Hard Times Road

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Not Allowed

There is a $14 entrance/parking fee in 2019 to access the NC Arboretum, including the trailhead at the beginning of Hard Times Road.

This is your standard issue forest road featuring a long (1.5 mi, 500 ft), continuous, but gradual climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are a couple of parking spots just off the Blue Ridge Parkway where Hard Times Road comes closest to it.

Once you reach the parkway, a longer descent takes you down to South Ridge Rd. (FR 479M) and finally to Homestead #333 trail near Lake Powhatan and the campground at the bottom of the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. Here you can connect to all the great singletracks in the Bent Creek area.

The forest road begins at a trailhead located in the North Carolina Arboretum and the first mile or so of the trail is in the Arboretum proper. You can make an easy (technically) gravel loop with the Bent Creek Road from the Arboretum.

The trail also serves to access the Owl Ridge trail in the Arboretum.