This is a weird time to travel, being that we have a current pandemic and social distancing guidelines to follow. The Coronavirus has made a huge impact on travel. As I do not advise traveling at the moment, we were fortunate to have a work opportunity that took us to the mountains. It was great to get away and have a change of scenery. Because of the virus, I do not have my usual foodie recommendations for this visit. I wanted to share some must-see stops, should you find yourself on a road trip adventure. We drove from Florida’s Space Coast and it was an easy drive, about 9.5 hours to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I love to break up a road trip with detours. We always pack a cooler with snacks and drinks to save time and money.
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve in Cleveland, South Carolina (not too far outside of Greenville) is a detour that is worth it and it’s not too far! Bald Rock has an amazing view and Wildcat Wayside has multiple waterfalls and an easy, refreshing hike.
Around 3.5 miles before you get to Bald Rock, stop at Wildcat Wayside for a roadside waterfall that you can walk up, hike, and discover more waterfalls.
Bald Rock was easy to access. You park on the side of the road and walk on over. It can get steep toward the ledge so be safe and don’t be an idiot. There are other areas to walk around. If you get bored you can play a game of how many penises you can find painted on the rock, because there were a lot.
I recommend downloading the All Trails app to see what trails are near you. What’s great about the app is it includes photos, trail length, and rates the difficulty. I suggest downloading the app because it is not fun to discover your hike is very difficult, advanced, and many miles more than what you expected.
Another favorite app is Around Me. You can pull up the app from your location and find restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, etc., near you.
I recently came across this blog about getting in shape for hiking: Click here
The hotel we stayed at had an amazing view, and I would definitely stay again: Deer Ridge in Gatlinburg
