The 26-story elevator inside Chimney Rock in western North Carolina will reopen next week, 19 months after being shut down for upgrades.
Chimney Rock State Park, which attracts about 200,000 visitors a year, will dedicate the new elevator on June 29. The wooden stairs and hiking trails to the top of the 315-foot-tall rock were also upgraded.
The elevator opened in 1949 as the state’s tallest and required more than eight tons of dynamite to blast the shaft through Chimney Rock’s granite. Visitors have views for 75 miles from atop Chimney Rock.
The elevator ride is included with a $15 park admission, $7 for kids ages 6 to 15. Kids under six are admitted free.
Chimney Rock State Park is about 25 miles southeast of Asheville and about 100 miles west of Charlotte.
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