7th Annual Hickory Nut Olympiad begins tonight

August 25 - 28   Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad   is a 3-day family sports festival. Opening Night events include Lighting of the torch, water ski show, fireworks, family run, food, ice cream and much more at Lake Lure. Events for both hard core athletes and fun-seeking weekend warriors.

Three races in three days include 10K Dam Run, Lake Lure Sprint Triathlon and Race to the Rock. Each race provides gold, silver and bronze medals to winners and a 2011 Commemorative Olympiad T-shirt to the first 100 athletes registered. The Trathlon includes the 500m lake swim, a challenging 16.9 mile bike course and concludes with the 5k run, a steady but reasonable uphill that winds up a beautiful valley paralleling Bald Mountain Golf Courseto finish downhill at the beach at Lake Lure.
Additional events include the Open lake Swim, a Junior Olympiad, Kayak and swim sprints, and Team tournaments for Golf, Pickle Ball, Tennis, Dragon Boat Races, Corn Hole Toss and Horseshoe.

August 28    5th Annual Race to the Rock   Take the challenge - the 5th Annual Race to the Rock, part of the 7th Annual Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad in Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, NC. The Park's winding entrance road averages a 7% grade uphill climb for the 5K run and the end of the 25-mile bike race, but the views from the finish line are well worth the effort! This is the ONLY TIME you can run or bike up to Chimney Rock. Medals for top finishers are awarded in all age groups. Registration is $35 in advance online or $40 walk-up.