Linville Gorge: Table Rock & Linville Falls

Linville Gorge in Burke County is the deepest gorge in the eastern United States — 2,000 feet from the Table Rock and Hawksbill summits on the western rim to the Linville River below, carved through billion-year-old Cranberry Gneiss. The wilderness designation means no trails are marked from the gorge interior and no motor vehicles are allowed; the rim trails are strenuous but clearly signed and deliver views that match anything in the southern Appalachians. Table Rock is the first objective — a half-mile scramble from the parking area to a 3,909-foot summit with sheer face drops and views south down the gorge. Linville Falls on the second morning, before the return, is the most dramatic waterfall in western North Carolina: the Linville River drops 45 feet into a pool, then another 12 feet into the Upper Plunge Basin at the top of a 2,000-foot gorge — visible from three separate overlooks on a loop trail from the visitor center.