Woody Ridge Trail (177)

 4 votes
  1. Areas
  2. NC
  3. …West and Mountains
  4. Pisgah National Forest

2.4 Miles 3.9 Kilometers

 

45% 

Runnable

Singletrack

2,973' 906 m

Ascent

-11' -3 m

Descent

6,152' 1,875 m

High

3,178' 969 m

Low

23%

Avg Grade (13°)

69%

Max Grade (35°)

Minor Issues

5 days ago — Update

“The shortest, steepest climb in NC - 3,100 ft of climb in 2.5 miles.”

— Brandon Thrower
GPX File — Driving Directions

Overview

Features: Fall Colors — Spring — Views — Wildflowers — Wildlife
Dogs: Leashed

Runner Notes

Tough as nails!

Description

Woody Ridge Trail is the toughest climb in NC. It is unrelenting, technical, and down right AWESOME! Good views can be had from a couple of overlooks. The trail is blazed in yellow. The trailhead is off White Oak Creek Rd near Burnsville, NC. The trail ends at its junction with the Black Mountain Crest Trail near Horse Rock on top of a small bald.

Contacts

Land Manager: USFS - Pisgah National Forest Grandfather Ranger District

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5.0 from 4 votes

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Trail Ratings

  5.0 from 4 votes

#1

in Pisgah National Forest

#75

Overall
  5.0 from 4 votes
5 Star
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Rankings

#1

in Pisgah National Forest

#5

in North Carolina

#75

Overall
125 Views Last Month
761 Since Dec 9, 2016
Extremely Difficult Extremely Difficult
0%
0%
0%
0%
33%
67%

Conditions

Minor Issues 5 days ago
Mostly Dry, Some Mud: Lots of fallen autumn leaves make for slippery slopes as they cover moist ground underneath as well as the best footholds.
Update Conditions — History
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Photos

Autumn leaves blowing in the foreground along Woody Ridge Trail after a pre-dawn hike up to catch the sunrise. The cloud encased South Toe River Valley where the trail begins is below in the forefront. 10/15/17
Autumn leaves blowing in the foreground along W…
 3
Sun rising over the cloud encased South Toe River Valley as the wind begins to whip up the just moments before still clouds as seen from Sunrise Point along the Woody Ridge Trail
Sun rising over the cloud encased South Toe Riv…
 5
Pre-dawn sky looking east from Woody Ridge Trail with the moon and Venus (barely visible in the middle) in the sky and the South Toe River Valley below covered in early morning low cloud cover. (10/15/17)
Pre-dawn sky looking east from Woody Ridge Trai…
 3
Sitting on a prominent overlook along Woody Ridge Trail after a pre-dawn hike to catch the sunrise. Warmer morning temps. gave way to chilly howling winds up top. 10/15/17
Sitting on a prominent overlook along Woody Rid…
 3
Trying to capture the uphill climb of this trail but it's impossible. I'll just say that my heels rarely hit the ground because the climb is so vertical!
Trying to capture the uphill climb of this trai…
 3
View about 3/4 of the way up the Woody Ridge Trail.
View about 3/4 of the way up the Woody Ridge Tr…
 4
This is the meadow at the top. And this is Bodhi. He is not our dog; he was a dog from the neighborhood who led us up the trail. At one point he surprised us at the other end of a crawl through space.
This is the meadow at the top. And this is Bodh…
 4

2 Comments

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Shelly Bryll
Shelly Bryll  
Tried hiking this trail August 11, 2017. Did not see yellow blazes any where. I hiked this trail twice last year with no problem but for some reason , not sure if it is overgrown, but all trails I followed ended to dead ending in the middle of the woods from overgrowth. Really was looking forward to this hike but just could not find the full trail. Aug 14, 2017
Shelly Bryll
Shelly Bryll  
There are two trail parking areas off " White Creek Rd ". Because this site mentioned "The trailhead is off White Oak Creek Rd near Burnsville, NC. " I followed White Creek Rd and then on White Oak Creed road (over small bridge) followed to the end. This was NOT the Woodys Ridge trail head parking area. Turn on Shufford CRK at the end is correct trail head. Trail is yellow blazed and nice. Aug 18, 2017

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 1
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 18
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Nearby Gems

gem

Sunrise Point Overlook

2
Burnsville, NC
gem

Horse Rock Bald

3
Burnsville, NC

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