Shining Rock Wilderness

North Carolina Outdoors

Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness Areas

Shining Rock Photo Tour

Just the facts... Local Links Regional Books & Music

Named for the white quartzite rock that forms its summit, Shining Rock's 5940 foot peak is not the highest in these two wilderness areas. In fact, Shining Rock Ledge, which forms the backbone of the area, boasts five peaks over 6000 feet, the highest being Cold Mountain at 6030 ft.

If Cold Mountain sounds familiar, it should. This is the Cold Mountain of Charles Frazier's bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Cold Mountain . Literary pilgrims should be aware that the hike to Cold Mountain is no walk in the park. It is a 10.6 mile hike (one way) from the Daniel Boone Camp trailhead via the Art Loeb and Cold Mountain Trails .

As Frazier recounts in his novel, the Shining Rock area was originally part of the Cherokee Nation. White settlers begain pouring in following a grant of land from the state of North Carolina in 1796. Champion Fibre Company purchased most of the area between 1906 and 1909 and began logging the area to supply its pulp mill in nearby Canton.

In 1911, Champion Fibre decided the area's forests produced better sawtimber than pulp, so the tract was sold to Champion Lumber, which in turn sold it to Suncrest Lumber in 1918.
Continuous logging between 1906 and 1926 decimated large stands of red spruce, Frazer fir, hemlock and hardwoods. Remnant stands of isolated spruce and fir survive today on some of the ridge tops, though these stands are threatened by acid precipitation and exotic insects.

The Cherokee deliberately used fire to alter the ecology of the region. More recently, in 1925 a locomotive ignited a pile of logging slash that quickly spread and consumed over 25,000 acres before it was extinguished. This fire, along with another one in 1942, created the grasslands, known as balds, that one encounters while hiking the Art Loeb Trail.

Because of its proximity to Asheville and Atlanta, these wilderness areas receive heavy use. The Art Loeb, Ivester Gap, Shining Creek , and Big East Fork Trails offer the least opportunities for solitude.

Camping permits are not required for either wilderness area but groups of more than 10 are prohibited. For more info, contact the District Ranger at 828-877-3265, and see the links below.

Summary - Shining Rock

Location and Access:Haywood County, southwest of Asheville between Blue Ridge Parkway mileposts 412 and 431. This area can also be accessed by US 276 and NC 215.

Elevation: From 3200 ft. at the west fork of the Pigeon River to 6030 ft. atop Cold Mountain and 6400 ft. atop Richland Balsalm.

Size: Shining Rock - 18,500 acres. Middle Prong - 7900 acres.

Established: Shining Rock - 1964. An original component of the National Wilderness System. Middle Prong - 1984. Created by the 1984 North Carolina Wilderness Act.

Local Links

Cold Mountain Webcam - A view of Cold Mountain. Updated every half hour. Includes weather and air quality data.

Spruce - Fir Ecosystem - An excellent introduction to the ecology of this high-altitude southern Appalachian ecosystem.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Mountain Trout Regulations (PDF)

Streamflow - West Fork of the Pigeon River near Retreat.

Streamflow - East Fork of the Pigeon River near Canton.

Carolina Connections. - The Forest Service' guide to recreation in NC's national forests.

ReserveUSA - Reserve your Forest Servce campsite online.

National Forests in NC - Official website for the USFS in NC.

North Carolina Waterfalls - Beautiful site.

Ozone Damage in the Smokies - An NPR report. RealAudio.

Appalachian Voices - Devoted to protecting the native ecosystems of the Appalachians. Good page on air pollution.

Click for Asheville, North Carolina Forecast

Books on Shining Rock
and the
Southern Appalachians

The Travels of William Bartram - by William Bartram. edited by Mark Van Doren. A classic. Unabridged, with all 13 original illustrations. Bartram traveled in the vicinity of Shining Rock during his travels of 1773 to 1778.

Our Southern Highlanders : A Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers - by Horace Kephart. Simply the best book on life in the Southern Appalachians prior to the First World War. Humorous and insightful. If I could have only one book on this region, this would be my choice.

Cabins in the Laurel - by Muriel Earley Sheppard. A classic. Wonderful photos from the 20s and 30s, as well as compelling descriptions of life and people in the Toe River valley prior to WWII.

The Appalachian Forest, A Search For Roots and Renewal - by Chris Bolgiano. The best book I have read on the natural and human history of the southern Appalachians. Rated 4 1/2 stars by Amazon reviewers.

The Dying of the Trees : The Pandemic in America's Forests - by Charles Little. A good introduction to the effects of acid rain and exotic pests on the Blacks and other mountains.

An Appalachian Tragedy : Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern Forests of North America - edited by Harvard Ayers and Charles Little. Photos by Jenny Hager. A disturbing and provocative book. Spectacular photography.

Highroad Guide to the North Carolina Mountains - by Lynda McDaniel. Rated 5 stars by Amazon reviewers.

North Carolina Hiking Trails - by Allen de Hart. Comprehensive. Covers 968 trails. My favorite.

Hiking North Carolina (Falcon Guide) - by Randy Johnson. Covers fewer trails than de Hart's book, but covers them in more detail; maps and photos included.

50 Hikes in the Mountains of North Carolina - by Robert L. Williams. Describes 50 hikes in detail.

The Best Hikes of Pisgah National Forest - by C. Franklin, others. Rated 5 stars by Amazon reviewers.

Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves, and Hiking Trails - edited by Dirk Frankenberger.

Newcomb's Wildflower Guide - The best field guide. My copy is only two years old, but already dogeared.

Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains Belongs on the bookshelf, not in the backpack. With over 600 color plates, this is an excellent keep-at-home companion to Newcomb's guide.

Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides)

A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians (Peterson Field Guides)

A Field Guide to the Birds (Peterson Field Guides

Music of the Southern Appalachians

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack from the movie. An incredible collection of old time music. This is REAL country music. It is everything that today's slick new Nashville pop isn't. Featuring Norman Blake, Emmy Lou Harris, Gillian Welch, Allison Kraus, John Hartford, The Stanley Brothers, and more. An astonishing collection! Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Salt Sea Bound - Polecat Creek. First release (March 2002) from this triad-based group. Original music in the Old Time tradition. Outstanding song writing and beautiful harmonies. My favorite album of 2002.

Ballads, Banjo Tunes, And Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina - by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. A Smithsonian Folkways CD, rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Clarence Ashley And Doc Watson: The Original Folkways Recordings, 1960-1962 - Doc is a NC legend and national treasure. This is one of his earliest recordings. A Smithsonian Folkways 2-CD Set. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

The High Lonesome Sound - by Roscoe Holcomb. One of the greatest of the old-time banjo players, Holcomb did almost all of his playing at Holiness Church services and square dances. A Smithsonian Folkways recording. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Music From The Lost Provinces: Old-Time-Stringbands From Ashe County, North Carolina & Vicinity 1927-1931 Various artists. A classic of the old-time genre. Rated four stars by Amazon reviewers.

The Legacy Of Tommy Jarrell, Vol. 1: 1: Sail Away Ladies - Tommy Jarrell was one of the greatest old-time fiddlers. Rated five stars by Amazon reviewers.

Ways That are Dark - by Daniel Gore, with Peter Rowan, Tim O'Brien, Jack Lawrence, and others. A musical companion to Horace Kephart's classic book, Our Southern Highlanders .