North Carolina trails · Squirrel Gap
Squirrel Gap
A 8.0-mile out-and-back in North Carolina, with 959 ft of climbing. Reaches Mullinax Gap and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 72% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 2.7. It gives back about 899 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Mullinax Gap (pass)
- Laurel Gap (pass)
- Squirrel Gap (pass)
- Horse Cove Gap (pass)
- Poundingstone Mountain (summit)
- Pea Gap (pass)
Heads up
Getting there
HORSE COVE GAP access. About 51 min drive (19 mi, 5 of them unpaved) from Brevard. 35.36166, -82.71409 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:10 a.m., the sun rises at 7:36 a.m. and sets at 6:57 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:22 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 21 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 16.0-mile round trip takes roughly 6 h 54 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:30 p.m. — 4 h 27 min before sunset.
Loop options
- SOUTH MILLS RIVER + Mullinax + SQUIRREL GAP — 3.8 mi loop, 848 ft gain
- SOUTH MILLS RIVER + Poundingmill + SQUIRREL GAP — 5.7 mi loop, 1,195 ft gain
- BRADLEY CREEK + Laurel Creek + SQUIRREL GAP — 7.5 mi loop, 998 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Laurel Mountain — 3.1 mi
- Turkey Pen Gap — 3.3 mi
- Black Mountain — 4.3 mi
- North Boundary — 8.4 mi