Fred Clifton Park at Lovers Leap Overlook (Spring, 2025)

 

I've been to this location frequently over the past several years for three reasons.

1) The area is absolutely beautiful.

2) It was along the way.

3) The view of and surrounding the entrance is changing forever due to US 58 being turned into a 4-lane highway through here.

You can see pictures from previous trips here and here.

This was the last time US 58 itself was located at the entrance. On my fall trip (2025), the road had been moved to the new roadbed south of this location. At the time I wrote this, the highway is still just two lanes, but I imagine that when I pass through here in 2026, the construction crew will be putting the finishing touches on the highway.

New River State Park

 

The new Visitor Center at New River State Park in North Carolina is beautiful and spacious. What is really awesome is the deck out back for just relaxing, taking in the view, and contemplating life. The facilities here are mostly newer, especially the campground. Sadly, Hurricane Helene did some major damage here and some of the facilities including trails and roads were closed when we visited here.

Mount Jefferson State Park

The view from Mount Jefferson, North Carolina, is quite splendid, to put it mildly. It's quite a drive up the mountain, 1,600 feet above the town of Jefferson. One can see for many miles up here.