Black Mountain Crest Trail

File:* Trail Name Black Mountain Crest Trail Nearest City Asheville State North Carolina Trail Marking {{{Marking}}} Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Hard Hiking Time 88 Hours <br />0.5 Days <br />480 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 1212 mi <br />19.312 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation ~3,300"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point ~6,650"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. Nearest Medical Asheville Trip Reports Click Here Loading map... {"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"270px","height":"180px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":8,"layers":[],"controls":["zoom"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":35.87763400000000046929926611483097076416015625,"lon":-82.2834299999999956298779579810798168182373046875,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

Also known as Deep Gap Trail. Bag several SB6K peaks along the Black Mountains, including Mt. Mitchell. Great views, but a difficult route.

Work in progress - per CMC website Black Mountain Crest Trail, which begins at the Mt. Mitchell Parking Area, and ends with Celo Knob, the terminus, at 6.7 miles, so I might have two other trails included here, thus need to separate.

How to get there

There are three primary access points... work in progress

From Johnson City, TN to the northern trailhead:

From Johnson City, TN to the southern trailhead:

1. Take I-26 south to NC Exit 9.
2. Take US-19E east for 21 miles to Micaville.
3. Take NC-80 south for 12 miles.
4. Turn right/NW onto Toe River Road.
5. After ~3 miles, find Black Mountain Campground.

Mount Mitchell, begin the trail at the Mount Mitchell picnic area just below the parking lot. If beginning at Bowlens Creek, use the parking area on NC 1109 (graded, but not paved).

Route Description

The South Beyond 6000 (SB6K) challenge program is summit the 40 highest peaks in the Southern United States. Peaks which can be claimed along this route are:

• Mt. Craig (6647 feet)
• Balsam Cone (6611 feet)
• Potato Hill (6475 feet)
• Winter Star Mountain (6212 feet)
• Gibbs Mountain (6224 feet)
• Celo Knob (6327 feet)

The North Carolina Parks labels "Deep Gap Trail" for the 4.5 miles section of USFS Trail 179 over to the first permitted campground. park map

The trail is blazed with orange triangles.

Typical Conditions

A difficult challenge up and down the peaks across many boulders. Take lots of water due to being more exposed to sun and wind. Recommendation is to start early - and get off the mountain with plenty of daylight left.

Fees, Permits, etc.

No fees or permits required. No bikes, ATV, or horses allowed on this trail.

Misc. Information

The Black Mountains were named due to the dark line of spruce and fir trees that cover the ridge.

Excellent description and photo gallery of BMCT are on the Central NY Hiking website.

Maps

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(A) 35.878109, -82.284164 Norther trailhead (G) 35.764982, -82.265196 Mt. Mitchell (6684 feet) (A) 35.751748, -82.221637 Black Mountain Campground (G) 35.777540, -82.261934 Mt. Craig (6647 feet) (G) 35.789768, -82.255844 Balsam Cone (6611 feet) (G) 35.801990, -82.252450 Potato Hill (6475 feet) (G) 35.817477, -82.249231 Winter Star Mountain (6212 feet) (G) 35.841032, -82.247901 Gibbs Mountain (6224 feet) (G) 35.852338, -82.248545 Celo Knob (6327 feet) </googlemap>