Hiking in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

The Pisgah National Forest covers 1,076,711 acres across Western North Carolina. This large area includes tracts surrounding the town of Asheville and the French Broad River Valley. Tremendous recreational opportunities, including hiking and backpacking, abound within its boundaries.

This forest is divided up into 4 ranger districts: Grandfather, Toecane, French Broad, and Pisgah. The Grandfather and Toecane Ranger Districts lie in the northern mountains of NC and include areas such as the Linville Gorge Wilderness, Wilson Creek, the watersheds of the Toe and Cane rivers, Roan Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Craggy Gardens, and Coleman Boundary. The French Broad Ranger District stretches along the NC-TN line from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park north to Hot Springs. The Appalachian Trail passes through this section of this National Forest. The trailheads Bent Creek, Mills River, and Davidson River are located in the Pisgah Ranger District, which lies on either side of the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville, along the Pisgah Ridge and Balsam Mountains. Three long-distance trails - the Mountains to Sea trail, the Shut-In Trail, and the Art Loeb trail travel through this district. Also included in the Pisgah Ranger District are the Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wildernesses. The Blue Ridge Parkway transects this National Forest, and many National Forest and Parkway trails intersect.

Choose a District/Trailhead

Choose a trailhead for the list below to get all the trail information. Each district page contains information about camping and lodging in that area. Each trailhead page contains the information about the trails and guided day hikes.