North Carolina trails · Welch Ridge Trail
Welch Ridge Trail
A 13.3-mile loop in North Carolina, with 985 ft of climbing. Reaches Water Oak Gap and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 50% of the ascent falls between mile 8.9 and mile 13.3. It gives back about 2,189 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Water Oak Gap (pass)
- Mule Gap (pass)
- Bearwallow Bald (summit)
- Hawk Knob (summit)
- Mount Glory (summit)
- Silers Bald (summit)
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:39 a.m., the sun rises at 7:05 a.m. and sets at 8:03 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:29 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 58 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 13.3-mile route takes roughly 5 h 25 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 12:30 p.m. — 7 h 33 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Jenkins Ridge Trail — 8.5 mi
- Noland Divide Trail — 9.9 mi
- Thomas Divide Trail — 10.6 mi
- Boulevard Trail — 11.0 mi