Flat Top Mountain Trail is a 4.8 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Blowing Rock, North Carolina that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Fairly easy trail that takes you along a few switchbacks and a nice walk along one of the parks many meadows. It begins at Flat Top Manor and along the way is short detour to Cone Cemetery. The trail is then switchbacks through the forest all the way to the summit with two decent overlooks along the way. Once you reach the top, you will find the fire tower which is about 4 stories and lets you stand just above the tree line.
Parking is free at Flat Top Manor, there is no gate and should be open any time the parkway is open.
Going along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you can follow the signs for the Craft Center once entering Moses H. Cone Memorial Park which takes you to Flat Top Manor. Drive all the way around the loop to the smaller barn which houses restrooms. You will then take the trail in front of the restrooms towards the parkway and pass under the road upon which you will see signs for Flat Top Mountain Trail at the fork.
April 16, 2021Perfect trail
April 15, 2021Great trail. Beautiful scenery
April 7, 2021gentle but stay uphill to fire tower with a great view.
April 5, 2021Beautiful views that get better the farther you climb. Paths are wide and easy to navigate. Not crowded but there were a good amount of people out.
April 4, 2021On Easter Sunday, it wasn’t overrun with people. Beautiful, easy hike, nothing super steep, great fire tower to climb at the top. Took us about 3 hours including stopping for a picnic in the field and lots of diversions for views.
March 29, 2021March 27, 2021
March 27, 2021March 26, 2021Good hike. Saw deer and turkeys. There are little short cuts everyone seems to take that are steeper than the marked trail, I stayed on the horse trail though. The tower was awesome, it is well built and there is a great view at the top.
March 22, 2021Great trail to hike with kids or older adults. Not technically challenging but very peaceful with great views. The pictures do not reflect the true beauty. I would definitely hike this trail again.
March 22, 2021Great
March 21, 2021March 21, 2021Well maintained gravel trail with beautiful views
March 21, 2021Great hike, not muddy...easy trail...lots of people
March 20, 2021Awesome!!
March 19, 2021March 15, 2021March 13, 2021March 7, 2021March 6, 2021Beautiful year around! Lots of space to explore.
March 2, 2021Moses Cone is a beautiful area with plenty of views. Long distance views at that, but probably the best view of Grandfather Mountain and Calloway Peak. The trail is very easy, well marked and maintained. This trail is rated easy and that’s appropriate. The trail is gradual climb most of the way up, but nothing necessitating poles. The tower offers decent views, but not the best. The view into Blowing Rock is pretty and the views down into the foothills from there. You can also see distant views of the Black Mountains and great views of the Linville Gorge area. Table Rock and Hawksbill are easily identifiable. Also, views of Sugar Mountain and the hideous resort are available and views of Ski Beech. Distant views of the Roans are also available.
March 1, 2021February 25, 2021February 25, 2021The whole way up the trail has gravel. There are shortcuts that can be taken that are a bit more challenging. It was beautiful and well taken care of.
February 22, 2021Great, easy trail, but shortcuts are slippery.
February 17, 2021Easy walk up a semi paved horse trail. Nice views from the top.
February 14, 2021Excellent trail. Expect snow and ice in winter but that was the point.
February 10, 2021Really nice trail hike! So apparently this is primarily used for horse back riding, but it was a nice walk through the woods with an awesome open area with a beautiful vista over a pasture. The fire tower at the top is quite the feature. It recently snowed, so the trail was slushy but manageable for sure and we brought along our 5 year old lab who had an amazing time!
February 8, 2021The BRP is closed currently, so I parked alongside the road and hiked to the trailhead for an easy 1.2 mile addition to the total mileage. The trail itself is wide with a gradual incline up to the fire tower. There was still a decent amount of snow on the trail, but very manageable with hiking boots. The "balds" provides gorgeous views of Grandfather Mtn and small glimpses of the Linville Gorge Wilderness and Table Rock Mtn. Honestly, I think winter is the time to do this hike. No foliage means constant views of surrounding mountains and peaks. Happy hiking!
January 26, 2021
