Asheville’s #1 Family Photographer shares hot pro tips for shooting gorgeous Max Patch Family Photos in the fall!

Max Patch Mountain has long been a popular location for family’s seeking that iconic, quintessential 360 degree, rolling Blue Ridge Mountain View for their Family Photos! Wild, untouched and breathtakingly beautiful, visiting the mountain for Max Patch Family Photos is more than just your average, run of the mill Family Photoshoot in Asheville, it’s an experience for your entire family! You’ll be making an actual memory together, one that you’ll never forget! Within this Blog post, I’m gonna share some pro tips for shooting a successful Family Portrait Session at Max Patch!

Getting to Max Patch:

Situated on the North Carolina / Tennessee border, the trail head for Max Patch Mountain is located about an hour West of Asheville. Directions via I-40 from Asheville: Take I-40 West about 40 miles to exit 7 (Harmon’s Den). Take a right on Cold Springs Road, and the road almost immediately becomes gravel. This usually well-graded road climbs steadily but never steeply 6.2 miles to SR-1182 (Max Patch Road). 4WD recommended in winter and wet weather. Turn left and drive 1.5 miles to the Max Patch parking area on the right. Allow an hour or so to drive there.

Hot Pro Tip:

Check Apple or Google Maps a couple hours before leaving to see if there’s any traffic on I-40 and give yourself extra travel time incase of traffic westbound (which can sometimes happen particularly in the gorge west of Asheville). This is really important if you’re planning a sunset family session at Max Patch. Logistically, you only have a limited amount of time to shoot in the hour or so before sunset, if you get caught up in traffic on I-40, get lost etc. and then show up to your session 30 minutes late with a 15-20 minute hike ahead of you, that will leave you with only about 10-15 minutes of daylight left to shoot! You want to be on time!

*This exact scenario described happened to the family featured in this post (they had traveled all the way from Atlanta to shoot with me at this specific place). I waited for them at the top for 45 minutes and started walking down and met them in the parking lot as I was coming off the trail. I knew how much they had invested in making this session happen so we basically ran all the way back up the trail, near the top of the mountain, we only had about 10 minutes of daylight left to shoot, buuuuutttt they still got awesome pictures (bc I’m a seasoned professional who can make unbelievable magic happen even in the most impossible circumstances) but, they would’ve had a much larger gallery if we had the full hour to shoot!

In fact, my best advice is to show up an hour early for your session so that you can take your time walking up the trail (bonus, you wont get all sweaty), enjoy the experience, have a picnic or a beverage at the top and take in the views while you’re at it!

Hiking up the Mountain for Max Patch Family Photos:

Hiking this section of the famous Appalachian National Scenic Trail (or A.T.) on top of Max Patch Mountain is a spectacular experience for your family that will leave you with some incredibly beautiful, timeless portraits that you will be so proud to display on the walls of your home! This 4,600-ft. bald mountain was cleared and used as pasture in the 1800s. Today, it’s a 350-acre tract of open land on a high knob with 360-degree views. It’s one of the most spectacular views you’ll experience in the Blue Ridge!

From the trailhead, you may be tempted to follow the closed trail that leads from the parking lot straight to the summit, but please resist since that old / closed trail is now an ecological restoration area. Instead, follow one of the two easier blue blaze trails to the Appalachian Trail and summit. Hike up one trail, cross the summit and back down the other for a total of 1.7 miles! The trail itself is a gradual, not steep incline and is do’able for most folks, young kids, etc.

“How do we actually hike up a mountain and still look our best for Family Portraits!?”

Here’s my step by step guide to making this happen:

• Arrive way early to give yourself plenty of time to walk slowly up the mountain so that you don’t get all sweaty ahead of your portrait session.
• Wear comfortable shoes on the walk to the top.
• Change at the top if you must. There’s no where really ‘private’ to change, so I would recommend bringing a blanket to hold up for some privacy if you need it or changing in the tree line near’ish the top!
• Definitely change at the top if you are a particularly sweaty person.
• If you’re shooting in the spring/summer, bring a hand fan, cool towels and plenty of water!
• Bring snacks (the last thing we need is hangry children not cooperating after all this effort!)
• Bring a blanket (that coordinates with what you’re wearing for seated snuggly photos) but also to sit down and take in the view before or after your session, maybe have a picnic (you should also enjoy the experience in this beautiful place!)

What time should we shoot our Max Patch Family Photos?

Since Max Patch is a ‘bald’ mountain, there are no trees for shade so the middle of the day there is bright, harsh, direct sunlight. I recommend shooting either a sunrise session or in the last two hours before sunset at this location for the best lighting conditions for your Family Photoshoot at Max Patch!

What time of year is best for Photos at Max Patch?

I have captured stunning photos at Max Patch in the Winter, in the Spring, in the Summer and definitely in the Fall. In my opinion, the very best seasons to shoot Family Photos at Max Patch are the late spring or early autumn — when the trees have leaves, the tall grass is nicer and the temperatures are mild’ish. While there’s certainly a draw to shooting Fall Family Photos at Max Patch, you really want to try to shoot there prior to mid October because the winds pick up at these higher elevations and it could be incredibly cold and windy if you’re trying to shoot in late October. Also, the leaves begin to fly away by the third week of October at these higher elevations!

Family Photos at Max Patch

If you’re hoping to shoot Family Photos at Max Patch this year, please reach out asap! My availability is limited and I would love to go on an adventure with your family! You can learn more about Family Portrait Sessions on my website, located here: Family Photography Information