We have lived in North Carolina for many years and all of our children were born here. So, I am not quite sure why we never visited the Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area before we did. I had no idea what an adventure it would be, for everyone!

We recently decided to camp in the Lake Lure area, at a wonderful outdoor resort called Emberglow. (Check out my post on Emberglow)Each day we traveled about 15 minutes over to the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area for a different adventure. I highly recommend you take your family to the area and here’s why.

Chimney Rock Park

One day was spent at the Chimney Rock Park, where many scenes from The Last of the Mohicans were filmed. There is so much to do there that it can fill your day! I highly recommend packing a picnic lunch, putting on your walking shoes, and checking it out. Especially if you love the outdoors. I was worried about taking our littles here but there really was no reason to worry. There were plenty of kid friendly adventures along the way.

They have a ton of scenic hiking trails, a beautiful waterfall trail, and even a little short trail for kids. We started with the animal discovery area and the kid’s wildlife trail. This trail is under a half mile, has planned stops, and has wildlife facts along the way. So, it really is a fun learning experience for kids. At the end of the trail there are picnic areas. We ate our picnic lunch here, but there are many different picnic areas throughout the park. Some even have grills.

After the kid’s wildlife walk, we decided to go all the way up the rock to check out the views. Boy was it worth it! After you park, you are able to take a 30 second elevator ride to the top or you can take one of the hiking trails. We opted for the elevator with the littles in tow. When you arrive at the top, there is a little store area. It offers souvenirs, food, and ice cream.

As you exit the store area, there are about 40 steps that take you out onto the rock. From there, the view is amazing. It is worth every last step. Our kids said that they were on top of the world. Don’t worry, there are railings up there so that nobody slides off the rock! But obviously, you should watch your littles closely throughout the entire park. You are on the side of a mountain and there are many places they can slip.

In Town

Experiencing the town was just as fun as being on Chimney Rock. It is such a cute little town. We chose to gem mine, fish, eat on the river, and shop in the stores. The river runs through the town. You are able to walk down into the river, fish on it, and there are picnic areas set up so that you can eat outside. We stopped at the gem mine before we ate, and that is also along the river.

After we found our rubies and emeralds, we had lunch at the Riverwatch Grill. It is a little burger joint that sits in the middle of town and on the river. The food was good, and they were very accommodating to food allergies. From there we did a little shopping before heading over to Lake Lure.

Lake Lure

Lake Lure is right next door, actually only one mile from town. If you didn’t know, many parts of Dirty Dancing were filmed there. That is actually what drew me to the area because it is my favorite movie.

There are a ton of things to do on Lake Lure, as well. You can take a boat tour from the marina, walk the flowering bridge, fish in the lake, hang on the public beach, play on the playground, or take some fun pictures at the visitor’s center. Nobody puts baby in the corner!

These are all the things that we did on our visit and just some of the many pictures. There are so many other activities in the area that we will be back. I encourage you to take your family and make some wonderful memories here.

-Kristy M., Mommy to Many