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. 35.36166, -82.71409 · 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 15.9-mile round trip takes roughly 6 h 52 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:53 p.m. — 6 h 06 min before sunset.
Loop options
- SOUTH MILLS RIVER + Poundingmill + SQUIRREL GAP — 6.0 mi loop, 1,363 ft gain
- BRADLEY CREEK + Laurel Creek + SQUIRREL GAP — 7.4 mi loop, 977 ft gain
- SOUTH MILLS RIVER + CANTRELL CREEK + SQUIRREL GAP — 10.1 mi loop, 1,732 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