Growing up, if we went into the mountains on a Saturday, we typically either went to Table Rock or Caesars Head. We visited Table Rock last year with my dad and step-mom (check out our write-up here), and this year, they accompanied us up to Caesars Head on a beautiful fall day.
Caesars Head is located at the Blue Ridge Escarpment, ‘escarpment’ meaning a place where the land suddenly rises, like at a plateau’s edge. One moment you’re in the rolling foothills (or, if you want to use the French term, ‘piedmont’, literally ‘foot of the mountain’), and the next moment you find yourself winding up US 178 in a set of horseshoe bends that will make even the strongest stomachs wish you were there yet. (The towns below are at around 1,000-1,100 feet.)
The reward for the drive up over 2,000 feet in around 7 miles of road is a beautiful view of the surroundings. Caesars Head faces south, so the view is quite impressive. No wonder the observation deck is featured on the stamp for the state park.
The area gets its name perhaps due to a rock face that looks like a face, and maybe it looked rather, um…Caesar-like? There’s no great view of the rock face, unfortunately. You used to could take a trail (after passing through a fun passage through the rocks named Devil’s Kitchen that I used to love going through) to an overlook to see the rock face, but it’s blocked off now. Not even a Google Earth search is much help to see the visage.
There was a drawing in the Visitor Center that did make it seem like a face was visible, at least to the artist. But what’s less important is that there’s a mystery face. What’s more important is that there are plenty of beautiful things to see. Caesars Head is a great jumping-off point to see waterfalls and hike through beautiful forest. You can actually hike east through the area known as the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area and end up in Jones Gap State Park. Not with a 7- and 3-year-old in tow, though!
We hiked a mile or two through the beautiful changing leaves and then ate at the nearby restaurant The Mountain House, a simple lunch spot that’s only open on the weekends and serves some yummy sandwiches.
I’m very thankful to have grown up going to these mountains. They’re such a beautiful area, and I’m glad to get to bring my own kids to them now, though the drive is a bit further. We are coming to the mountains again in a couple of weeks, probably visiting a state park when we come…but I’ll let that be a mystery!
Beavers in the Park 