Hiking trails near Shelby, North Carolina

32 official trails lie within 25 miles of Shelby — 73 miles in total, 16 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 503 ft.

Open the map on Shelby

24 trails worth the drive

Trail	Miles	Climb	Difficulty	Drive from town
Raven Rock Trail	4.4	1,409 ft	Hard	57 min · 30 mi
Ridgeline Trail	5.7	586 ft	Hard	30 min · 17 mi
Fox Trail	3.7	578 ft	Moderate	57 min · 30 mi
Sawtooth Trail	3.4	402 ft	Moderate	49 min · 30 mi
Saddleback Trail	2.6	626 ft	Moderate	50 min · 29 mi
Upper Falls Trail	2.8	617 ft	Moderate	59 min · 30 mi
Headquarters Trail	2.4	805 ft	Moderate	59 min · 30 mi
Little River Trail	2.5	578 ft	Moderate	56 min · 30 mi
Chestnut Knob Trail	1.8	880 ft	Moderate	59 min · 30 mi
Shinny Trail	2.1	739 ft	Moderate	1 h 18 min · 39 mi
Pinnacle Trail	2.0	768 ft	Moderate	32 min · 20 mi
Shinny Creek Trail	1.8	685 ft	Moderate	1 h 18 min · 39 mi
Horseridge Trail	2.4	469 ft	Moderate	1 h 18 min · 39 mi
Lower CCC Trail	2.5	373 ft	Moderate	1 h 01 min · 30 mi
Tower Trail	1.7	619 ft	Easy	29 min · 19 mi
Kings Mountain Gateway Trail	4.9	210 ft	Moderate	28 min · 18 mi
Benn Knob Trail	2.9	336 ft	Moderate	57 min · 30 mi
Possum Trail	1.4	615 ft	Easy	1 h 03 min · 36 mi
High Shoals Falls Loop Trail	1.5	527 ft	Easy	59 min · 30 mi
Turkey Ridge Trail	1.6	503 ft	Easy	49 min · 28 mi
Bob Benner Memorial Trail	1.3	510 ft	Easy	43 min · 28 mi
Upper CCC Trail	2.1	269 ft	Easy	49 min · 30 mi
Rocktop Trail	1.1	484 ft	Easy	29 min · 19 mi
Jacob Branch Trail	1.0	431 ft	Easy	1 h 18 min · 39 mi

Quick picks near Shelby

Easy and short: Tower Trail — 1.7 mi, rated easy, 16 mi from town
Biggest climb: Raven Rock Trail — 1,409 ft over 4.4 mi, 20 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; Tower Trail to Crowders Mountain

Lakes: Kings Mountain Gateway Trail to Foote Mineral Reservoir

Viewpoints: Ridgeline Trail to Boulders Overlook; Chestnut Knob Trail to Jacob Fork Overlook

Mountain passes: Raven Rock Trail to Gibbs Gap; Ridgeline Trail to Dixon Gap

Rock formations: Ridgeline Trail to The Pinnacle; Pinnacle Trail to The Pinnacle

Nearby towns: Gastonia (20 mi) · Spartanburg (32 mi) · Morganton (32 mi) · Hickory (33 mi)

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