A Day at Hot Springs

Last Saturday I visited the 24th annual Bluff Mountain Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina. The Bluff Mountain Festival began as a way to raise funds and awareness to preserve nearby Bluff Mountain from logging. When a compromise with the logging company was reached, the festival has evolved into a fundraiser for the Madison County Arts Council with food vendors, art booths, and, of course, bluegrass and old time music. The festival now takes place on the grounds of the Hot Springs Resort and Spa.

The weather would be as good as it gets for June. I arrived a bit later than the 10am start time because I made an unplanned stop near Madison, so a crowd had already set up close to the stage. I decided to check out the red caboose by the road first. A quick search after I got home documented this was once a caboose owned by the Norfolk and Southern Railway.

The Festival

Before setting up my chair in front of the stage, I walked around the artist vendor area.

I took some lousy cell phone of a few of the performances. The videos are shaky and not good, but I did run them a stabilizer before uploading. The audio is mostly fine. The performances, though, were all fantastic!  The first performers I saw were the Stoney Mountain Boys and the Coal Mountain Cloggers. The last performance of both groups is presented below:

I watched a few more performers before heading out for a while down US 25 for a loop hike.

Lover's Leap Overlook

Lover's Leap is a scenic overlook above Hot Springs on the Appalachian Trail on Lovers Leap Ridge. I decided to hike a loop from the Appalachian Trail on Silvermine Road then past the French Broad River, then up some switchbacks to Lover's Leap Trail then back down to Silvermine Road. This took me past three overlooks, with the third one I found out later was Lover's Leap.

The first overlook I found didn't have much of a view so I didn't both taking a photo. As I exited the spur trail to the first overlook, I noticed a women coming up from behind.

The second overlook was much more scenic:

At the second overlook (or the first rock outcropping), I found a cairn and a cube:

This made me think perhaps this was Lover's Leap. I hiked a bit longer uphill a bit more before I stopped and let the woman pass. I passed her again at another switchback, and I told her she'd probably pass me again real soon.

When I made to the third overlook (or the second rock outcropping) I found, I thought this one had the best view yet.

With a rather sharp dropoff, I didn't feel like tempting a fall. I did risk taking a photo of the rock formation.

I could also see the festival's parking area from here, and my car if I squint at the photo hard enough:

This is the one I believe is Lover's Leap. Lover's Leap has inspired several legends, including the seemingly mandatory Cherokee maiden leaping to her death.

The women I passed before must have been done with being out of breath and went back down because she never passed me. Instead a woman with two weiner dogs came up and asked about the location of Lover's Leap. I admitted I was just as clueless as she was.

I continued uphill on the Appalachian Trail until I reached the intersection with Lover's Leap Trail. A fourth overlook (or third rocky outcropping) didn't tempt me so I skipped it.

Fortunately for me and the people behind me, the trail was all downhill from here. I walked back down Silvermine Road to the stairs to head back up to US 25 and then to the festival.

Back to the Festival

When I settled back in to my chair at the Bluff Mountain Festival, the Midnight Plowboys were playing their set. I recorded them playing Fishers Hornpipe:

The next act was the Burnette Sisters. These ladies definitely know how to market themselves. They let us know several times about their website, their Facebook, that they're recording a CD, and that you could buy their band's merchandise right there at the festival. I certainly can't knock their hustle!

Here's their last performance of this year's festival:

After that, a balladry group took over the stage. The acapella style didn't really do anything for me, so I decided to explore some of the town before I left.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs is a small town near the confluence of the French Broad River and Spring Creek. Hot Springs is named after a spring discovered on what is now the property of Hot Springs Resorts and Spa. Already known by local Native Americans, colonial settlers discovered the springs in 1778. A community developed in the area and became known as Warm Springs. The name changed to Hot Springs in 1886 and three years later the town was incorporated.

A tavern was built near the springs in the late 1700s, succeeded by the Warm Springs Hotel. That hotel burned in 1884. A new hotel, the Mountain Park Hotel, was built on the site in 1886. During World War I, the Mountain Park Hotel was leased to the government as an internment camp for German internees. That hotel burned in 1920. Other smaller hotels were also built here, but they burned too. I guess that spring is just that hot?? In 1990, Hot Springs Resort and Spa took over and maintains the property today.

I thought this spot near the grade crossing this could easily have been where the train depot might have once stood:

Downtown was busy with late afternoon foot traffic.

One building that stood out to me was this stone building, home to Gendry Hardware since 1948:

This 50th anniversary memorial to Earl Shaffer's 50th anniversary hike near the visitor's center also stood out:

My last stop was visit one of several memorials to the Dixie Highway (part of which became U.S. 25 through Hot Springs). This one is located near Hot Springs Elementary School:

This is one of several Dixie Highway memorials along what was called the Carolina route. In 2016, I visited several of these memorials in Greenville County, SC and Henderson County, NC. I also produced a map of the Dixie Highway memorial locations.

I had a great time listening to great music. I don't know if I'll go back next year, but I know I'll definitely be back!

All my trip photos are in the album Hot Springs, NC - June 2019 on Google Photos.