Black Mountain Rag
Black Mountain Rag is a State Scenic Byway in North Carolina. Within North Carolina it covers roughly 30 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Black Mountain Rag with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Black Mountain Rag is a 31-mile North Carolina scenic byway named for an old fiddle tune, its route full of the same twists and turns as the song. The drive follows Highway 9 to the small town of Bat Cave, named for a real cave nearby once home to a bat colony, then splits: one branch heads southeast on US 64 past Hickory Nut Gorge and Chimney Rock State Park to Lake Lure, the other runs west on US 64 into the apple orchards around Edneyville. Along the gorge section, Hickory Nut Falls drops 404 feet into the Broad River, and the sheer granite monolith of Chimney Rock stands watch over the valley below. Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, rises within reach of the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway for travelers extending the trip. Closer to Hendersonville, the byway passes through blooming mountain laurel and some of North Carolina's best-known apple orchards, a gentler finish after the gorge's sharper curves. At about 45 minutes end to end, it packs a wide range of mountain scenery into a short drive.
- 31 miles (NC-9 / US-64)
- Bat Cave
- Hickory Nut Gorge & Chimney Rock State Park
- Hickory Nut Falls (404 ft)
- Lake Lure
- Edneyville apple orchards
- Mount Mitchell nearby
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What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Black Mountain Rag
3 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Black Mountain Rag.
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