“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before”

The title for this post suggests that both the Chimney Rock State Park and Lake Lure are at the same location geographically. In reality, they are close to each other, but can still be considered as two different destinations.

Chimney Rock State Park in located in Rutherford county of North Carolina, USA. It is known for its famous Chimney Rock which provides a comprehensive view of the park, the countryside and most notably, Lake Lure. Yes, Lake Lure is a few miles away from the park, but we’ll get to that soon!

The Chimney Rock is 96 m (315 foot) tall and stands separate from the rest of the mountain. You can take a large flight of stairs up to the top and it’s pretty cool as you get chances of taking more photographs along the way. There is also an elevator that takes you almost to the top of the mountain if you’re looking to save the cardio for some other time. The flight of stairs leading up to the top also has many viewing points and resting areas so you can catch a breath.

At the top, you can hike some more (non-strenuous) to get the top view of the rock. Personally I think that the top view is magnificent! To the side there is a small resting area. To go to the top of the rock, there is another flight of stairs connecting the rock to the main mountain. The views (and wind) there will be soothing and totally worth the whole drive and hike.

We then left the State Park to head towards Lake Lure. It was a 10 min drive to get out of the park and get to the lake. It was a beautiful day to be on the lake. There is a beach and water park area where children as well as adults can have fun. You can also take boat rides on the lake and it looked like it would have been a lot of fun, but we just didn’t have the time.

Overall, it was a pleasant day trip considering the drive one way from Clemson, SC (my headquarters) was around 2 hrs. All in all, it was totally worth the time put in and the flights climbed. Let me know what you think of the post and if you have any suggestions to improve the posts or better places I can visit around Clemson! Cheers!