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Pisgah's most famous trail.


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Map Key

8.4

Miles

13.5

KM

Singletrack

4,188' 1,277 m

High

2,223' 678 m

Low

1,106' 337 m

Up

2,705' 824 m

Down

9%

Avg Grade (5°)

33%

Max Grade (18°)

Dogs Unknown

E-Bikes Not Allowed

Need to Know

This GPS track is no longer accurate! If you've ridden and recorded this trail recently, please use the "Fix/Improve This Page" button to send a new GPX file to be swapped in.

Description

Black Mountains south terminus is near the town of Pisgah Forest, across Route 276 from Davidson River Campground. The north end is at Club Gap near Avery Creek Road (FSR #477) at a four-way intersection with Club Gap, Buckwheat Knob, and Avery Creek trails. Several other trails can be accessed by Black Mountain, including Turkeypen Gap, and Buckhorn Gap.

This trail is legendary for many reasons, but mostly it is known for its downhill, which loses over 1900 ft. from its highest point. Some riders get a taste of Black by doing a short loop with Thrift Cove Trail #603 near the bottom. The more ambitious can work their way to Pressley Gap or Buckhorn Gap.

Black Mountain has plenty of technical riding. There are loads of rocks, small drops, and some eroded areas. Overall it gets less technical the closer you get toward the bottom. There is a solid amount of gnar between the summit of Black Mountain. and the Turkeypen Gap trailhead. This section is steep, with ditched-out trail and waterbars that dont function anymore. The lower section near Thrift Cove is more mellow than the upper.

If planning a route that gets to Buckhorn Gap, there are many choices at that point, including which way to descend Black. Youll find amazing views by continuing toward Clawhammer Mountain (4120 ft.) and the trails namesake peak itself (4286 ft.), but it is a slow-go to get up there with hike-a-bikes along the way. Because of this, many chose to descend down Clawhammer Road and ride back up Turkey Creek Road - FSR 5099 (aka Maxwell Cove) to join Black again at Pressley Gap. Which is better depends on who you ask. Regardless, youll eventually get on some great downhill.

From Pressley Gap, there is still some work to do by pushing a bit to Hickory Knob. After that, it is 1400 ft. of DOWN in the final 2.5 miles!

Contacts

Shared By:

Paul Stahlschmidt with improvements by Matt Jenkins

Trail Ratings

  4.6 from 74 votes

#1

in Avery Creek

#46

Overall
  4.6 from 74 votes
5 Star
69%
4 Star
22%
3 Star
8%
2 Star
1%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Avery Creek

#46

Overall
210 Views Last Month
38,949 Since Jun 21, 2013
Difficult Difficult

0%
0%
0%
6%
81%
13%

Photos

The last section of lower black with Christopher Langley!
Feb 11, 2018 near Brevard, NC
Spectacular view from atop Black Mountain.
Jun 14, 2017 near Brevard, NC
Lower Black Mountain super flow!
Jul 8, 2021 near Brevard, NC
A legendary downhill.
Jul 9, 2013 near Brevard, NC
The drops keep on coming at you.
Jul 9, 2013 near Brevard, NC
Watch out for rattlesnakes - on top of Black Mountain view point.
May 16, 2019 near Brevard, NC
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