Old Mitchell Hike

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Hike Description

Start by taking the Old Mitchell Trail up the hill beside the park office. You will ascend moderately through fields and brambles where large Fraser Fir trees once stood. Thanks to Balsam Wooly Adelgid infestation, all that remains in this area are tall, dead gray skeletons or fallen logs, and succulent saplings. This is one of the most evident things along this hike: the changing forests.

As you continue to climb, you reach the remaining edge of a standing, live forest. The trees start out thin at first, but then you enter a relatively healthy stand where it is possible to imagine what these mountains must have looked like before the adelgids began ravaging the fir forests. The trail levels out, swings left and skirts around this unnamed peak. This section, like much of this trail, is quite rocky and rooty. Some wet and muddy spots may exist as well.

The trail will then descend into the gap occupied by the park restaurant, where you'll get your first view of Mount Mitchell's summit, straight ahead. Go straight across the lawn and continue straight on the walkway over to the parking lot. At the lot, turn right and pick up the trail again behind the map and sign board, turning left. You'll pass the employee barracks on your right.

The trail then heads uphill again through another open area filled with blackberry bushes. Some good views, back toward the restaurant and surrounding mountains, can be seen from here. You'll enter another intact stand of firs and cross directly over the next summit along the ridge, but it's not very high. On your left will be a park water tank. You'll descend slightly into the next gap and, then bump into the park road on your left.

From here, the trail used to follow the road, pass the maintenance area, and then go through the campground. But it has recently been re-routed. The new trail veers right and drops off the crest of the ridge - follow it that way. This first section of new trail, which I helped build as a park employee in the summer of 2001, goes up-and-down as it winds around some large rock outcroppings. You'll encounter several sets of log and rock steps.

Up to this point, the trail has been going up and down, but about now it starts decidedly downhill. It will lose a couple hundred feet in elevation before it starts climbing again. From here to the intersection with the Camp Alice trail, you'll be walking on a path completed in the summer of 2003. Many sets of wood and rock stairs carry you up and around rock outcroppings along the way, and there's a large bridge structure that carries you over one of them.

The trail descends, sometimes steeply, and the surroundings get more wet. There may be lots of slippery mud after heavy rains in this area. Along this section, you'll get lots of views of the summit as you approach it. And to your right, there are some great views down to Camp Alice itself. Camp Alice is an old logging and tourist camp, which you will be visiting later on during this hike.

Several very large Red Spruce trees survive along this area slightly lower in elevation, though there are many dead ones as well. Taking the place of the dead spruces are mountain maples, mountain ash, birch, and beech, as well as young spruce and fir. The trail resumes climbing in earnest again shortly, and you'll reach the intersection of the Camp Alice/Mountains to Sea trail in a dense stand of almost pure, young Fraser Fir trees.

Turning right here would take you down to Camp Alice. But first, you'll want to go to the summit itself - it's not far. So turn left to begin the out-and-back portion of this hike. You will return to this intersection after exploring the summit area.

The trail climbs moderately through a couple of switchbacks, after emerging from the stand of firs into a clearing of sorts. But vibrant, young firs are starting to grow in abundance between here and the summit and may eventually take back over the landscape. It doesn't take long, at the rate they can grow in good conditions, for them to block out light and form a dark canopy over the trail. At the top of the clearing, you'll pass through a switchback and reach another intersection. The park road is behind a thick stand of dead firs straight ahead of you.

In fact, this flat spot is the location of the old summit parking area - before the road was extended, carrying tourists up to the larger parking area closer to the top. A whole forest has grown up and died here since that old parking area was abandoned.

The trail to the left leads down to the campground, so turn right here to go up toward the summit. You'll enter another stand of Fraser Firs, which get shorter the higher you go. This very rocky section of trail climbs alongside the park road so you may hear cars to your left. You've reached the developed summit area once you get to the wide, paved path.

You are now 1 1/4 miles above sea level! There used to be a sign stating as much, although it was gone last time I visited. Though you probably won't notice any thinning of the air, you're in an alpine environment here and it can get quite harsh at times, even if conditions were mild up to this point. It's a rather exposed mountaintop, so do come prepared for the weather.

There are a few things to explore in the summit area. Turn right and follow the pavement a few more steps to reach the new observation platform on the summit itself. Or go left to reach the concession area, museum, restrooms, and picnic area. An optional loop around the Balsam Nature Trail will provide more insight into the high-elevation forest - and the path ends back at the main parking area. Take some pictures, maybe enjoy a snack from the concession stand, or a lunch in the picnic area. Especially if you are not driving up later, be sure to check out the excellent new museum.

There's more to see, so when you're done exploring the summit, head back down the Old Mitchell trail the way you came to continue the hike. Turn left at the first intersection, with the campground spur.

From here it is 3/4 mile down the mountain to Camp Alice. Keep straight at the intersection with the Old Mitchell trail on your right. The trail becomes the Mountains to Sea/Camp Alice trail, and that begins the loop portion of the hike.

This stretch of trail descends steeply through a mixed forest of spruces, firs, and hardy hardwood trees, such as mountain ash. You'll hear the rushing of streams during wet weather, increasing as you descend. After crossing some tributaries, you'll emerge from the forest onto a gravel road called the Commissary Trail, and reach another directional sign.

To the right, as the sign states, it is 1 mile back to the park office, your vehicle, and the end of the hike (see below). But you may want to explore out to Camp Alice and Commissary Ridge first. Doing so will add up to 1.4 miles to the hike's overall total.

To the left, it's 0.7 miles to a popular National Forest campsite on Commissary Ridge. The way is nearly level, and travels through spectacular alpine scenery, making it a highly recommended out-and-back side trip. Almost immediately, you'll cross cascading Lower Creek as it flows over the road, but it should be an easy rock-hop to keep your shoes dry. You'll then pass through the area known as Camp Alice, which is the open clearing on the other side of Lower Creek.

This is the site of the terminus of the Mount Mitchell passenger railroad. This railroad operated through the early 1900's, after being used as a logging camp in the years before. Several structures, both logging and tourist related, were built in the area over time. Most traces of the camp itself have vanished, except the old road/railroad beds and the clearing.

The gravel park road veers left shortly. Continue straight on the unimproved road bed which becomes more of a trail. This old railroad grade is nearly level, an easy walk, and is incredibly scenic. Thick, intact spruce-fir forests line the edges of grassy clearings, and clumps of blueberries and rhododendrons grow along both sides of the road. This side trip is especially recommended when the blueberries are ripe, but do be aware: bears love the sweet ripe fruit too! (The area is marked and closed when bear activity is high here, so you may want to check with the park office before your hike).

When you're done exploring, return to the Camp Alice trail intersection back across Lower Creek.

(Continued) The Commissary Trail, from the Camp Alice trail to the park office, is a gravel road with a slightly uphill grade. This easy walk takes you back into a forest of mostly northern hardwoods, before moving back into an area mixed with spruces and firs. You'll go around the open, grassy ridge below the park's restaurant. There is an excellent view back toward the summit from here. After skirting the unnamed peak behind the park office once again, you'll arrive back at your vehicle and the end of this hike.

View more photos in this hike's gallery.

Map

Here's an interactive GPS map of this hike. Yellow highlight indicates the route followed by this hike within the trail network. Only the trails and points of interest along the hike, and those in the immediate vicinity, are shown. For expanded maps, see this hike's Trailhead area.

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