North Carolina Hiking Trails

Harold Blackwood photo

 

From waterfalls to vistas to beautiful displays of wildflowers, there is something for everyone on the Parkway trails in North Carolina. Hikers should use caution on the trails, as storm damage from Helene may have created hazards that aren't always visible and can change quickly with the weather.

 

Milepost	Name and Description	Distance	Difficulty	Current Conditions
217.5	Cumberland Knob Trail (ideal lazy-day walk)	.5	Easy	CLOSED
217.5	Gully Creek Trail (rewarding loop that meanders by stream)	2.0	Strenuous	CLOSED
218.6	Fox Hunters Paradise Trail (view)	.2	Easy	CLOSED
230.1	Little Glad Millpond (easy loop stroll around pond)	.4	Easy	CLOSED
238.5	Cedar Ridge Trail (great for day hike; vistas and forests)	4.2	Moderate	CLOSED
238.5	Bluff Mountain Trail (parallels Parkway to Milepost 244.7)	7.5	Moderate	CLOSED
241.0	Fodder Stack Trail (great variety of plants)	1.0	Moderate	CLOSED
243.7	Grassy Gap Fire Road (wide enough for side-by-side hiking)	6.5	Moderate	CLOSED
243.7	Basin Creek Trail (access from back-country campground)	3.3	Moderate	CLOSED
244.7	Flat Rock Ridge Trail (forest path with vistas)	5.0	Moderate	CLOSED
260.3	Jumpingoff Rocks Trail (forest path to vista)	1.0	Easy	CLOSED
264.4	The Lump Trail (to hilltop view)	.3	Easy	CLOSED
271.9	Cascades Trail (self-guiding loop to view of falls)	.5	Moderate	CLOSED
272.5	Tompkins Knob Trail (to Jesse Brown Cabin)	.6	Easy	CLOSED
294.0	Rich Mountain Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	4.3	Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Flat Top Mountain Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	3.0	Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Watkins Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	3.3	Easy/Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Black Bottom Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	.5	Easy	OPEN*
294.0	Bass Lake Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	1.7	Easy	OPEN*
294.0	Deer Park Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	.8	Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Maze Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	2.3	Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Duncan Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	2.5	Moderate	OPEN*
294.0	Rock Creek Bridge Carriage, Horse & Hiking Trail	1.0	Easy	OPEN*
294.1	Figure 8 Trail (short self-guiding loop around nature trail)	.7	Easy	OPEN*
294.6	Trout Lake Hiking & Horse Trail (loop)	1.0	Easy	OPEN*
295.9	Green Knob Trail (to Green Knob)	2.3	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
296.5	Boone Fork Trail (stream, forest, and meadows)	5.5	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
297.0	Price Lake Loop Trail (loop around Price Lake)	2.7	Moderate	OPEN*
304.4	Linn Cove Viaduct Access Trail	.2	Easy	OPEN*
305.2	Beacon Heights Trail (10 minutes to view)	.2	Moderate	CLOSED
305.5	Tanawha Trail (diverse features; parallels Parkway to Price Park)	13.5	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
308.2	Flat Rock Trail (self-guiding loop)	.6	Easy	CLOSED
315.5	Camp Creek Trail (leg stretcher through laurel and rhododendron)	.1	Easy	CLOSED
316.4	Linville Falls Trail (view of upper falls)	.8	Moderate	CLOSED
316.4	Linville Gorge Trail (view of lower falls)	.5	Strenuous	CLOSED
316.4	Duggers Creek Trail (loop to view of Duggers Falls)	.25	Easy	CLOSED
316.5	Linville River Bridge Trail (leg stretcher to view of unusual bridge)	.1	Easy	CLOSED
320.8	Chestoa View Trail (30-minute loop to vista)	.6	Easy	CLOSED
339.5	Crabtree Falls Loop Trail (loop to view of falls)	2.5	Strenuous	CLOSED
344.1	Woods Mountain Trail (trail on adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands)	2.0	Moderate	CLOSED
350.4	Lost Cove Ridge Trail (trail on adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands)	.6	Moderate	CLOSED
351.9	Deep Gap Trail (trail on adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands)	.2	Easy	CLOSED
355.0	Bald Knob Ridge Trail (trail on adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands)	.1	Easy	CLOSED
359.8	Big Butt Trail (trail on adjacent U.S. Forest Service lands)	.2	Strenuous	CLOSED
361.2	Glassmine Falls (view of Falls)	.1	Moderate	CLOSED
364.2	Craggy Pinnacle Trail (to panoramic view)	.7	Moderate	CLOSED
364.6	Craggy Gardens Trail (first portion is self-guiding nature trail)	.8	Moderate	CLOSED
374.4	Rattlesnake Lodge Trail (woodland walk)	.5	Moderate	OPEN*
382.0	Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Folk Art Center to Mount Mitchell; spring wildflowers and views; parallels parkway; many accesses to trail segments)		Moderate/Strenuous	CLOSED
384.0	Mountains-to-Sea Trail segment at the NPS Asheville Visitor Center	1.2	Easy/Moderate	OPEN*
393.7	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Bent Creek-Walnut Cove)	3.1	Strenuous	OPEN*
396.4	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Walnut Cove-Sleepy Gap)	1.7	Moderate	OPEN*
397.3	Grassy Knob Trail (steep trail to USFS area)	.9	Strenuous	OPEN*
397.3	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Sleepy Gap-Chestnut Cove)	.7	Moderate	OPEN*
398.3	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Chestnut Cover-Bent Creek Gap)	2.8	Strenuous	OPEN*
400.3	Shut-In Trail/Mountain-to-Sea Trail (Bent Creek Gap-Beaver Dam Gap)	1.9	Moderate	OPEN*
401.7	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Beaver Dam Gap-Stoney Bald)	.9	Moderate	OPEN*
402.6	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Stoney Bald-Big Ridge)	1.2	Strenuous	OPEN*
403.6	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Big Ridge-Mills River Valley)	1.1	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
404.5	Shut-In Trail/Mountain-to-Sea Trail (Mills River Valley-Elk Pasture Gap)	1.2	Strenuous	OPEN*
405.5	Shut-In Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Elk Pasture Gap-Mt. Pisgah)	1.7	Strenuous	OPEN*
407.6	Mt. Pisgah Trail (summit view)	1.3	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
407.6	Buck Springs Trail (Pisgah Lodge to view)	1.1	Easy/Moderate	OPEN*
408.5	Frying Pan Mountain Trail	1.1	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
417.0	East Fork Trail (USFS, access to Shining Rock Trail System)	.1	Easy/Moderate	OPEN*
418.8	Graveyard Fields Loop Trail (loop by a stream)	2.3	Moderate	OPEN*
419.4	John Rock Trail (leg stretcher to view)	.1	Easy	OPEN*
422.4	Devil's Courthouse Trail (panoramic summit view)	.4	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*
427.6	Bear Pen Gap Trail (access to Mountains-by-the-Sea Trail)	.2	Easy	OPEN*
431.0	Richland Balsam Trail (self-guiding loop through spruce-fir forest)	1.5	Moderate	OPEN*
433.8	Roy Taylor Overlook Trail (paved trail to overlook)	.1	Easy	OPEN*
451.2	Waterrock Knob Trail (summit view)	.6	Moderate/Strenuous	OPEN*

 

*Due to damage from Hurricane Helene, hikers should use caution, as unseen hazards may be present and conditions can change with the weather.