This popular trail goes to the Waterrock Knob summit.
Waterrock Knob - Wikipedia Here's the general gist of how to get to the crash site: Hike the 0.5 mile path to Waterrock Knob, almost to the top. While theres the obviously sad nature of why the plane is there to begin with, Im always interested in hikes that have some site, historical or otherwise, to see. Its definitely sad but interesting to see! I recommend bringing lunch with you to enjoy at the top of Browning Knob. Its about two-hours round trip from here!.
The Secret Hike at Waterrock Knob - Exploring Chatt It is the modern-day retelling of the Icarus story of flying too close to the sun. They were drawn to our yellow lab, Odin. Waterrock Knob is a must-stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Hike to Smoky Mountains Plane Crash via Waterrock Knob Creepy Trail Leads To Airplane Crash Ruins In North Carolina This site is monitored, so please do not remove any items from the crash. Last year the door and seats where stolen off the plane. Renovating a 1960s ranch house and an old train depot. Everything but the engines still remains at the crash site. Once you start at the visitor center, you will climb .5 miles up to the top of Waterrock Knob. About halfway up though, the trail transitions to a dirt trail with rock steps. In addition to that, hed been drinking a little the FAA reported a blood-alcohol level of .04 percent. I wrote about it here in 2015. The trail is obviously used often based on the wear but we didnt see anyone while we were hiking: Spraypainted yellow dots help to mark the trail. Finding the summit is easy as the trail turns towards .
Browning Knob and Waterrock Knob | Map, Guide - AllTrails Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I smiled and turned in the other direction. Fair weather clouds against a pale blue sky and the Great Smoky Mountains waiting for me. Marcus and I were wandering around the fuselage like detectives at a crime scene. It's far worse now than it ever was. Overall, this is one of the interesting and rewarding hikes that I have been on in North Carolina.My thoughts are with the families of the two lives that were lost in the crash. 0. Its getting harder and harder to find safe abandoned places in North Carolina, so wed highly recommend you take advantage of the opportunity while you still can. Seemed really disrespectful in such a somber place. Once you are off the main paved trail, it turns into more of an intermediate hike. When you visit the crash site, you can tell that the airplane almost cleared the mountain.
Accident Cessna 414A Chancellor N6623C, 24 Nov 1983 - Aviation Safety The trail turns to dirt and continues for another quarter mile until Waterrock Knob. Upon reaching the parking lot, you will see the visitor center, which is open from 10 AM - 5 PM from mid-April through October. There are the remnants of an old Cessna plane that crashed there many years ago that you can hike to. The adventure started at Waterrock Knob. I crave the forest, the smells, the beauty and especially the healthy feeling of being outdoors. Odins ears perked up. All Rights Reserved, Marcus and Jill Thompson. By checking this, you agree to our Privacy Policy. But, its a wide trail with plenty of room to stop and catch your breath if you need to. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. The aircraft then descended and crossed the snowbird VOR at about 6,700 feet. 601. The airplane never reached its destination and the two people on board were killed in the crash. This short trail will lead you down to the site of the airplane crash. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can. After a few hours of homework, I glanced out the window. Here are some of the best places with cave hikes in North Carolina: Caves are perhaps one of the most fascinating and strange natural wonders out in the wild, especially because of how tempting they are to explore. Note: When hiking to this area please be respectful of the site. Waterrock Knob: Hike to plane crash site - See 321 traveler reviews, 262 candid photos, and great deals for Maggie Valley, NC, at Tripadvisor. In order to reach the site of the airplane crash, you will need to start off on the Waterrock Knob trail located off of mile marker 451 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The windows were smashed; dark holes appearing to mysteriously lead into another dimension. I alway come prepared, he said. Just before the summit, you will see the path to the plane crash on the left.
Have you found the elusive "plane crash" hike in Western - TikTok Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Skip to main content. Shuckstack Fire Tower is an old fire observatory tower in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park! Seemed really disrespectful in such a somber place. It would be nice to get that garbage off of the ground. You take the Waterrock Knob Trail, he said.
Waterrock Knob (Maggie Valley) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go This shed some light on the mystery. The bodies are gone and buried elsewhere. It was an attempt to keep his bearings, which the FAA referred to as up and down altitude excursions. One of Marcus catch phrases is theres always time for a hike! So being Labor Day weekend, we could not put off this adventure. Didn't spend to much time up at Waterrock because of the wind. The visitor center building with restrooms in the building on the left, This sign points out the start of the trail. Here on the mountain side, seats and wreckage were scattered all over the steep terrain. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Upon reaching the parking lot, you will see the visitor center, which is open from 10 AM - 5 PM from mid-April through October. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, The Frozen Banana Stands of Balboa Island, The Paratethys Sea Was the Largest Lake in Earths History, How Communities Are Uncovering Untold Black Histories, The Medieval Thieves Who Used Cats, Apes, and Turtles as Accomplices, https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/38801, https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/waterrock-knob-trail. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. The rest of the aircraft was left on the mountainside. There were some trail markers tied to trees, but they werent as reliable because some had been blown away in storms. Graffiti covered the white paint. After responding to our questions, and reviewing his GPS stats, he confirmed the trek down to the plane wreckage took him about 30 minutes. Plane Crash at Waterrock Knob. About 2 hours return depending on your pace. Not only are the views spectacular but the flowers and wildlife are too: The sides of the trail were covered with butterflies when we went, so many it looked like the mountains were moving: Just as you get to the top of Waterrock Knob you will notice a small unmarked trail to the leftyou might even miss it if you werent looking for it. Moderate 4.6 (1494) Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway spans 469 miles, most of which are right here in North Carolina. This shed some light on the mystery. Did you know that there are several airplane crashes that have happened in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park? To find the plane crash, you hike to a clearing called Waterrock Knob, and take the trail to the left that leads to Browning Knob. As Im getting older I dont do it as much as I should and your pictures helped me see things I dont see much of anymore. I listened intently to his point by point directions. Read Also: Elkmont ghost town: Ghost stories that will give you goosebumps. The terrain is fairly difficult with a change in elevation of about 600 feet. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. He had friends in the area and had flown into the Jackson County Airport before. Id still like to find some old newspaper articles on the crash if they existand know more about the people who died here. The planes tail completely detached; laying against a tree trunk about 15 feet away. I think the challenges with this hike are because you need to be more alert for markings to stick to the trail and because the terrain can be a little slippery, requiring a little more skill than walking a paved trail. A work colleague, Drew, had hooked me into conversation last week about the hike. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. I was super interested. It was an unspoken closeness she was expressing; after she and I had shared a few things we had in common with our lives. Youll have to be real careful, He said. Nature brings out the best in people. I saw families with kids doing the trail while I was there and people with dogs I took my dog too. Meteorological conditions at the crash site included low clouds and precipitation.
NC Blue Ridge Parkway Hikes (30 of the Best Trails!) I hollered up the stairs to Marcus, come on, lets go on the hike!. The pilot's blood alcohol level was 0.04. While we were gathered at the crash site more people started to come. Its not too far from where you live. He continued by describing how this plane had crashed sometime in the 70s off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Maybe the Labor Day weekend was causing us to think about work instead of focusing on a true adventure. The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by: After departure at 1417 cst, radar track showed the aircraft climbing to and maintaining 7,600 feet until about 1733 est and 28-30 miles north of the Knoxville VOR. And, in the solitude of the trail embarrassed us once again.
Hike to an Airplane Crash in North Carolina - Julie Roland Realty When I can make the trip Ill definitely consider doing this hike, it seems like an interesting one I had no idea how dangerous the Smoky Mountains were for planes. That crash occurred just 11 years after this one, and was one of the most tragic plane crashes in North Carolina. The vision of the plane crash is now fixed as part of my memory. This blog post covers the hike to the Cessna 414 plane crash deep in the mountains of North Carolina and where to watch one of the most beautiful sunsets in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its a very good idea to tell multiple people where you are heading, and its probably not a trail you should tackle alone.