Trails › United States of America › North Carolina › Great Balsam Mountains

Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 3

In the Great Balsam Mountains

Regional route109 km · 67 miBest Apr–Oct

Next nearby hike: Pisgah Campground Trail 0.1 mi · 0.1 kmExplore Great Balsam Mountains →

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Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 3 other trails nearby (tap a dot to open it)

Get directions · Google MapsApple Maps

© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Full route · OpenStreetMap · Basemap: OpenFreeMap (OpenMapTiles, © OSM contributors).

7-day forecast

Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)

Best time to hike

Best months: Apr–Oct · highs 14–22 °C (57–72 °F)

  1. J4°-6°131
  2. F6°-4°148
  3. M9°-2°149
  4. A14°2°131
  5. M17°7°134
  6. J21°11°154
  7. J22°13°150
  8. A22°13°149
  9. S19°10°142
  10. O14°4°106
  11. N10°0°125
  12. D5°-4°147

Average high °C · low °C · precipitation mm per month. Highlighted: best months.

How we pick months

Best months are those where the 1981–2010 average daily high is 10–27 °C (50–81 °F), the average overnight low is 0 °C (32 °F) or warmer, and average precipitation is 200 mm (7.9 in) or less. Values are long-term monthly averages for the ~1 km cell at the trail point on the map, from CHELSA V2.1 climatologies (Karger et al., CC0), not a forecast. Higher or more exposed parts of a route can be colder, wetter or snowier.

About this trail

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is a developing long distance hiking trail, which connects the Great Smokys to the Outer Banks. The trail is an official unit of the NC State Park System, and it is supported by the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

OpenStreetMap (ODbL).

Trail facts

Mapped length
109 km · 67 mi (OSM route, Waymarked Trails)
Mountain range
Great Balsam Mountains (Blue Ridge Mountains › Appalachian Mountains; GMBA)
Park or forest
Blue Ridge Parkway
Part of
Mountains-to-Sea Trail (national route)
Best months
Apr–Oct
Country
United States of America
Region
North Carolina
Continent
North America
Route type
Regional route
Ref
MST
Operator (OSM)
North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation
Route centre
35.5843, -82.4872
Route start
35.4029, -82.7543
OpenStreetMap
relation 11612180
Wikidata
Q6925667
Official info
mountainstoseatrail.org
How it’s scored

Hikers can rate difficulty from 1 to 10 (1 = flat, short, easy walk for anyone; 3 = gentle hills, a little effort; 5 = moderate climbs, some fitness needed; 7 = steep or long, solid fitness required; 10 = extremely strenuous or technical; long steep climbing; experienced hikers only). The community average is shown once at least 3 people have rated the trail; until then the official or computed score is used when we have one.

More trails in the Great Balsam Mountains

All 86 →

Big Creek

7.8 km · 1.8 mi · 2.9 km away

Slate Rock

7.1 km · 1.9 mi · 3.1 km away

Pink Beds Loop

8.3 km · 3.0 mi · 4.8 km away

618 Bennet Branch

4.7 km · 3.2 mi · 5.1 km away

Barnett Branch

6.2 km · 3.5 mi · 5.6 km away

Horse Cove Gap

3.5 km · 4.0 mi · 6.4 km away

Nearest trails

distance from the trail start

Pisgah Campground Trail

0.1 mi · 0.1 km · Blue Ridge Parkway

Thompson Creek

0.7 mi · 1.1 km · National Forests in North Carolina

Pilot Rock

0.9 mi · 1.5 km · National Forests in North Carolina

Frying Pan Trail

1.3 mi · 2.1 km · National Forests in North Carolina

Mount Pisgah Summit Trail

1.4 mi · 2.3 km · National Forests in North Carolina

Pilot Cove

1.7 mi · 2.7 km · National Forests in North Carolina

All trails in North Carolina → · All 36,834 trails in United States of America →