Beacon Heights & Tanawha Trail is a 1.9-mile out-and-back near Grandfather, NC. The route reaches Beacon Heights at the turnaround, 0.9 miles in. It climbs 322 ft, with sections as steep as 16% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 0/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi4,170 – 4,357 ft · steepest grade: 16%2.1 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 36.08896, -81.82232
Nearest town Grandfather, NC
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Beacon Heights & Tanawha Trail
1.9 mi · ▲ 322 ft · 48 min
Elevation 4,170–4,358 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: 36.08896, -81.82232
Weather Sep 4: Overcast, high 80°F / low 64° · precip 14% · wind 1 mph · sunrise 7:02 AM · sunset 7:53 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading S.
- 50 ftTurn right onto Tanawha Trail, heading SW.
- 0.8 miContinue straight onto Beacon Heights Trail, heading SW.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading S.
- 150 ftReach Beacon Heights, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Tanawha Trail, heading NE.
- 0.8 miTurn left, heading S.
- 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
100% dirt
Weather
OvercastTemperature 80°F64°
Precip14%Wind1 mphUV7Humidity92%
Hourly temperature
80°60°
Sunrise 7:02 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 7:53 PM
Sat
80°67°
15%
Sun
79°60°
69%
Mon
67°55°
49%
Tue
71°52°
Wed
77°55°
Thu
79°60°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.9 mi in (~24 min). Leave by 7:08 PM for the 7:53 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:33 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp. Car visible from the viewpoint
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Beacon Heights Viewpoint–Mountains-to-Sea Viewpoint, 3 viewpoints 1.9 mi · ▲ 322 ft
- BRP Trace via Tanawha Trail 4.4 mi · ▲ 961 ft
- Tanawha Viewpoint via Tanawha Trail 4.5 mi · ▲ 1,002 ft
- Tanawha Trail 5.1 mi · ▲ 1,203 ft
- Mountains-to-Sea Trail–Old House Gap Road, 4 sights 13.2 mi · ▲ 2,691 ft
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Hikes near Grandfather, North Carolina