Articles labeled: chimney rock state park

How devastating. A 2-year-old boy hiking with his parents slipped under a railing on the slide of a trail and fell to his death.

Through an interpreter, the boy’s mother told police she was holding her child’s hand while walking between him and the rail overlooking the cliff when he suddenly pulled away from her, said Charlie Peek, spokesman for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, which manages the park.

The boy ran, then slipped under the rail of the boardwalk along the Skyline Trail and fell more than 100 feet to the Cliff Trail below, Peek said.

Park officials don’t recommend those trails for families with small children because of the cliffs, a caution that is spelled out on trail maps given to visitors. But many families still take children on the trail.