Trails / North Carolina / Pisgah National Forest

Art Loeb Trail

Pisgah Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest (Davidson River near Brevard to Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp)

The Art Loeb Trail runs about 30 miles across the Pisgah Ranger District, from the Davidson River near Brevard to the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp below Cold Mountain. Wikipedia lists its high point as Black Balsam Knob (6,214 feet), and Blue Ridge Outdoors counts four 6,000-foot peaks along the way.

It is named for Art Loeb, a Brevard paper-mill manager and Carolina Mountain Club member who took up hiking after a heart attack and spent years linking old paths in these mountains. WNC Magazine reports that the club and the Forest Service blazed the route the summer after his death in 1968, and that about 300 people came to its dedication.

The hike

RomanticAsheville divides the trail into four sections. The first, 12.3 miles from the Art Loeb trailhead on the Davidson River Campground road to Gloucester Gap (FS 475), climbs around Cedar Rock Mountain, a granite outcrop that Wikipedia notes near Butter Gap. The Butter Gap Shelter is on this stretch.

The second section, 7.2 miles from Gloucester Gap to Black Balsam, climbs Pilot Mountain, a former fire-tower site with wide views, then passes Deep Gap and its shelter and spring, crosses Silvermine Bald, and meets the Blue Ridge Parkway. Blue Ridge Outdoors calls the 7.2-mile section the hardest. For a mile or two near Silvermine Bald the trail shares the white-dot-blazed Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

The third section, 6.8 miles, is the one most hikers know: open, grassy balds over Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain, then Ivestor Gap, where, according to Wikipedia, the trail enters the Shining Rock Wilderness and loses its blazes and signs. A side trail leads to the white quartz of Shining Rock. Wikipedia says logging-era fires in 1925 and 1942 cleared the spruce and fir and opened these views.

The last 3.8 miles drop steeply from Deep Gap at the Cold Mountain Trail junction to the Boy Scout camp. Many hikers add the Cold Mountain spur; The Outbound mentions campsites and a spring near the top.

Reviewers on The Outbound mostly recommend hiking south to north, and Blue Ridge Outdoors says most people take two to five days. The Carolina Mountain Club began an Art Loeb Thru-Hike Challenge in 2026 that can be done in one push or several days.

For a shorter overnight inside the wilderness, see Shining Rock via Old Butt Knob and Shining Creek.

Tips

Set up a shuttle. Blue Ridge Outdoors mentions Pura Vida Adventures or two cars; RomanticAsheville says not to leave cars overnight at Gloucester Gap.
Carry a map and compass north of Ivestor Gap, where the trail is unmarked.
Bring a bear canister. Several sources say they’re required for camping on the northern half. Blue Ridge Outdoors lists rental options in Brevard and a Forest Service loaner program.
Plan water stops around the shelters and gaps; the long ridge stretches are dry.
Expect cold wind on the balds, even in summer.

Camping

Camping is first come, first served; there are no reservations. The Butter Gap and Deep Gap shelters are the only built shelters, and Blue Ridge Outdoors says sites near them fill up in summer. In the Shining Rock Wilderness, campfires are prohibited, groups are limited to 10, and bikes are not allowed (Forest Service). A Forest Service order on the Pisgah District has limited camping within 1,000 feet of roads open to vehicles to designated sites; check whether it still applies at road crossings such as Gloucester Gap. Graveyard Fields, near the Parkway, has been closed to camping since 2015 because of bears. Camping isn’t allowed on Parkway land.

Inside Intel: Blue Ridge Outdoors writer Mary Beth Skylis says many hikers camp at or near the Butter Gap and Deep Gap shelters for the water. The Outbound suggests Gloucester Gap for a first night going north and the base of Tennent Mountain toward Ivestor Gap for a second, and says to camp well away from Shining Rock Gap because of past bear problems.

Trail facts

Distance: About 30.1 miles (some sources say 29 to 30)
Route type: Point to point; shuttle needed
Difficulty: Strenuous
Campsites: Butter Gap and Deep Gap shelters; many dispersed sites, several between Black Balsam and Deep Gap (Cold Mountain)
Water: Springs and streams at gaps; seasonal; treat all water
Permits: None found
Bear and food storage: Canisters required in the Shining Rock and Black Balsam areas
Fires: Prohibited in the Shining Rock Wilderness
Dogs: Allowed on leash (Blue Ridge Outdoors)
Trailheads: Art Loeb trailhead near Davidson River Campground (US 276); Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp off NC 215
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Shelter nights at Butter Gap and Deep Gap:

Many Art Loeb hikers camp at or near the Butter Gap and Deep Gap shelters for the water. Our tips for side sleepers cover pads, pillows, and room to bend your knees.

Get the side-sleeper tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.