mentioned earlier. Hobo is a black lab/boxer mix and is only four months old but is over 35 lbs. and looks full-grown. We purchased a lightweight sporting harness for him to wear and a Waterboy jug so he could stay hydrated on the four-hour drive from Charleston, SC to River Creek Campground in NC.
The campground was fantastic. It was located less than 30 minutes from Chimney Rock, and as its name suggests, had the Broad River on one side of the property and a creek on the other. The owners live on-site and are friendly and knowledgeable of the area. Because we came the weekend after Labor Day, the grounds were nearly deserted, save for the permanent residents in RV bays and a total of five other camping parties.
Our tent site was much nicer than we were expecting - we thought we'd get a patch of dirt or grass and a fire pit. But we were pleasantly surprised to find a covered area with a small dock overlooking the Broad River, and a picnic table. There was also a well pump and an electrical outlet. Chris pitched our tent while I took the kids to play with some of the other children on the playground near the office.
We went to bed early the first night we were there - because it was cool we felt comfortable placing Hobo in his kennel in our Jeep's cargo bay and rolling down the windows, and we humans packed in to our two-person tent. It was a tight squeeze, but not uncomfortably so as the babies are still so small. However, we are already researching a larger tent for future camping trips!
Saturday morning started with shake-and-pour bottled pancakes. It was slightly drizzling but we were sure it would clear up by late morning. We cleaned up and packed the babies and dog into the Jeep and drove past Lake Lure - where Dirty Dancing was filmed! - and into Chimney Rock Village. We followed a winding road into the mountains, and paid the $28 admission fee ($14 per person age 16 and up) for the park.
The rain only got worse, but we'd already paid for the day. So we perused the gift shop and bought Ben a pocket knife (for MUCH later use), Betsy a silver NC/Chimney Rock charm for a state-to-state charm bracelet we've started for her, rented a carrier for Ben and we were off.
As it turns out, hiking to Chimney Rock is strenuous, especially if you have two babies and haven't hiked in three years - and even moreso if you're a mom of two under two and spent the last two years of your life pregnant and not permitted to exercise! The trail to the Rock is mostly very steep stairs, which was difficult for Betsy to climb because she is little and not accustomed to so many steps. Then as we reached the final turn before reaching the Rock, we came across a problem with the carrier - Chris had to crawl up the stairs in order to get past low points hanging over the stairs to avoid bashing Ben's head into a boulder. All guilt about keeping Hobo in the Jeep while we hiked to the top vanished, as it would have taken us over an hour with him along and possibly may have resulted in an injury or two. But once we reached our destination, even with the rain and the mist from the Great Smoky Mountains obscuring most of the view, it was all forgotten.
Then it started pouring, so we ran over to the Sky Lounge and Gift Shop to dry off. We chose to take the elevator back down to the car, where an elderly and friendly attendant named Dave entertained Betsy and helped keep her from having a huge tantrum (as toddlers will do when they are cold, hungry, and overtired).
We asked a park ranger if our ticket was good for the whole day and he told us it was, so we drove down to the Village for lunch. (We had packed supplies to make grilled cheeses while hiking, but with the cold rain we opted out.)
We parked the Jeep in free parking - there is a parking lot that offers all day parking for $1, but less than a minute's walk away is public parking, next to Duncan's Bar B Que (461 Main Street,Chimney Rock, NC, 28720, USA), a funky shack of a restaurant that bikers from all over the USA frequent.
As we walked in the misting rain, I spotted a sign for Genny's Family Restaurant (451 Main St., Chimney Rock, NC 28720, USA) . Their marquee said "Kids Under 3 Eat Free", so we chose to eat there.
I enjoyed a blackberry cider, plus a free refill. The kids each had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fries - please keep in mind, this is the ONLY free meal Genny's offers, and it only applies with every adult meal purchase of $8.99 or more.
Genny's has a great view of the Broad River and Chimney Rock on the covered back deck. The restaurant also has a fenced area outside where you can eat with your pets. At the register, in addition to postcards and other tchotchkes, they offer cobblers, pies, cookies, and candy. You can get three cookies for $1.50, and a stick of rock candy for 99 cents.
After lunch we headed back to the park, to hike to Hickory Nut Falls, which on sunny days offers amazing views of Hickory Nut Gorge. But it was still drizzling and gloomy, and the hike, again, was strenuous, full of steep stairways, and took us probably an hour to hike there, and another thirty minutes back. Still, it was an awesome sight to see the falls so close - they are 404 feet tall!
We'd wanted to hike the Skyline Ridge, which is the highest trail in the park and site of the final scene in the epic film The Last of the Mohicans, but we were tired, the kids were tired, and poor Hobo was still in the Jeep. The rain was still not letting up, and all we wanted to do was get back to the campground, take a shower, eat some dinner and hit the sack.
That night a huge rainstorm came through the camp. I woke up in the middle of the night and double-checked the car in case a flash flood came through and we had to leave in a pinch. I also let one side of our covered tarp down to keep everyone warmer and keep some of the rain out. I checked on Hobo in the back of the Jeep and he was fine.
The next morning was gorgeous, of course. (As it turns out, flash flooding doesn't just "happen" - it occurs when Lake Lure begins to rise and the dam operators need to open the dam to prevent flooding in town. We would have had a two hour warning and been completely safe!) We broke camp and I played in the river. Then we went back to the Village to do some sightseeing and shopping.
Some of the shops to definitely visit are Bubba O'Leary's General Store, Featherheads, Chimney Sweeps, and The Hickory Nut. ALL shops and restaurants - except Genny's - are open on Sundays. There were a few shops that we wanted to explore that weren't yet open until we were ready to leave, such as a quaint toy shop that offered local "Grandpa made" toys, called Turning Point Woodcrafts (828-625-9738).
Bubba O'Leary's General Store (385 Main Street, Chimney Rock, NC, 28720, USA) is a riverfront shop connected to Bubba O'Leary's Outdoors Shop. It has regional goodies as well as items you'd find in any general store; also magnets, toys, shirts, knickknacks and home decor.
Featherheads (398 Main St., Chimney Rock, NC, 28720, USA) is incense-laden, and a cross between a head shop and a Native American spirit store. They offer hand-carved figurines made of minerals, rocks, and semi-precious stones; miniature birchwood canoes and tipis, antique marbles, and an antique working Coca-Cola dispenser.
Chimney Sweeps (400 Main St., Chimney Rock, NC 28720, USA) sells mostly tourist trap items, but we loved it because it was the only shop around - including the Park's gift shops - that sold Chimney Rock tee shirts (not just onesies) for small children and babies, for only $4.95.
The Hickory Nut (215 Main St., Chimney Rock, NC 28720, USA) sells affordable and unique antiques. It is a large shop, and it also offers live herbs and potted plants in the roadside nursery in its parking lots. A very sweet, very old Irish Setter will come greet you more often than not when you first enter.
We ate lunch at the Riverwatch Deli (379 Main St., Chimney Rock, NC 28720, USA) . The menu was small and simple, and the deli only uses Boar's Head meats and cheeses. Unlimited free refills and a raised back deck with gorgeous views of the Broad River and Chimney Rock made it even better. Try their potato salad - it's the best we've ever had, with BACON in it! Again, very few items on the menu were over $10.
Some fun, free things to do with your children in the Village:
- Try to see how many carved wooden bears you can count.
- Explore the Broad River close-up along the Riverwalk.
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