Max Patch Fabulous Fall Color Scenic View

Viewing the fall colors from Max Patch is a favorite Asheville fall foliage tour, with a short walk leading to a perfect mountain top picnic meadow and fabulous panoramic fall colors views.

Fall colors near Hot Springs, North Carolina

Pack a picnic lunch and drive to Max Patch in fall for a day surrounded by autumn foliage and a fabulous panoramic view of fall colors and grassy meadows from the top of the mountain.

Follow curving two-lane country roads through rural countryside, small mountain towns and forest ablaze with autumn colors on this favorite Asheville fall foliage tour. The fall colors at Max Patch in Pisgah National Forest near the town of Hot Springs NC are splendid. The last stretch of the road through the National Forest is gravel, and here the road winds tightly up the mountain through the fall foliage to the parking area.

The round-trip easy hike up to the grassy summit and back is just over one mile, and the final rise onto the grassy bald, treeless summit in fall is breathtaking. The 360 degree fall color scenic view is unexpectedly grand and pastoral, with vast empty meadows, gently rolling forested hills and high distant mountains blanketed with a rich tapestry of fall colors.

The grassy bald mountain top is a perfect place for a long lazy picnic surrounded by natural beauty and autumn color scenic views. Many visitors bring along a blanket to spread on the grass and plan to stay for several hours to enjoy the autumn colors and crisp fall breeze on a sunny day.

North Carolina fall foliage, North Carolina

North Carolina fall foliage, North Carolina

And if you have ever yearned to walk part of the Appalachian Trail, the trail crosses the mountains gentle rounded summit. Fall colors and the view from the bald make this one of the prettiest spots along the entire trail. It is very easy to stroll for a half-mile or so in either direction along the Appalachian Trail while enjoying the North Carolina fall foliage before returning to the bald for the panoramic fall view before walking down to the parking lot.

From Hot Springs, drive south on NC 209 about 7.3 miles to Meadow Fork Road, State Road 1175, and head south for about 5.3 miles to Little Creek Road, State Road 1181, and take it for about 2 miles. The road turns to gravel, and near the summit turn right on State Road 1182 for about 3 miles to the Max Patch parking area on your right.

Moses Cone
Enjoying fall colors at Moses Cone Memorial Park is as easy as sitting in a rocking chair on the broad porch of the Flat Top Manor on a warm autumn day.

Grandfather Mountain
Viewing fall colors at Grandfather Mountain from the middle of the mile high swinging bridge is an autumn experience to remember for a lifetime.

Mount Mitchell
Fall foliage season is a great time to visit the highest mountain in the eastern US, when a crisp clear autumn day provides long range views of fall colors.

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