Mount Pisgah, Blue Ridge Parkway – Home – Parks & Forests – Camping – Hiking – Links – Adventures
Mount Pisgah, Blue Ridge Parkway
Mount Pisgah is the southernmost and highest recreation area on the Blue Ridge Parkway, sitting about 5,000 feet above sea level between Mileposts 407 and 410. In addition to the namesake mountain, the area has an inn, a restaurant, a convenience store, a campground, picnic grounds, and several trails and overlooks.
On a Saturday in late August 2018, we hiked the 1.6 mile trail to the peak of Mount Pisgah (elev. 5,721 feet), seen below from the driveway of the Pisgah Inn. See our page about the Pisgah Inn to learn about the spectacular views and other amenities it offers.
The Mount Pisgah Trail begins at the end of a parking lot off of the Parkway, but can also be picked up at the Pisgah Inn to add an extra mile to the walk.
Though the increase in elevation is only 700 feet or so, the last half of the trail heading up is either rock or stone steps, making it tough on anyone not in decent shape. The last half earns the trial its moderate to strenuous rating from the National Park Service.
Trails throughout the recreation area connect the campground, picnic grounds, inn and other trails, including the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and the 16.3-mile Shut-In Trail.
Even as the Mount Pisgah Trail starts to head upward on the ridge, it is a wide and reasonably level trail.
A couple of features near the start of the trail are a rock face and a pair of springs.
Looking back on the two springs …
Gradually the trail becomes steeper, and the stairs more numerous …
Until it is almost entirely either rock or steps up the mountain.
As you get among shorter trees near the summit, the site of the WLOS-TV tower indicates the top of the mountain is just a few steep bends in the trail away.
At the peak, hikers are rewarded with an observation deck, which a sign says was built by the Youth Conservation Corps in 1979, and 360-degree views of southwestern North Carolina that include the French Broad River Valley, Shining Rock Wilderness and Cold Mountain.
Parking near the trailhead and, in the second photo below, the Pisgah Inn complex in the distance were more easily identifiable.
On the way back down, here’s closer look at a narrow rocky spot along the trail.
Mount Pisgah seen from the trailhead parking lot …
The Mount Pisgah recreation area is between BRP MP 407 and 410 near N.C. 151 south of Asheville.
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