Blackrock Mountain Trail & Sylva NC
The Hike...
I tend to find a lot of good regional hikes on the Alltrails App. This can typically save a person a lot of time spent on boring or bad hikes if you know what you want on a hike. I try to incorporate limited crowds, some physical effort (because we always search out a local brewery and good food after), interesting scenery and a great view at the end! Blackrock Mountain Trail checked all the boxes!
On the trail....
I would classify this hike as a moderate to hard trail based on your fitness level. Lots of rock scrambles and roots typical of most good ones. Took us about 3.5 hours with some time spent at the end atop the Big Boulder with amazing views.
Sylva, NC & Breweries
As mentioned, after our hikes we always try to find the cool little local breweries and restaurants in whatever town we are visiting. Sylva is a great little mountain town with an old fashioned main street and local shops. If you go, be sure to checkout the Sour Beer selection at Balsam Falls Brewing and a great beer called "The Darkening" at The Lazy Hiker Tap Room. It's a dark beer (chocolaty) cut with tart cherries 🍒 that makes it lighter on the pallet than most heavy dark beers. After the beers, head on over to Pie Times Pizza for a great sourdough wood fired pizza (if you are still thirsty, the restaurant sits right next to another brewery called Innovation Brewing).
Sours at Balsam Falls Brewing Co.
Pizza at Pie Times. Good stuff after a hard day of hiking!
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