Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail

In 2005, the General Assembly of North Carolina established Hickory Nut Gorge State Park near the Town of Lake Lure. Later that year, the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy (now named Conserving Carolina) and The Nature Conservancy assisted the state with the first acquisition of land for the park.

In 2007, the privately owned Chimney Rock Park was purchased by the state as an expansion for the park, and Hickory Nut Gorge State Park was renamed Chimney Rock State Park as a result.

During the master planning process for Chimney Rock State Park in 2011, a regional hiking trail network was proposed which would connect the various tracts of state park land, local parks and would loop around Lake Lure.

On June 15, 2015, the General Assembly formalized the proposed trail network by establishing Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail, and directed NCDPR to coordinate its development.^[2]

Conserving Carolina envisions a 100+ mile network of connected trails in the Hickory Nut Gorge. As of 2023, the organization had opened more than 38 miles of the trail to the public and had several trail expansions under development.

• Official website
• Chimney Rock State Park Master Plan
• Vision for a 130+ Mile Trail Network
• Ambitious Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail to link Fairview with Chimney Rock and Lake Lure

• Hickory Nut Gorge Wildcat Rock Trail wins national award
• New WNC trail wins national award