North Carolina trails · Wilson Ridge

Wilson Ridge

A 12.1-mile out-and-back in North Carolina, with 1,503 ft of climbing. Reaches Joe White Mountain and other summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Open in the interactive map →

Length

12.1 mi

Elevation gain

1,503 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

32%

Steepest mile

+574 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

4.2 mi

Shape

out-and-back

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 1,754 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

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

Reaches

Joe White Mountain (summit)
Grassy Knob (summit)
Loose Mountain (summit)

Getting there

WILSON RIDGE access — parking nearby. About 37 min drive (20 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Morganton. 35.92989, -81.73819 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:06 a.m., the sun rises at 7:32 a.m. and sets at 6:52 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:18 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 20 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 24.1-mile round trip takes roughly 10 h 26 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 5:58 p.m. — 54 min before sunset.