Guards keeping people away from NC’s iconic Sliding Rock due to dangerous conditions
Sliding Rock in Pisgah National Forest joined the list of iconic tourist attractions in North Carolina that saw damage in flooding last week.
The rock is now guarded and off limits due to large piles of fallen trees and brush.
A photo shared on Facebook challenged viewers to find the viewing platform under the debris.
“Sliding Rock is closed and law enforcement have been stationed there to prevent entry,” the forest service wrote.
“Facility infrastructure is damaged and this picture shows the state of the pool above water. Even more debris is certainly underwater. Please stay out of the area for your safety and the safety of our emergency responders.”
Sliding Rock is popular with tourists as a “natural water slide.” People who sit at the top slide 60 feet to an 8-foot-deep pool at the bottom. It has two observation platforms for those who prefer to stay dry.
Extensive debris was left behind by remnants of Tropical Storm Fred, which dumped up to a foot of rain on some mountain counties, McClatchy News reported. Severe flooding followed, displacing hundreds of families and killing five people in the Cruso area of Haywood County.
Sliding Rock is one of multiple tourist spots that were damaged, including several landslides that had to be cleared off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Price Lake along the Blue Ridge Parkway was “emptied” when its dam sustained damage, and Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah National Forest is capped by a half-acre-sized log jam, McClatchy News reported. The cluster of trees “is lodged just above the 60-foot drop” and could tumble over the falls at any time, officials say.
Visiting the falls is discouraged, but those who do are restricted to viewing from afar, on an upper platform, officials said.
The U.S Forest Service posted a notice Wednesday, warning people to stay away from sites of destruction.
“The Appalachian Ranger District highly discourages use of the Forest Service roads, trails, and dispersed camping sites in the areas around Burnsville, Hot Springs, and Barnardsville until further notice,” officials wrote.
“Please do not hike to known landslides or mudslides, particularly in the Madison, Haywood, Yancey, and Buncombe counties, as they are too dangerous and unstable for all forms of traffic, including vehicle, foot, horse, and bicycle.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 7:44 AM with the headline "Guards keeping people away from NC’s iconic Sliding Rock due to dangerous conditions."