North Carolina trails · Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
A 20.5-mile section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in North Carolina, with 4,310 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 2,197 miles. Reaches Yellow Creek Gap and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by Smoky Mountain Hiking Club.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 47% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 6.8. It gives back about 3,016 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Yellow Creek Gap (pass)
- Copper Gap (pass)
- Deer Creek Gap (pass)
- Camel Gap (pass)
- Camel Hump Mountain (summit)
- Davenport Gap (pass)
- Mount Sequoyah (summit)
- Inadu Knob (summit)
- Ross Knob (summit)
- Cosby Knob (summit)
Getting there
Appalachian National Scenic Trail access — parking nearby. About 1 h 01 min drive (37 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Waynesville. 35.77050, -83.11123 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:12 a.m., the sun rises at 7:37 a.m. and sets at 6:58 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:24 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 20.5-mile route takes roughly 9 h 44 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 5:22 p.m. — 1 h 36 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Appalachian Trail + Appalachian National Scenic Trail — 15.2 mi loop, 4,407 ft gain
- Appalachian Trail + Appalachian National Scenic Trail — 1.2 mi loop, 326 ft gain
- Appalachian Trail — 5.2 mi loop, 512 ft gain
Across the border
- Continues into TN as Hughes Ridge Trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Balsam Mountain Trail — 8.2 mi
- Hemphill Bald Trail — 13.6 mi
- Anst - Appalachian Rd — 17.6 mi
- Mountains to Sea Trail — 18.2 mi