North Carolina trails · Yellow Mountain
Yellow Mountain
A 6.2-mile out-and-back in North Carolina, with 1,036 ft of climbing. Reaches Shortoff Mountain and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 45% of the ascent falls between mile 4.2 and mile 6.2. It gives back about 994 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Shortoff Mountain (summit)
- Cole Gap (pass)
- Yellow Mountain (summit)
- Yellow Mountain Gap (pass)
- Cole Mountain (summit)
Getting there
YELLOW MOUNTAIN access — parking nearby. About 57 min drive (40 mi) from Brevard. 35.10451, -83.20393 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:12 a.m., the sun rises at 7:37 a.m. and sets at 6:59 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:24 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 22 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 12.5-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 39 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 1:17 p.m. — 5 h 42 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Bartram Trail — 8.6 mi
- Anst - Nantahala Rd — 18.0 mi
- Mst - Nantahala Rd — 21.8 mi
- Art Loeb Nrt — 23.0 mi