BRP French Broad River

The Mountains to Sea Trail crosses the French Broad River on the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge.
French Broad Sign

The Shut-In trail also crosses here on it’s way from the Biltmore Estate to Mount Pisgah.   This section of the MST in general is pretty easy hiking and it parallels the parkway closely.   In fact, from Asheville this is probably one of the most accessible areas for trail running as long as you don’t mind out and back runs.
French Broad River

The MST website recommends parking at the French Broad overlook for hiking on this section, but unless you’re a big fan of crossing road bridges it’s probably easier to park on the east side of the river at the pull out where the MST heads back into the forest. 

frog

This frog (and a garter snake) are about all the wildlife we saw between the French Broad River and the I-26 bridge (bikers don’t technically count).   So it’s not exactly much of a quiet wilderness experience but it’s very close to Asheville (and our house) so it’s good for a quick hike.  It’s also a good rehab hike (which we seem to be specializing in the last few years).