The Best Easy Hikes in Western North Carolina
Hikes by Difficulty: Easy | Moderate | More Difficult | Most Difficult
This page includes all Easy hikes. Click any Climb or Tread rating for details about the ratings.
Each hike has its own printable guide page with all the information and links, including (where available):
- directions to the starting point
- difficulty
- length
- elevation change
- a map
- photos from along the way, and
- a detailed description and trail directions.
Toms Creek Falls
0.8mi, Easy
- Climbing: Climbs Gently
- Tread Condition: Climbs Gently
This easy hike is excellent for families and children, with a reward at the end that everyone will look forward to. You'll see a lush cove hardwood forest, huge boulders, and possibly an old mining shaft. Kids will love the small pool at the base of the 60-foot falls which is perfect for wading. During the spring, there are a wide variety of wildflowers to see and photograph.
Camp Alice/Commissary
2.0 - 3.6mi, Easy
- Climbing: Climbs Gently
- Tread Condition: Climbs Gently
This is a wonderful hike that is both easier and less often used than the summit trail or the nature trail, offering a chance for silence and solitude. There's no lack of scenery compared to the summit area trails, though - high altitude, alpine trees and meadows provide the foreground for the looming peak of Mount Mitchell and distant mountains far beyond. Once an old railroad bed, this is now a gravel path accessible to the entire family. Bring the kids!
Lower Douglas Falls
1mi, Moderate
- Climbing: Climbs Gently
- Tread Condition: Climbs Gently
This spectacular, 70' falls is located in an old-growth forest. You'll walk a gently sloped trail to the base of the falls. The hike is marked by change; though the hemlocks in the area are dead, you'll travel through an otherwise beautiful woods and discover pleasant forest scenes along the way. Enjoy the falls from in front and from behind! The drive to the falls is an experience of its own, and along the way you'll pass many more scenic and interesting features.
Hickory Nut Falls
1.5mi, Moderate
- Climbing: Climbs Gently
- Tread Condition: Climbs Gently
This moderate hike takes you out-and-back through a vibrant forest to the base of 404' Hickory Nut Falls. You'll travel along the base of the cliffs that form the edge of the Hickory Nut Gorge and the Falls. Trees along this trail are large and interpretive signs help you identify points of interest in the geography and the ecology. At the base of Hickory Nut Falls, enjoy a splash of cold mountain water on a hot day - or just relax in the beauty of one of the highest waterfalls in the East!
Moore Cove Falls
1.4mi, Easy
- Climbing: Climbs Gently
- Tread Condition: Climbs Gently
This plunge-type falls is located in one of the most popular areas of the Pisgah National Forest, near the Davidson River in the "Land of Waterfalls". It's a delightful, beautiful walk thru fern-filled woods. And it's easy enough for families with small children to take. This falls is highly recommended, and a hike to it can be combined with another hike in the area if you are looking for a more difficult day of hiking.
Craggy Gardens
1.4mi, Easy
- Climbing: Climbs Moderately
- Tread Condition: Climbs Moderately
This self-guiding nature trail passes through a high-elevation Northern Hardwood forest to a Heath Bald, and finally into a Grassy Summit. A large trail shelter makes an excellent spot for a picnic. Visit during mid to late June for a spectacular display of Catawba Rhododendron blossoms. Visit in late summer for a bountiful harvest of fresh mountain blueberries. And visit any time of year to study the high elevation environment in the Craggy Gardens area!
Dupont State Forest Waterfalls
0.6 - 6mi, Easy
- Climbing: Climbs Moderately
- Tread Condition: Climbs Moderately
On this hike, you'll visit up to 5 of the 6 major waterfalls in Dupont State Forest. It starts as an easy path to some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the area: Hooker, Triple, and High Falls. Covered picnic shelters with views of the falls make for excellent family outing possibilities. If you wish to continue to Grassy Creek and Bridal Veil Falls, this will become a moderate hike. You'll cross the big covered bridge and pass a beautiful mountain lake on the way - well worth the extra effort!
Ridgewalk
1.4mi, Easy
- Climbing: Few Hills
- Tread Condition: Few Hills
Following the level upper portion of the Bennet Gap trail, this is an easy hike along a ridge to some great views. Watch the forest transition as you hike and the ridge becomes drier, rockier, and narrower. This hike is suitable for children and families, and makes a great destination of its own or addition to another hike in the area.
