Sample a classic stretch of the Appalachian Trail on this 11.5-mile route around a 1,000-foot gorge, with overlooks and eye-candy vistas of the Smokies.

This 6.2-miler offers a quick overnight getaway. Connect scenic outcrops with views to nearby mountains and camp at Silver Bald Shelter.

This ridge-country classic swings from the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Graveyard Fields en route to Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain. Tackle the 9.8-mile lollipop loop in a day or stretch it into a leisurely overnight with one of the many prime campsites around Ivestor Gap.

Big views. Quiet streams. A forest paradise. This 8-mile hike to a Hollywood-made-famous summit still offers plenty of solitude, plus fine campsites for a wilderness overnight.

Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, this 10-mile loop treks through the Pisgah National Forest past numerous ridge-top overlooks and up to a quartz-clustered summit.

This 4.6-mile loop gets two thumbs up for its rushing cascades, sweet campsites, and two fine viewpoints overlooking Pisgah National Forest.

On this 5.6-miler, see the rare granite domes and lively waterfalls that earned this Nantahala National Forest valley the nickname "Yosemite of the East."

Hike a 6.9-mile loop past raging waterfalls to the lonely ridges of North Carolina's Upper Piedmont for sky-high views in South Mountains State Park.

Climb Mt. Sterling and hike through history on this 16.4-mile loop through the eastern Smokies.

This 13.2-mile loop is classic Smokies: free-flowing creeks, wide valley views, and hardwood forests peppered with long-abandoned homesites.