Grandfather Mountain State Park Fail

Don’t visit with young kids before reading this review.

We’ve always pushed our kids to complete trails that most would consider to be a challenge. We even authored an article about this a few years ago that you can read here. The truth is, we had a great day at the park but I hope through reading this article you, an adventuring parent, can make a more informed decision about whether or not you should spend your free-time and hard-earned cash on a trip to Grandfather Mountain.

So do we recommend Grandfather? I guess that depends on what you want to accomplish during your visit.

Grandfather Mountain – Two Parks in One

Ultimately Grandfather Mountain has two different components (maybe even three, more on that). There is Grandfather Mountain State Park and the Grandfather Mountain “attractions.” There is a lot of history here, but the short story is that the attraction side of the park was privately owned and operated, they currently maintain access to the upper parking areas of the park and maintain the swinging bridge, animal exhibits and the Wilson Center. More info on this 1/3rd of the mountain here: What is Grandfather Mountain? This section of the mountain is pay-to-play and pricing varies based on the popularity of the day of visit. You do need to purchase access in a predefined window online prior to your arrival. I would highly recommend you familiarize yourself with the park website.

The other portion is a traditional (traditional according to North Carolina) State Park. This means it is free to explore, free to park, and there are nominal fees associated with shelter and campsite rentals. This portion of the park is accessible via NC-105 and the Profile trail.

The third component to the park is access via the Blueridge Parkway. You can access both sections of the park via the Tanawha Trail to the Daniel Boone Scout Trail, or via the Nuwati and Cragway trails – both routes will connect you with the Grandfather trail at Calloway Peak.

While there are a lot of options I want to state emphatically that there are NO EASY ROUTES TO THE TOP. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a statement of fact. If you are not in hiking shape, or not prepared to spend a minimum of 5 hours on trail do not plan to summit this mountain from any trailhead.

So why did we mark Grandfather a Fail?

Let’s get one thing straight, the kids are going to love Grandfather mountain. We all had an absolute blast there! The swinging bridge and the views from Linville peak were amazing, the animal exhibit areas were ok, the otters certainly stole the show (adorable) and the view from the bear enclosure was stunning as well. The Wilson center had some neat exhibits and was very nice inside. All in all the facilities were beautiful.

We visited on 7/6/24, which was the Saturday following the July 4th holiday. Needless to say it was PACKED, and we got there early. I cannot imagine the frustration I would have felt had I scheduled and arrived any time after 11am that day. The park was packed and the cars lined up to park extended nearly a mile down hill.

Because it was a holiday weekend we paid top dollar to attend the park, $30 per adult and $10 per child (again this only applies to the attraction entrance) for a grand total of $98 after taxes. Only you can decide if that’s a justifiable expense for your family, had we not attempted the trail up to McRae’s peak on Grandfather Mountain I would argue that you might enjoy your time elsewhere, especially with the park being as crowded as it was.

Grandfather has been on our list for years. We’ve always wanted to come up here but I couldn’t stomach the idea of paying to visit a park, furthermore for a while the bridge (a main attraction for sure) was under construction which made it a no-go. But when we found ourselves outside of Boone near Banner Elk, we decided to give it a go – even though it was a holiday weekend.

Getting to the Point…

Or rather, not getting to the point, or summit, was what made this a fail. As I mentioned earlier, we have pushed the kids for years to challenge themselves outdoors. Whether it’s on the water, climbing up a wall, or scaling mountains to take in those tasty, long-range views. The culprit? Ladders.

Yes. Ladders.

Yes, having a ladder like this is a huge help, can you get around some of them, sure, but the ladders make it so much easier. The challenge was not that the kids couldn’t make it UP the ladders, but rather that coming down was going to be very very dangerous.

In fact, once we chose to turn back and go eat some birthday cake (we were celebrating Erin’s 40th birthday!) on top of a mountain we were faced with descending several large ladders like the one depicted above (actual fambeta kids) which meant that I was forced to go up and down staying right behind each kid as they came down. Why was it so challenging?

Our youngest is only 6 years old. He is only around 46 inches tall, so not even four feet. With each step backwards down the ladder he was forced to REACH and prod around with his foot to find the next rung down. Not only did it scare him, it scared us, had we continued we’d have been faced with several ladders, each a bit longer than the last, some of which were not closely tucked to the mountain rock. What would happen if he was to miss a rung and fall through? I’d hate to even imagine. So, not wanting to reach out to SAR on my wife’s birthday we made the (very tough) choice to turn around. I’ll tell you something though – these kids are thirsty to complete the Grandfather trail now.

So, You’re saying the Grandfather trail is for adults only?

Nope, our older two (11 and 8 years of age and 58″ and 55″ tall respectively) wouldn’t have had a problem. I would be wary, if your child is under 50″ tall, these ladders are going to be a challenge. Most people wouldn’t bring a 6 year old on this trail, and I wouldn’t blame you, had I known that the spacing was going to be a challenge, I probably would’ve chose to attack this mountain differently, or at least plant the seed with the kiddos prior to hiking that we may not make it to the top.

I’m writing this because while the websites (both for the attraction and state park) make mention of the hike being challenging, and that you should be in good shape and have significant hiking experience there is no mention of recommended height. So here it is. I would recommend you don’t do the trail if you’re a child under 10 or under 50″ tall or both. This isn’t a long trail, but it’s a lot of up, a lot of climbing, I didn’t even mention the cables on other sections, those are a challenge too, but not nearly as much so as trying to reach back for the next rung on these ladders.

So should we skip Grandfather Mountain?

Nope, definitely not. Just be aware of your family’s limitations prior to attending, there are plenty of other trails both inside and outside of the park that will give you awesome views and the views from the bridge are breathtaking as well.

Take a look…

view from linville peak across the mile high swinging bridge

View from Linville Peak – Across the Mile High Swinging Bridge at Grandfather Mountain State Park

View from the bear enclosure near the Wilson Center – Grandfather Mountain State Park

Happy Hikers using cables to scale the Grandfather Trail\

So if you find yourself in the High Country and you’re looking for an adventure check out Grandfather State Park, and if you have to turn around, don’t feel bad, it’s been there for a very long time and you and your family can always go back and try again. Stay safe, and have fun!

See you on the trail!