Blue Ridge Fall Foliage Report
Photos by Sean Rayford
Near Graveyard Fields looking toward Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, fall comes first at Graveyard Fields.
Located in Pigsah National Forest and adjacent to Shining Rock Wilderness, the valley sits about 5,000 feet above sea level and looks up to the nearby 6,000+ feet peaks of Black Balsam Knob, Tennet Mountain and Sam Knob.
All photos made October 2-3, 2021 along the Blue Ridge Parkway within 15 miles of the Graveyard Fields overlook, on the Graveyard Fields trail and from the Art Loeb Trail near Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
From the Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
Graveyard Fields Trail
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Graveyard Fields
From the Graveyard Fields Overlook
Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
Left: Near Graveyard Fields looking toward Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain. Right: Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
Blue Ridge Parkway, south of Graveyard Fields
Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob and Tennet Mountain.
Graveyard Fields Trail
From the Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob, Tennet Mountain.
Art Loeb Trail between Black Balsam Knob, Tennet Mountain.
Art Loeb Trail spur descending Black Balsam Knob.
Graveyard Fields
Graveyard Fields
About the Author: Sean Rayford is a South Carolina photojournalist living in Columbia, SC. He freelances with The New York Times, The Washington Post, Getty Images and many others.