Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / North Carolina / Pisgah National Forest

Black Mountain Crest Trail: Bowlens Creek to Mount Mitchell

Appalachian Ranger District, Pisgah National Forest, and Mount Mitchell State Park (near Burnsville)

The Black Mountains hold the highest peaks in the East, and the Black Mountain Crest Trail follows their spine from the Bowlens Creek valley near Burnsville to the summit of Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet). The Forest Service rates it “most difficult,” at 12 miles one way with an average hiking time of more than 10 hours.

Backpacker, in a 2013 write-up, called it “the most rugged trail in the East.” After Hurricane Helene, the Forest Service reopened the Bowlens Creek-to-Deep Gap section in May 2025 and the rest of the trail later that year.

The hike

From Bowlens Creek, the trail starts on an old Forest Service road before becoming a footpath. Backpacker says most of the climbing comes early, more than 3,000 feet in the first four miles, to the shoulder of Celo Knob. MyHikes puts springs below Celo Knob around mile 3.5 and the Woody Ridge Trail junction at 4.7.

Past Celo Knob the trail stays between about 5,000 and 6,000 feet, according to Backpacker, and runs over or past Horse Rock, Gibbs Mountain, and Winter Star (6,203 feet at mile 7.0, per MyHikes). Deep Gap, at the Colbert Ridge Trail junction around mile 7.6, is the usual camp. A 2006 Views from the Top forum poster called it “a popular backpack camping spot” with no shelter.

South of Deep Gap the trail climbs over Potato Hill, Cattail Peak, and Balsam Cone, then Big Tom and Mount Craig, the second-highest summit in the East (6,647 feet). MyHikes warns of a fixed rope at slick rock above Big Tom Gap, and The Outbound mentions scrambling on the north face of Big Tom. Explore Asheville describes the state park’s end of the trail, from the summit parking lot over Mount Craig, as stone steps and exposed rock with some scrambling, and MyHikes says Mount Craig’s cliffs are lined with logs to keep hikers off rare plants. From Mount Craig, the final stretch climbs to Mount Mitchell’s summit.

The Outbound’s contributor wishes he had started at 7 a.m. instead of 10 to stay ahead of afternoon storms. MyHikes says the hike is usually done as a shuttle from spring through fall, because the state park closes much of the winter; the alternative is the crest both ways, about 24.8 miles.

For more high-elevation ridge walking a short drive north, see the Roan Highlands, listed under Tennessee.

Tips

Camping

The campsites guides describe are on Pisgah National Forest land, outside Mount Mitchell State Park. No permit was found for this trail. Deep Gap is the main campsite; Backpacker calls it the only place on the trail where camping is permitted, while MyHikes and The Outbound also mention sites near Celo Knob, Winter Star, and Cattail Peak. The state park’s small campground is closed for the 2026 season, according to the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. MyHikes recommends a bear canister at Deep Gap because of past bear encounters.

Inside Intel: The 2006 forum poster, who camped at Deep Gap, says the spring there is at the base of a steep cliff on the east side of the clearing and may be hard to find or dry in a drought; he also filtered from a seep at the first switchback of a logging road heading west. Backpacker says the Colbert Ridge Trail leads about 0.2 mile, short but steep, to water.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Over 3,000 feet up to Celo Knob:

The Black Mountain Crest Trail climbs more than 3,000 feet in its first four miles to Celo Knob, with a fixed rope at slick rock above Big Tom Gap. Here is how to adjust your poles for the climb.

Get the trekking pole 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.