North Carolina Hike – Hawksbill Mountain

As many times as I have been to the North Carolina High Country, this was the first time I had heard about Hawksbill. A friend mentioned we really needed to give the trail a try and once we reached the top, the view would not disappoint.

I will start off by saying that this trail is a moderate/difficult trail.  If you are not in good cardiovascular health, as I wasn’t, this trail will push you.  There were several times I wanted to quit and give up, but giving up is not in my nature so I pressed on. Slowly, but surely on I went.

The trail is easy to follow but very rocky. Wear a good pair of hiking shoes for this journey.

Once we arrived at the top, the 360-degree views were some of the most spectacular I’ve seen in North Carolina. There are several good vantage points at the summit and plenty of places to sit to take it all in. I wish we had thought to bring our lunch, what a great place for picnic. I’m not sure that I could have carried anything more than myself, but next time I can plan better.

The views at the top included Shortoff Mountain, Grandfather Mountain, and Table Rock. The area is only accessible April-December (the road will be closed January-March). I have read that the Peak fall colors are normally the mid to late October. We were there in September and it was just gorgeous greenery for as far as I could see. The elevation was right at 4,009 ft.

What to bring

Next time we make this hike we will be sure to pack a lunch. Once we got to the top we didn’t want to leave but were not prepared to stay for longer than an hour or so. Next time we will be sure to bring the pups and a snack so we can take in those 360 degree mountain views.

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