UPDATE: Started as a private endeavor, Chimney Rock was a tourist attraction for most of the 20th Century (more history here). In 1963 a Jeep Trail was added to the Chimney Rock and a tour jeep began ferrying tour groups up the mountain. The tour company had three modified CJ-6 tour jeeps. This photo was likely taken between 1963 and 1977, when the jeep trail became a walking trail. In 2006 Chimney Rock became a North Carolina State Park.
The photo below was taken from the website, but no longer appears on the history page itself.
This same photo is available on eBay
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Forest Jeep Trail Chimney Rock Park North Carolina. Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is not dated.”
There’s another press photo that is also available on eBay which shows a tour jeep at Hickory Nut Falls, a stop on the way to Chimney Rock:
View all the information on ebay
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Hickory Nut Falls Tourist Jeep Chimney Rock Prk North Carolina. Photo has creases right corners & slight waving top edge due to too much glue being used to attach the information sheet onto the back of the photo. Photo measures 8 x 10 inches and is dated 8/5/1969.”
This same image was sold as Postcards:
View all the information on eBay
“This is a used postcard with writing and postmark. Has surface, corner & edge wear, light corner crease, overall good condition.”
========================
Original posted January 2013: An issue of Jeep News also did an article on the jeeps at Chimney Rock:
A Chimney Rock brochure and guide pamphlet from the 1960s also shows an image of the tour jeep and two images of what appears to be a private jeep making the climb:
I walked this trail about 4 years ago, actually thought it was a good idea to leave vehicles behind. A very beautiful and delicate area, too beautiful to be ruined by Mad Max in his Roxor.
Mike, I could imagine the trail could be easily overcome with jeeps. Over in the Seattle area where I grew up, like on Tiger Mountain and Cougar Mountain, there are numerous former jeep roads and trails that are now hiking trails for similar reasons.