Table Rock Summit Trail

At A Glance

More Difficult

1.4 mi one-way

Difficulty Rating: 2.65
Steepness: Climbs Steeply
Tread Condition: Moderately Rough
Lowest Elevation: 3375 ft
Highest Elevation: 3940 ft
Climb Total: 565 ft
Blaze Color: White (Lower Half)
Trail Number: 242
Hikes That Use This Trail: Table Rock

Description

Rocky climb along the side of the eponymous mountain to its summit. Passes by a lot of neat rock features. There are fantastic views from the summit. Very popular; makes up the Table Rock Best Hike. Passes through varying forests and open areas cleared by wildfire in the not-to-distant past. Shares the first half of the path with the Mountains to Sea Trail. The upper half is unblazed and a few side-paths take off in all directions, but overall it is fairly easy to follow if you keep on the most well-worn tread.

Intersecting Trails

  • Little Table Rock
  • Mountains to Sea Section 4
  • This trail is located in the Linville Gorge area. For a list of all the trails in that area, see the Linville Gorge trails list page.

    All Photos from the Trail

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    GPS Map

    Map Information

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    About the Map

    Copyright

    Base Layers

    Base layers provided by OpenStreetMap, the US Geological Survey, the US Forest Service, and NC OneMap. Base layer images are subject to the respective copyright policies of their owners. Base layers may not be available at all times due to system maintenance or outages.

    WNCOutdoors Base Layer

    The WNCOutdoors Base layer is provided by WNCOutdoors.info. It is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.

    Trail and Marker Overlays

    Trail layers and downloadable data are all original works created by WNCOutdoors with guidance from a variety of sources, including ensembles of our own GPS tracks, user contributed GPS tracks, official maps and GIS data from government agencies, and field observations. WNCOutdoors data is made freely available under the Open Database License - you are free to copy and use it for any purpose under the terms of that license (summary).

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    Trail Segments

    Trails are often made up of several connecting paths which may have different characteristics, allowed uses, and seasons. This trail is divided into multiple segments as follows:

    Table Rock Summit - Parking to Little Table Rock Tr.

    • Allowed Uses: Hiking
    • Length: 0.3 mi

    Table Rock Summit - Little Table Rock Tr. to MST

    • Allowed Uses: Hiking
    • Length: 299 ft

    Table Rock Summit - MST to Top

    • Allowed Uses: Hiking
    • Length: 0.35 mi

    Total Calculated Length: 0.71 mi

    This value is derived from our underlying map data, and it may not match officially published information.

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    Average Rating: 5.0 (rated 2 times)

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    Comments

    Kevin Beck said: I have hiked this trail since 1963. Back when there was a lookout tower on it for forest rangers. There is a hidden survey seal up there which was put there by my neighbor who was a surveyor For the construction of the parkway. He gave me maps back in 1974 that were drawn by him and his team. My wife and I used them while I was in the Navy to find trails that he had blazed which are now very visited trails by the public. Wish I had those maps now. This hike to the top is well worth every step. The view is fabulous as you can see Hawksbill, Wisemans view and Morganton. Be sure to take lunch with you along with plenty of water. Take your binoculars so that you can see the other hikers at Wisemans and Hawksbill looking back at you. Way cool. Be careful of wasps as they seem to like the altitude. Plenty of places to take a break if you need on the way up. I took my late father in law and mother in law up back in the late 80s. She is diabetic and he had had brain surgery 5 mos. earlier. They said it was worth every step. After your great time there plan on hiking Hawksbill and take the easy dive and hike to Wisemans view. You will not be disappointed. Explore NC you will be glad you did.

    Monday, September 11 2017 3:47pm
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