If you are truly an outdoorsman who's looking to find great hiking and take advantage of the best of North Carolina's mountains, do NOT come to Chimney Rock Park. The ads for this place are very misleading - it is not an outdoor activity destination, it's an outdoor theme park.
Will you get great views here? Yes, absolutely - there are several lookout stations posted throughout the cliff faces. Will you get a good workout? Yes, it's impossible to ascend that high without some effort (unless you follow the lead of most of the park visitors, who simply take the elevator to the top of the mountain to see the main view). Will you get a good hike, in which you have an opportunity to see and participate in the natural environment? Absolutely not - unless you consider walking on boardwalk, asphalt and concrete a good hike. Fully 85% of the park's upper trails are man-made - makes sense since it's essentially a manmade structure that attaches to the side of the mountain so you can easily get to the advertised views, but it is not a true nature experience by any means. The lower "trail" is really just a road. The park advertises its hiking trails pretty heavily, but you should take that with a shaker full of salt - any mountain trail where people with strollers and flip flops can access it is not going to provide a real hiking challenge.
Despite the park's advertising about all the outdoor activities, it's a tightly controlled artificial environment, replete with heavy crowds, vendors, shopping, dining and cranky park attendants (who are either extremely rude or completely disinterested as they force their way by you - as was later discovered, to meet up for a tryst at the end of the trail). The park also advertises that "pets are welcome," suggesting that it is a true outdoor opportunity, but your dog better be ready to climb up and down 100's of open wooden stairs. Unless you intend to just use the old road, taking Fido with you is not recommended.
This place is great if you just the want the views, or have young kids who will find it challenging, or if you want the stairmaster workout of your life while taking in the fresh air. If you really want an outdoor experience, however, the North Carolina mountains offer a number of much better venues - most of which do not also have an astronomical $14 admission fee. In the end, that should have been a dead giveaway that this was North Carolina's own version of Orlando. That's fine, of course, if that's what you're looking for, but the park's advertising should be honest.
