Chimney Rock and Lake Lure

Chimney Rock and neighboring Lake Lure—both popular day trips from Asheville—were the dream projects of a single man, Dr. Lucius Morse. In the early 1900s he bought and began developing Chimney Rock, and in the 1926 he dammed the Rocky Broad River to create Lake Lure. In 2007, the Morse descendents sold Chimney Rock Park to the state of North Carolina, which is turning it, along with other nearby land, into a 3,260-acre state park. Although the scenery, particularly when viewed from atop Chimney Rock, is spectacular—several movies have been filmed here—the commercial development along parts of Hickory Nut Gorge is not so appealing. Lake Lure, with 27 mi of shoreline, is one of the most beautiful lakes in the mountains.