Hiking trails near Hickory, North Carolina

71 official trails lie within 25 miles of Hickory — 156 miles in total, 52 rated easy and 2 hard or expert. Every distance and elevation figure below is computed from the agency centerline and a 10 m elevation model, not crowd-sourced.

The biggest climb nearby gains 1,409 ft; the median trail gains 132 ft.

Open the map on Hickory

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Raven Rock Trail	4.4	1,409 ft	Hard	58 min · 32 mi
Itusi Trail: Laurel Loop	9.1	105 ft	Hard	50 min · 32 mi
Gem Mine Trail	3.3	765 ft	Moderate	41 min · 26 mi
Fox Trail	3.7	578 ft	Moderate	58 min · 32 mi
Sawtooth Trail	3.4	402 ft	Moderate	43 min · 27 mi
Saddleback Trail	2.6	626 ft	Moderate	51 min · 30 mi
Upper Falls Trail	2.8	617 ft	Moderate	1 h 00 min · 31 mi
Headquarters Trail	2.4	805 ft	Moderate	1 h 00 min · 31 mi
Little River Trail	2.5	578 ft	Moderate	56 min · 30 mi
Chestnut Knob Trail	1.8	880 ft	Moderate	1 h 00 min · 31 mi
Shinny Trail	2.1	739 ft	Moderate	1 h 05 min · 34 mi
Itusi Trail: Monbo Loop	5.8	122 ft	Moderate	42 min · 28 mi
Shinny Creek Trail	1.8	685 ft	Moderate	1 h 05 min · 34 mi
Lake Shore Trail	4.8	116 ft	Moderate	44 min · 29 mi
Horseridge Trail	2.4	469 ft	Moderate	1 h 05 min · 34 mi
Lower CCC Trail	2.5	373 ft	Moderate	1 h 22 min · 44 mi
Mountain Creek Loop	4.6	132 ft	Moderate	39 min · 22 mi
Benn Knob Trail	2.9	336 ft	Moderate	58 min · 32 mi
Possum Trail	1.4	615 ft	Easy	50 min · 31 mi
High Shoals Falls Loop Trail	1.5	527 ft	Easy	1 h 00 min · 31 mi
Gem	1.6	513 ft	Easy	44 min · 27 mi
Bakers Mountain Loop	1.7	511 ft	Easy	23 min · 11 mi
Hollow Rock Trail	1.9	498 ft	Easy	46 min · 27 mi
Turkey Ridge Trail	1.6	503 ft	Easy	49 min · 29 mi

Quick picks near Hickory

Easy and short: Possum Trail — 1.4 mi, rated easy, 21 mi from town
Biggest climb: Raven Rock Trail — 1,409 ft over 4.4 mi, 22 mi from town
Longest: Itusi Trail: Laurel Loop — 9.1 mi, 22 mi from town

What the trails reach

Summits: Raven Rock Trail to Dogwood Stamp Mountain; Sawtooth Trail to Chestnut Knob; Chestnut Knob Trail to Chestnut Knob; Benn Knob Trail to Benn Knob

Lakes: Itusi Trail: Laurel Loop to Duke Power Park Lake; Murray's Mill Pond Loop Outer to Murrays Mill Lake

Viewpoints: Chestnut Knob Trail to Jacob Fork Overlook

Mountain passes: Raven Rock Trail to Gibbs Gap

Springs: Forney Creek Trail- Catawba Springs Preserve Segment to Catawba Springs

Trail guides near Hickory

Wilson Ridge — 12.1 mi, 1,503 ft climb · 27 mi away
MTS / Tanawha Trail — 10.2 mi, 1,170 ft climb · 37 mi away
Ridgeline Trail — 5.7 mi, 586 ft climb · 40 mi away

Nearby towns: Morganton (21 mi) · Statesville (25 mi) · Shelby (33 mi) · Gastonia (35 mi)

All North Carolina trail guides · Hiking by city · Dispersed camping rules