North Carolina trails · Black Mountain
Black Mountain
A 8.4-mile out-and-back in North Carolina, with 2,006 ft of climbing. Reaches Clawhammer Mountain and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 2.8. It gives back about 1,255 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Clawhammer Mountain (summit)
- Buckhorn Gap (pass)
- Rich Mountain (summit)
- Pressley Gap (pass)
- Club Gap (pass)
- Black Mountain (summit)
- Hickory Knob (summit)
Getting there
Thrift Cove Trail access. 35.29992, -82.72843 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:36 a.m., the sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 7:59 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:25 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 57 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 16.9-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 15 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:17 p.m. — 4 h 42 min before sunset.
Loop options
- WAYEHUTTA LOOP + BLACK MOUNTAIN + SUNSET RIDGE CONNECTOR — 4.9 mi loop, 1,269 ft gain
- WAYEHUTTA LOOP + BLACK MOUNTAIN + SUNSET RIDGE CONNECTOR — 6.6 mi loop, 1,853 ft gain
- WAYEHUTTA LOOP + DEEP GAP + BLACK MOUNTAIN — 7.6 mi loop, 2,082 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Squirrel Gap — 4.3 mi
- Turkey Pen Gap — 4.9 mi
- Art Loeb Nrt — 7.1 mi
- Laurel Mountain — 7.1 mi