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About the Shining Rock Wilderness
The Shining Rock Wilderness is now the largest Wilderness in North
Carolina, separated by only a road from Middle
Prong Wilderness to the southwest. Standing at an
elevation of more than 5,000 feet and boasting
five peaks exceeding 6,000 feet (three within the
Wilderness boundaries), Shining Rock Ledge forms
the backbone of this area.
Here in this series of high ridges on the north
slopes of Pisgah Ridge, you'll find extremely
steep and rugged terrain ranging in elevation from
3,200 feet on the banks of the West Fork of Pigeon
River, a major tributary of the Tennessee River,
to 6,030 feet on Cold Mountain. Streams abound,
cutting narrow passages through the mountains on
their way to either the East or West Forks of the
Pigeon River. Loggers cut down the forest between
1906 and 1926 and fires raged through the area in
1925 and 1942. These two factors account for
Shining Rock's grassy "balds" and unique
vegetation.
Almost all the trails in the area rate as
difficult, and they can be hard to follow.
Nevertheless, this Wilderness is one of the most
trampled in the state. No campfires are permitted,
and group size is limited to 10.
This camera view is authorized by the
Clean Air
Campaign. New images upload about once every
few minutes.
These
cameras are occasionally obstructed by FOG, ICE or SNOW.
We monitor them regularly and just ask you to check back
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