Grindstone, Ledge Spring, and Jomeokee Trails Loop is a 2.6 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Pinnacle, North Carolina that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, rock climbing, and nature trips and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Ledge Spring and Jomeokee Trails form a demanding 2.8 mile loop trail located near Pinnacle, North Carolina. The Jomeokee Trail is a moderate relatively flat 0.8 mile loop around the base of Pilot Mountain's Big Pinnacle offering impressive cliff views as well as opportunities to see ravens and rare plants. The trail is marked by orange dots and is named by the Saura Indian Tribe, who used it as a guide or pilot landmark. The Ledge Springs Trail is a demanding hike up or down rocky or wooden steps with a varying slope. It travels along the base of the cliffs used by many climbers, starting to the west of Little Pinnacle. This part of the trail is marked by yellow dots. The "ledge spring" is really just a trickle of water forming a small stream, but there are several areas water permeates the rocks. The trail can be traveled either clockwize (starting with Jomeokee and then taking a left at the Ledge Springs Trail to travel down the rock steps and then back up a more steady sloped trail from the bottom back to the parking lot. A short cut through Three Bear Gulley will cut out most of the bottom part (and less scenic) part of the trail. Pilot Mountain is one of two nesting sites in North Carolina for the common Raven and also supports the environment for three rare plants: Greenland Sand Wort, Dwarf Alum Root and Bear Oak.
Ranger station half way up provides information and permits; ample parking at summit is paved; full bathroom facilities (very clean).
Contact Information: (336) 325-2355 (336) 325-2361 line 2 pilot.mountain@ncparks.gov or pilot.mountain@ncmail.net 1792 Pilot Knob Park Road, Pinnacle, NC 27043
Use extreme care near the cliffs - a fall will be fatal. Avoid the summit during late summer afternoons, when thunderstorms raise risk of lightning strikes. Signs at the entrance to the park and at the summit inform you when the summit closes; be sure you return to your car in time. Bring plenty of water if you're taking on the Ledge Springs Loop and weather-appropriate clothing - it can be very breezy at the top, but otherwise your main concerns are staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The best time to go is late October, when the leaves change. The next best time is early winter and early spring, when bare trees open even more vistas. Summer is the worst, though you can usually get a good like in during the morning hours before the heat gets blistering.
Pilot Mountain State Park is located in Surry and Yadkin Counties, 16 miles north of Winston-Salem and 14 miles south of Mount Airy. Directions from Winston-Salem, NC: Take US 52 north for 24 miles to the park entrance. It is clearly marked. After passing the park entrance, you will come to a fork in the road. Head left, following the signs to the summit. The trail is located adjacent to the Little Pinnacle Overlook Trail, summit parking area.
February 28, 2021Amazing hike even if the fog was to thick to see the views.
February 27, 2021well kept!
February 26, 2021Hiked 2/25/21, counterclockwise. Beautiful hike along the ridges on a welcome warm sunny day after six weeks of chilly temps. Not challenging but definitely a workout. The loop around Pilot Mountain proper at the end was a nice pay off after a couple miles of elevation loss and gain.
February 24, 2021
February 21, 2021February 7, 2021February 5, 2021A workout and icy in places.
February 4, 2021January 23, 2021Lots of stairs!
January 22, 2021January 20, 2021Clockwise: Jomoekee is completely flat, which we weren’t expecting. Plenty of photo opportunities. Ledge Spring is not overly technical, but you do have to pay attention. Lots of stairs going *down*. We missed the turn up at 3 Bears Gulch so the last part of the trail up Grindstone was a slog. Neat photo opportunity at the TOP of 3 Bears off Grindstone (we took photos then walked back down to Ledge Spring to see where we missed & back up)
January 16, 2021January 9, 2021Difficult to find the trail so we just took one of the well marked ones. It was definitely icy but a beautiful, casual stroll. The views can’t be beat!
January 3, 2021January 3, 2021January 2, 2021Un camino muy bonito y corto para enseñarle a los niños lo bello que es nuestro planeta
December 29, 2020great views and good work out but I was very surprised at how many people were out considering this is technically a moderate level hiking trail
December 29, 2020December 29, 2020some mud lots of little ones
December 28, 2020Very rocky and icy.
December 28, 2020December 19, 2020Awesome! We went up Ledge Spring, that’s a strenuous hike. so fun, we saw ice on the trails today. Trails are very well-maintained.
December 11, 2020November 25, 2020A lot more terrain than I was expecting. But great views and great hike!
November 22, 2020Started at the old park office and hiked up Ledge Spring and down Grindstone. Definitely recommend this route for an added challenge going up and some nice overlooks - plus saw some climbers along the way
November 20, 2020I enjoyed doing the jomeokee trail around the knob- pinnacle 1st, climbers trail along Southside (lots of rock stairs) and finish with the easy upward climb of switchbacks up grind stone trail. The initial view points can be crowded so make sure to check out Jomeoke if you can do stairs. I use poles to save my hips and knees as I am short. Fun to stop and watch rock climbers too on South face.
November 20, 2020November 18, 2020November 18, 2020Nice weather.
