Photo courtesy Thomas Mabry • instagram.com/honeybadgerimages
Nature photographer Thomas Mabry said “those daises just lined up so pretty with a fog coming up from the river” at Linville Gorge when he captured this image he titled ‘A Hawksbill Dream.’
The Linville Gorge is one of those rare places where you can glimpse part of the North Carolina landscape in its wildest, most rugged form. Other than changes created by nature, it remains virtually the same as when it was part of Cherokee territory. It encompasses almost 12,000 acres within the Pisgah National Forest, maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.
While it’s a popular destination for hiking, rock climbing, fishing, hunting (certain weekends, permits required), and backpacking, it’s not for the faint of heart. Trails are barely marked and some remain closed following Hurricane Helene, which ravaged Western North Carolina in September 2024. The steep terrain makes physical activity especially challenging and also creates a situation where it’s easy to get lost.
It is possible, however, to enjoy the stunning views of Linville Gorge, which has been called “the Grand Canyon of the East” without too much effort. Wiseman’s View offers an incredible payoff with a massive, panoramic view into the gorge. Sunrise is a popular time to visit. The trail is only 0.2 of a mile from the parking lot (located on Old NC 105) and is handicapped accessible.
Another way to get a glimpse of unique spots within the gorge is by viewing the images of skilled photographers such as Thomas Mabry. He dove into photography after retiring from a career as a lawyer. He has captured images from precarious positions within the gorge, balancing his tripod and photographic equipment while traversing the unforgiving terrain.
“There’s a degree of difficulty in taking some of the pictures,” Mabry said. “Some of the pictures I think are great aren’t the ones others think are great, but they don’t see the three miles of going up the mountain to get the photos. My best photo—it’s been on the cover of magazines and because of social media a lot of people have seen it—is called “A Hawksbill Dream.” He says he was at Wiseman’s View at sunrise looking for rhododendrons, but, “I found daisies instead, and those daises just lined up so pretty with a fog coming up from the river. I had to climb down to another view.”
Mabry said many people may never be able to get to the places he reaches in the gorge, but through his photography they get to see it through his lens. “It’s not unusual for me to hang off the side of a mountain to get a photograph,” he said.
Photo courtesy of VisitNC.com
Autumn trees at night at Wiseman’s View at Linville Gorge.
History Lesson
The Cherokee chose Ee-see-oh, which translates to “river of many cliffs,” as the name for what’s now called the Linville River. Over centuries, the force of water carved a 2,000-foot-deep chasm through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The steep cliffs and deep gorges made it impractical for settlements, but the Cherokee revered the area and used it as a seasonal camp for hunting, fishing, finding nuts and berries, and resource gathering. According to the Western Carolina University Digital Heritage Project, mica was one of those resources. The Cherokee used the mica for tools and also traded it with distant tribes.
Frontiersman William Linville was one of the early settlers who thrived in this outdoor environment, ripe with natural beauty and hunting opportunities. In the summer of 1766, he and a son were camping in the gorge when they were surrounded by a band of Shawnee, who were on their way to fight the Cherokee. Tradition says the Shawnee feared these hunters would alert the Cherokee to their presence, so they killed them. After that, settlers referred to the area as Linville in honor of the two who lost their lives.
The U.S. Forest Service designated Linville Gorge a “Wild Area” in 1951, but the most important protection came on September 3, 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law and Linville Gorge was officially designated as a federal wilderness area.
Limits on Modern Intrusion
As a federal wilderness area, there are significant limitations as to what can occur within the boundaries. No motor vehicles are allowed (cars, ATVS, dirt bikes), no bicycles, no permanent roads, no new buildings or infrastructure, and no commercial logging or mining. Trail maintenance is intentionally minimal, and even with the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, crews working within Linville’s designated wilderness area may not use chainsaws or any type of motorized equipment to clear debris.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation provides funding to support many projects to protect the natural resources and enhance visitor experience—part of that is trail maintenance and trail construction. “We have a lot of projects we are working on and some are related to Helene damage,” says Jason Urroz, vice president of education at the foundation. “We provided a $430,000 grant to the Conservation Corps of North Carolina to rehabilitate trails. We also provided $150,000 to the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards. They use crosscut saws and old-fashioned saws as opposed to chainsaws. We’re doing six hitches with them. A hitch is eight days of work. They hike in on the first day with all their tools and set up camp. They live there for a week and work pretty much all day. They do their 8-day hitch and then go home. They’ll do six hitches.”
Another organization heavily involved in trail maintenance is Wild South, which works as a non-profit partner to the U.S. Forest Service. Executive Director Kevin Massey admits the restrictions within the marked wilderness area make their work much more challenging, but he says the benefit is preserving a wild environment that so many people love.
When Helene passed through, thousands of trees went down in the gorge, along with mudslides and flooding. “If a tree is forced down, it tends to take landscape with it,” says Massey, “so there are big bites out of the trail where trees were pried up.” Near the river, chunks of trail were swept away in the flooding.
They rely on volunteers, and Massey says he’s seen an increase in the number of people signing up to help since the storm. Along with trail clearing and maintenance, his organization is also involved with river cleanup.
He said the organization has been pulling out kerosene tanks and other heavy items that came downstream in the flooding. Locals who were training to be emergency first responder used the opportunity to simulate a rescue by hand-carrying a large air tank out of the gorge on a stretcher.
“We’re also lining up local rescue crews to take a big kerosene tank and practice getting a patient across the river.”
Community involvement is critical in working to restore the wilderness area that plays such a huge role in the WNC economy. “There were two disasters, natural and economic,” Massey said, noting numerous studies that show how billions of dollars come into the region because of the popularity of outdoor recreation and tourism. “It’s not a small thing.”
Massey recommends Wiseman’s View for enjoying the view of the gorge, but cautions the road leading to the parking lot remains a little rough. As for serious hikers, he says “they can expect that almost all the trails are back open, but they are more difficult, with more risks. There is one portion of the north end of the gorge that is deadly, but it is closed, with signs posted.”
Surrounding Attractions
The Linville Gorge Wilderness Area spans Burke and McDowell counties, while the most famous features—Wiseman’s View, Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock—sit on the Burke County side. A unique dining destination in the Linville area is Famous Louise’s Rockhouse Restaurant, which sits at the junction of three counties: Avery, Burke and McDowell. There are signs in the restaurant, so you can choose the county of your choice to dine in.
Close to the gorge are other sites with their own special attributes: Linville Caverns is a family-run business offering guests the change to walk through active limestone caverns; Grandfather Mountain, an iconic peak with mile-high swinging bridge, animal habitats, and special events; and try to see the mysterious Brown Mountain Lights. For more than a century, residents and visitors have reported seeing mysterious lights near Brown Mountain, which is to the east of the gorge. Try Wiseman’s View or Table Rock to watch for the lights on the nearby mountainside after nightfall.
Go visit
Access to the Linville Gorge can be found in Western North Carolina via US 221, Old NC 105, NC 181 and NC 183. Milepost 316.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway marks the entrance to the Linville Falls Visitor Center, however this section remained closed at press time due to Hurricane Helene damage. Check updates at www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/roadclosures.htm