North Carolina trails · Mst - Grandfather Rd

Mst - Grandfather Rd

A 71.1-mile point-to-point in North Carolina, with 2,445 ft of climbing. Reaches Hazelnut Gap and other pass/summit/viewpoint destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length

71.1 mi

Elevation gain

2,445 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

36%

Steepest mile

+1,150 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

23.6 mi

Shape

point-to-point

Bikes

yes

Horses

yes

Managed by

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 15,128 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Hazelnut Gap (pass)
Chimney Gap (pass)
Pinnacle (summit)
Old House Gap (pass)
Bald Knob (summit)
The Chimneys (summit)
Table Rock Mountain (summit)
Devil's Cellar Overlook (viewpoint)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Terrain graded T3 (SAC scale) — exposed or hands-on hiking reported on part of this route.

Getting there

WOODLAWN TRAILHEAD — parking nearby. About 38 min drive (28 mi) from Morganton. 35.76683, -82.04196 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:07 a.m., the sun rises at 7:33 a.m. and sets at 6:54 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:19 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 71.1-mile route works out to roughly 27 h 32 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

Loop options

MST - GRANDFATHER RD + RAIDER CAMP + HARPER CREEK — 7.6 mi loop, 1,305 ft gain
SPENCE RIDGE + LITTLE TABLE ROCK + MST - GRANDFATHER RD — 2.8 mi loop, 1,143 ft gain
LITTLE TABLE ROCK + MST - GRANDFATHER RD + Cambric — 11.4 mi loop, 3,824 ft gain