North Carolina trails · Bartram Trail
Bartram Trail
A 42.9-mile point-to-point in North Carolina, with 3,031 ft of climbing. Reaches Whiterock Gap and other pass/summit/viewpoint destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 56% of the ascent, between mile 28.6 and mile 42.9. It gives back about 7,207 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Whiterock Gap (pass)
- Wolf Rock (summit)
- Hickory Gap (pass)
- Jones Gap (pass)
- Poplar Cove Gap (pass)
- Scaly Mountain (summit)
- Locust Tree Gap (pass)
- Wilkes Knob (summit)
- Little Fishhawk Mountain (summit)
- Whiterock Mountain (summit)
Heads up
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:38 a.m., the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 8:01 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:27 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 42.9-mile route works out to roughly 17 h 24 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- HURRAH RIDGE + Bartram Trail + WEST FORK — 1.9 mi loop, 655 ft gain
- Bartram Trail — 9.7 mi loop, 2,114 ft gain
- Bartram Trail + LAUREL BRANCH + APPLETREE — 6.0 mi loop, 1,972 ft gain
Across the border
- Continues into GA as Bartram Trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Yellow Mountain — 8.6 mi
- Anst - Nantahala Rd — 15.2 mi
- Anst - Tusquitee Rd — 18.1 mi
- Chunky Gal — 20.3 mi