Western North Carolina Trailheads
Find a Place to Hike!
HikeWNC's Trailheads are hubs, or areas, where several trails are clustered together or in a network. The US Forest Service has been referring to these as Trail Complexes in its recent Trail Strategy process. More than Wikipedia's definition of a Trailhead as "the point at which a trail starts", a Trailhead here could be a campground, a convenient parking area where several trails start, a river basin, an isolated park, or simply a group of trails convenient to one another.
Historically, cities located near the starting point for major paths were also called Trailheads. For this site, a Trailhead can be any of these, but represents a place where you can spend a day or more exploring hiking trails without driving too far (or at all!).
Choose a Trailhead from the list or map below to see all the details that we have.
List of Trailheads
Federal Lands
- Pisgah National Forest
- Catawba Falls
- Curtis Creek
- Linville Gorge
- Wilson Creek
- Cheoah Ranger District
- Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest & Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness
- Snowbird Backcountry Area
- Nantahala Ranger District
- Blue Valley
- Cliffside Lake and Van Hook Glade Recreation Areas
- Panthertown Valley
- Whiteside Mountain
- Tusquitee Ranger District
State Lands
- Chimney Rock State Park
- Elk Knob State Park
- Lake James State Park
- Crowders Mountain State Park
- Dupont State Forest
- Gorges State Park
- Grandfather Mountain State Park
- Hanging Rock State Park
- Mount Jefferson State Natural Area
- Mount Mitchell State Park
- New River State Park
- Pilot Mountain State Park
- Stone Mountain State Park
- South Mountains State Park
- Mountains to Sea Trail
City/County Lands
- Buncombe County
- County Parks
- Greenways
- City of Asheville
- Greenways
- Asheville Urban Trail
- City Parks
- Western North Carolina Nature Center
- Town of Sylva
- Town of Canton
- Rough Creek Watershed
- Town of Blowing Rock
Private Lands
- Beech Mountain
- Bearwallow Mountain
- Florence Preserve
- Linville Caverns
- Sugar Mountain
Map of Trailheads
We're adding all of the trailheads to this interactive map, so you can go directly to the area you're interested in. Roll over a "TH" symbol to see the name, and click for more information about that trailhead area.

