Explore the most popular trails near Banner Elk with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you.
Great views! It is a tough trail but worth it! It’s April and the vegetation is blooming, beautiful scenery!
Well worth it! It pushed me to my limit, but I would gladly do it again and again. I love this place! The beauty is unbeatable.
Great hike today. Probably the best views I’ve had at Calloway Peak. Strenuous but the views are so worth it.
What a great hike and it was a great day to boot. A tough one to be sure but well worth it when you get to the top. Around the time I reached the Profile Campsite I was thinking "what's the fuss about this trail?" but it really started to take off after that. That stretch after the spring is really tough. Once you make the Grandfather trail it just becomes fun with a couple of tough stretches. I scrambled over the ladders and onto the rocks that look back at the ridge line back to the park and had lunch there. While it took me my expected time to get up, about 3 hours, with a lot of time on the last mile, it took me quite a long time to come down. The terrain was part of it, plus the hike up wiped me out!
Saw a big pile of bear scat early on which was the topic of discussion with all of the other hikers I met. The only thing I didn't like was that they moved the trailhead and instead of cutting a new trail up the mountain, they instead went down to the old trail head. That last 200 feet of elevation was lousy after that hike!
Hung up my hammock there today, perfect spot to relax and let my dog roam a little on her long lead. Peaceful, quiet, hidden gem. One nice feature was climbing up to the waterfall, and a nice easy descent back to the car.
Nice hike with beautiful falls. Rocks are slippery though so a bit difficult with dog and kids who wanted to climb.
Easy hike with a beautiful waterfall at the end!
Beautiful falls. Worth the incline.
Great waterfall at the end of an easy hike. Good trail with steady climb.
wow! what a great experience. the trail went from mud to snow to icy. what fun. Calloway Peak offers a nice challenging climb and an amazing foggy howling windy view. can't wait to experience it all again on a sunny morning.
Great hike! Great changes in vegetation as you climb. Options to connect to other trails. Got a little busy throughout the day. Up hill climb is strenuous and the down hill climb can be hard on the knees. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
this all trails app pulls up uber everytime I want directions. very frustrating
Awesome trail with the pups. Great falls but slightly slippery while exploring. Steep climb in some areas but worth it!
Having done the Profile Trail many times over the years, I was surprised to see the new entry off the highway, registration area, restrooms and parking area. Wow! Very nice! The 1st 1/2 mile from the registration area is new trail. It’s a nice warm-up but it tacks on the extra mile round trip which was unexpected. We went past Shanty Springs this time and had heard it was extremely difficult. We found it to be the best part of the trail. It’s challenging but really fun..not scary like I thought.
Amazing views of the mountains and multiple waterfalls. Hiked this trail but didn’t hike all the way to the top of grandfather because I had my dog with me (can’t get him up the ladders). I recommend using poles when it’s wet or icy in winter!
Well maintained trail. Winter wonderland for sure. Trails were iced over, trekking poles were a big help.
Great hike and work out. Used profile trail to the top and went over and down Daniel Boone Scout Trail . was amazing in the snow and ice. Definitely trekking poles were nice, wish I had brought ice grips though. Trails were covered in ice.
I love this trail. I have done it a few times in the past but never in the winter. I did a quick up and back on Jan 14. The trail was icy and the temps cold but the views were amazing and well worth the effort. I highly recommend trekking poles for this trail and they're necessity when it's slick!
It was a great hike for a couple hours of the day! Kids enjoyed it. Had a great time at the falls!!!
Steep and challenging. About as hard as a hike can get in terms of gaining elevation quickly. Wouldn’t expect to finish this one in under 4 hours. Can easily take 5-6 hours if conditions are less than ideal. Make sure you have an entire day to spend. Would not recommend during the winter as it can get icy.
Great fun! Had baby backpacked and a 6 year old. Beautiful with the snow on the ground.
Absolutely my favorite hike so far! A physical hike with one of the best views I’ve ever seen at the top! We did this hike at the end of December so the summit was brutally cold. Prepare yourself for that so you can enjoy it longer.
Departed on the trail around 5am and took about four hours to get to the top (because of a snow storm). The entire trail was a winter wonderland while I hiked it. Brutally cold but so rewarding. The view is well worth the strenuous hike. The last .4 miles is extremely strenuous, especially in the winter.
A pretty strenuous trail if you're carrying a pack, but the view at the peak is great. This trail is wonderful because it has so many different elements to it. It is pretty consistently steep throughout, particularly at the end. Great trek though
Fun trail and great waterfalls. Fun with kids
The view at the top is the reward for a hard hike.
Good hike. Enough features like streams and rocks and overlooks to keep it interesting. Pretty muddy for the first half mile or so today, maybe due to the snow.
Beatiful and great for kids
Had my 18lb pack on. Tough w pack but views definitely worth the climb
11/5/17: Nice trail. Not too intense. Enjoyable. Waterfalls are gorgeous.