Friday, September 28, 2007

Best Hiking Trails In North Carolina

Best Hiking Trails In North Carolina

#1. Black Mountain Crest
An inspiring overnight backpack or shorter day hike across the Black Mountains, with summits all well above 6.000 feet. Views are astounding along this sparsely vegetated ridge, plummeting 4000 feet

From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Asheville, NC - Hiking - 12 miles (About Top Trails)

#2. Mount Mitchell
Mt. Mitchell—the highest peak east of the Mississippi—is a crowning part of the Blue Ridge Parkway experience. The only motorized access to the mountain is from the Parkway, at Milepost 355.3,
From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Asheville, NC - Hiking - 12 miles (About Top Trails)

#3. Uwharrie National Forest
Wonderful, woodsy circuit hikes in Uwharrie National Forest, some of substantial length. The Uwharrie and Dutchmans Creek trails form a figure eight
From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Asheboro, NC - Hiking - 20.1 miles (About Top Trails)

#4. Mount Pisgah Area Trails
Driving the Parkway from Asheville to Mt. Pisgah is a humbling experience —especially if you stopped by Biltmore House and Gardens on the way through town.
From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Brevard, NC - Hiking - 6.4 miles (About Top Trails)

#5. Appalachian Trail: Clingmans Dome to Spence Field
This hike is a long, difficult, beautiful hike, and by the end, you will have your own definition of a southern Appalachian knob.
From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Cades Cove, NC - Hiking - 22.1 miles (About Top Trails)

#6. Appalachian Trail - Southern Balds Section
An inspiring hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) over the mountaintop meadows called the Southern Balds. As a whole, this is a wonderful but strenuous backpacking trip. Hikers can also make day hikes
From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Bakersville, NC - Hiking - 13 miles (About Top Trails)

#7. Appalachian Trail: Allen Gap to Devil Fork Gap
The northern half of this hike borders the Bald Mountain Ridge Scenic Area in the Cherokee National Forest, and the AT runs along a rugged, isolated crest. Outstanding view
From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Hot Springs, NC - Hiking - 20.2 miles (About Top Trails)

#8. Gregory Bald Overnight Loop
This hike combines the best that the high and low country have to offer. First, you'll travel up the Twentymile Trail past Twentymile Cascades to the Upper Flats streamside camp.
From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park"
Fontana Village, NC - Hiking - 15.7 miles (About Top Trails)

#9. Craggy Gardens
A more than mile-high area of crags and bald mountains with a variety of hikes, easy to moderate, with spectacular vistas and a waterfall. General location: Blue Ridge Parkway
From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Asheville, NC - Hiking - 6.2 miles (About Top Trails)

#10. Shining Rock Wilderness
Hikes to bald summits and evergreen forests of the Shining Rock wilderness. Most of these hikes begin on the Graveyard Trail, a less-used and scenic route. General location: Blue Ridge Parkway
From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Asheville, NC - Hiking - 9 miles (About Top Trails)

#11. Linville Gorge Wilderness
A 12,002-acre tract of designated wilderness, Linville Gorge lies between Jonas Ridge to the east and Linville Mountain to the west. The Blue Ridge Parkway skirts the head of the gorge From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Crossnore, NC - Hiking - 14 miles (About Top Trails)

#12. Andrews Bald
This is one of the Smokies' finest hikes. The trip passes through an extraordinary spruce-fir forest to the grassy field of Andrews Bald. Resplendent with stunning view
From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park"
Cherokee, NC - Hiking - 3.6 miles (About Top Trails)

#13. Shining Rock Wilderness
As you drive south out of Asheville and climb past Mt. Pisgah, the Shining Rock Wilderness can’t help but catch your attention.
From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Brevard, NC - Hiking - 8.8 miles (About Top Trails)

#14. Bartram Trail
An outstanding ridge walk, perfect for backpacking or day hiking. The graded trail traverses a rarely visited ridge and spectacular summits. General location: North of Highlands....
From the guidebook "Hiking North Carolina"
Highlands, NC - Hiking - 8.5 miles (About Top Trails)

#15. Appalachian Trail:
Carvers Gap to Roan High Bluff & Rhododendron Gardens
Roan Mountain is a place of mystery, legend, wild beauty, and superlatives. The largest of the southern Appalachian grassy balds
From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Bakersville, NC - Hiking - 5.6 miles (About Top Trails)

#16. Appalachian Trail: Carvers Gap to US 19E
Wide-open spaces, miles of waving grass, alpine wildflowers … Is this the southern Appalachians? Botanist Asa Gray observed in the 1880s that he could ride his horse for 14 miles on Roan Mountain
From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Roan Mountain, TN - Hiking - 13.4 miles (About Top Trails)

#17. Appalachian Trail: Davenport Gap to Max Patch
Because of distance and several long ups and downs, the rating on this hike is "strenuous," but in general the grade is good with no difficult or rough spots. From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Waterville, NC - Hiking - 16 miles (About Top Trails)

#18. Graveyard Fields Loop Trail
A loop that reaches two waterfalls and explores a high, alpine-like valley. A second circuit involves a new portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Brevard, NC - Hiking - 9.5 miles

#19. Fontana Lake Overnight Loop
If you like a combination of mountains and lakes, this moderate hike is for you and any younger or inexperienced backpackers you may wish to bring along.
From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park"
Fontana Village, NC - Hiking - 17.7 miles

#20. Appalachian Trail: Deep Gap to Timber Ridge Trail
At 5498 feet, Standing Indian Mountain is the highest point south of the Smokies and the southernmost mile-high peak on the AT. However, the trail climbs gradually with switchbacks
From the guidebook "Exploring the Appalachian Trail: Hikes in the Southern Appalachians"
Franklin, NC - Hiking - 10.4 miles

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