Since our trip to Lake Lure was calling for rain the whole weekend, we had to fall back on an indoor activity – and what more glorious than the largest residential home in America, the 175000 square foot Biltmore Estate. With 250 rooms to explore, I knew it would keep us occupied no matter what the weather!
The trail is 1.4 miles round trip, and very easy; well marked, wide, and moderately flat. All along the way, the trail is surrounded by the beautiful canopy of trees, so even though it was a hot and humid July day, we were offered plenty of shade.
We like Lake Lure because it’s quiet, but also interesting – with a cute little shopping area, a “beach” area on the Lake, and nearby Chimney Rock State Park, there are plenty of things to do!
There are approximately 150 ponies who call the Highlands home. They are descendants of Assateague Island ponies, just like Misty of Chincoteague, and just like their cousins, they are tough and tiny, capable of thriving in the rough winters of the Highlands.
This park is a beautiful place to spend a quiet afternoon, and the trails offer a shaded respite from the summer heat, with the added bonus of paddling on the lake to cool off.
Flamingo is the southernmost Visitor Center, and features a General Store (in the process of begin rebuilt at the time of this writing), a Marina, a Bait and Tackle shop, and several hiking trails.
This is the ecosystem that Everglades is most known for – the flooded grasslands that host the most iconic species like the alligator, crocodile, and plethora of wading birds.
Driving along the main road from Homestead to Flamingo, you’ll pass as sign that reads “Rock Reef Pass, Elevation 3 feet”.
It’s comical, but the sign is not intended to be a joke – this is one of the highest points of elevation in the entire park.
Pinelands is a very short and easy walk, but I think it’s one not to miss because it features an important feature of the Everglades National Park that is key to the survival of many species – solution holes.
Not far from the Nike Missile site lies Long Pine Key, an area which encompasses nearly 19000 acres of slash pines, one of the largest and most threatened expanses of pine rockland remaining in the US. At one time, these pines dominated the entirety of South Florida, but have been eliminated by the growth demands and raw material harvesting.