Fall foliage season will appear in the Blue Ridge Mountains over the next few weekends with peak leaf season in the Catawba Valley following shortly after.

Here are six easy to moderate hikes for leaf watchers this fall.

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway (mid- to late October)

Here are three higher-elevation picks to whet your appetite before peak leaf season hits the Catawba Valley.

Flat Rock Loop

Flat Rock Loop is the easiest of the higher elevation hikes. It is a 0.7-mile loop to a series of vistas along the appropriately named Flat Rock Ridge.

Parking is along the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 308.3. From there, the trail is a loop that gains about 150 feet of elevation. A few hundred feet into the walk, the trail splits. The left side is a shorter, but slightly steeper climb to t

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