Black Mountain Crest Trail
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Trail Overview
Bag several SB6K peaks along the Black Mountains, including Mt. Mitchell. Great views, but a challenging route with some boulder climbing with ropes.
How to get there
Primary trailhead is in Mount Mitchell State Park. From Johnson City, TN to the southern trailhead (N35°46.038, W82°15.870):
Mount Mitchell, begin the trail at the Mount Mitchell picnic area just below the parking lot.
From Johnson City, TN to the northern trailhead (N35°52.687, W82°17.050):
If beginning at Bowlens Creek, use the parking area on NC 1109 (graded, but not paved).
Route Description
How much of the Black Mountain Crest Trail do you want to bite off?
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.
| Miles | Elevation | Black Mountain Crest Trail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | ~6640 | Trailhead at Mt. Mitchell parking lot | |
| 6647 | Mt. Craig | ||
| 6581 | Big Tom | ||
| 6611 | Balsam Cone | ||
| 4.5 | 5700 | Deep Gap primative campground | |
| 6212 | Winter Star Mountain | ||
| 7.5 | Celo Knob |
Access trails are Mount Mitchell Trail USFS 190 (if you want a greater challenge), USFS 178 Colbert Ridge (connecting Deep Gap with NC80), (?) USFS 177, Bowlens Creek Trail USFS 119 (Celo Knob to ?).
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.
After the Hike
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.
Link to Forest Service Trail 179 page.
Maps
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="35.812" lon="-82.265196" type="terrain" zoom="12" width="725" height="600" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Black_Mountain_Crest_Trail.kml
(A) 35.7673, -82.2645 Southern trailhead at Mt. Mitchell SP (G) 35.764982, -82.265196 Mt. Mitchell (6684 feet) (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) (A) 35.878109, -82.284164 Northern trailhead </googlemap>