Hawksbill Mountain Hiking Trail

Hawksbill Mountain Hiking Trail

HAWKSBILL MOUNTAIN

A couple of weeks ago I was visiting North Carolina. Before this trip, I had only driven through the coastal side of the state and had NO IDEA how gorgeous the Blue Ridge Mountains are! These mountains stretch from Georgia all the way to Pennsylvania but the highest points are found in North Carolina. I was so surprised when I Googled, “Best hikes near Ashville” and there were so many to choose from! Most places I Google I’ll find posts that say, “Top 20 top hikes in…..” But, all of the articles and Pinterest posts I was finding were listing, “75 Best Hikes Near Asheville” or “The Most Beautiful 250 hikes in North Carolina” How insane!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorgeThis particular one was ranked #6 Pisgah National Forest and I can’t imagine anything more beautiful than this but apparently, North Carolina is full of beauty!

How to get to hawksbill mountain

I would assume most people come from Ashville or Charlotte. From Ashville, it is an hour and a half and from Charlotte, 2 hours. We decided to explore the city of Asheville for a day and then make our way up to Boone. From Asheville, Boone is 2 hours North East and it is a gorgeous drive up there! Boone is a cute little town of 20,000 and it is home to Appalachian State University. If you are a Michigander reading this you probably cringed remembering when they beat the University of Michigan in football 10 years ago. I guess people never forget.

WHERE TO STAY IN BOONE

We booked a private room through Airbnb in the mountains just outside of Boone. This trip was a bit last minute for us so we booked just 24 hours before. Our place was nice but it didn’t have a view of the mountains and I know there are a lot of rentals that do, so book your room more in advance and find a cute one on Airbnb! You can also look in Linville for rentals if you want to be a bit closer to many trailheads! Here is a picture of the sunset in Boone the night before our hike!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge

Breakfast at Melanie’s Food Fantasy

If you stay in Boone, breakfast at Melanie’s Food Fantasy is a must! We happened to be here on football game day so things were a bit busy but we still didn’t have too long of a wait. It is a small place so be prepared for a wait if you have a larger group! They have meat options but more vegan and vegetarian options than anything else. It took us forever to decide what to order because everything looked so good!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge

BOONE TO HAWKSBILL MOUNTAIN TRAILHEAD

From Boone, the trailhead is just an hour drive. Once again, a beautiful drive through the mountains. We were here at the end of September and the colors were just starting to change. I can imagine October is gorgeous here! (They said the best time for colors are the last three weeks of October.) You’ll enter the Pisgah National Forest and drive through curvy roads for most of the way. You’ll come to Gingercake Rd and it will turn into a dirt road called Table Rock Road (AKA service road 1264) FYI, it is a bit bumpy. We were fine in a car but if you have the option to bring an SUV or a truck I definitely recommend it! If the small parking lot is full you can park along the road.

HAWKSBILL MOUNTAIN HIKING TRAIL

I have heard so many different distances for this hike. I’ve read that it is a 1.5-mile round-trip hike 2 miles, and even 2.5 miles to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain. I checked my phone after I did it and it said 1.7 miles, so I am going to stick with that! In my opinion, it is not a long or difficult hike but some people find it to be strenuous because you climb about 800 ft. in elevation, so allow plenty of time if you are a beginner hiker! This trail is best visited May-October and it is dog-friendly!

hawskbill mountain walking trailYou start with a short downhill section, but then it’s a gradual uphill trek for the entire hike. The hike splits off a couple of times before you arrive at the summit. At the first split, you will go left.  From here, the summit trail gets progressively rockier and steeper. We went the day after some rain so it was also a bit muddy. You can do this hike in tennis shoes easily but I loved having my hiking boots. Most of the trail looks like this.

hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge About halfway you’ll come to a small opening with a gorgeous overlook! This is just a small percentage of how beautiful the view up top will be!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge It took us about 35 minutes to get to the top. When you arrive at the top, it splits off again, but they both lead you to wonderful views. There is much controversy over which way has the best views. We went to the left and had gorgeous views and heard that to the right there were millions of gnats that made it very hard to enjoy the view. But I heard minus the gnats it is awesome! I recommend going to both and deciding which one you prefer! hawksbill mountain trail linville gorgeWe went on Saturday at noon and I thought it would be super busy but it wasn’t too bad. There were probably 40 people at the top when we arrived but everyone started to clear out around 1. There a lot of places to explore but this view was my favorite. Walk down as far to the edge as you can (where you can see those people in the above picture) but please be careful, not all the rocks are sturdy!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorgeOnce you are here at the top of Hawksbill Mountain you are at an elevation of 4,009 ft. with panoramic views of the canyon of Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. Once you get to the furthest rocks you can see the valley floor and Linville River 2,000 ft. below you. We heard on a clear day, you can even see the skyline of Charlotte! 
hawksbill mountain trail linville gorgeOnce people started to clear out around 1 we had the entire rock to ourselves! It was awesome to enjoy that moment in complete silence and let’s be honest, it was also awesome for photo ops!hawksbill mountain trail linville gorgeNext time I come here I would definitely camp but if you just have the afternoon like we did, I definitely recommend bringing lunch and some drinks to sit here and enjoy the view for as long as you can! There are plenty of rocks to perch your phone up and engineer it perfectly like Lotti did for this photo of us! 😂hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge

CAMPING AT HAWKSBILL MOUNTAIN HIKING TRAIL

We were just here for the afternoon but I so wish we could have hiked and would love to come back to someday! Camping is allowed anywhere, but a permit is required on weekends (Fri-Sun) and holidays between May 1 and October 31. A permit for one or two nights is free, but there is a limited number available. You can obtain a permit by stopping by or calling the District Ranger Office at:
Grandfather Ranger District, 109 East Lawing Dr, Nebo, NC 28761
(828) 652-2144

hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge

 More Nearby Hikes

After hiking Hawksbill drive about 4.5 miles down the bumpy road for the trail to the top of Table Rock Mountain (this last section of road is closed January-March) and through The Chimneys. That hike is two miles round-trip, so you can easily do it on the same day. I also heard that on the other side of the Gorge you can hike to Linville Falls and for another great view of Linville Gorge, you can hike to the top of Shortoff Mountain near Lake James.hawksbill mountain trail linville gorge

Other Tips About Hawksbill Mountain Hiking Trail

*Wildflowers and bird watching are gorgeous here May-July.

*When doing research for this hike don’t get it confused with a very similar Hawksbill Mountain Hike in Virginia they have a ton of similarities. But that one is in a Shenandoah National Park and has a $20 fee to visit!*

Have you been to Hawksbill Mountain or enjoyed any of the hiking trails around this area in North Carolina!? Comment and let me know some others I should visit next time I go back! To read about more day trips and hikes I’ve done click HERE.