Popular hiking trail temporarily closed after hiker’s death

BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — A popular hiking trail in the North Carolina mountains is closed for the foreseeable future after a hiker’s death in the last week.

The Glen Burney trail is rugged in spots, with an 800-foot elevation change. There are also some areas damaged by Hurricane Helene. When it’s wet, city leaders in Blowing Rock say someone can get hurt.

Emily Schmidt and her daughter wanted to hike the Glen Burney Trail on Thursday, but cones blocked the parking lot and caution tape stretched across the trailhead.

“Just disappointment, but that’s OK, we’ve done a lot of hiking around Bass Lake and we’ll go hiking around this pond. There are a lot of lovely trails,” Schmidt told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty.

It’s easy to see why so many people come to the Glen Burney Trail. It passes three separate waterfalls after starting near downtown Blowing Rock.

But city leaders say a man was hurt here Wednesday, and a person tragically died last week after falling off the trail and striking his head on a rock.

Chopper 9 Skyzoom has flown over the falls in the past for carry-outs after hikers were hurt. There are signs at the entrance to the trail warning of the dangers here and that climbing around falls can “result in serious injury or death.”

One family visiting from London ventured onto the trail Thursday to see the waterfalls.

“It’s mostly OK,” they said. “You can see where lots of damage has been done from things sliding down. So it’s not the safest at the moment, but if you know what you’re doing, I suppose it’s OK.”

The police chief says there’s no timetable yet on when the trail might reopen. They’re hoping the weather improves, allowing the trail to dry out.

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