Craggy Gardens Sunrise - panoramio.jpg
Will Thomas · CC BY-SA 3.0

Big Ivy Road & Douglas Falls Trail is a 14.2-mile out-and-back in Craggy Mountain Wilderness Study Area near Blackberry Inn, NC. It climbs 2,478 ft, with sections as steep as 22% grade. It scores 43/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.

Elevation

0 mi3,822 – 5,574 ft · steepest grade: 22%14.4 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Craggy Gardens Trail 35.69940, -82.38008
Nearest town Blackberry Inn, NC

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Big Ivy Road & Douglas Falls Trail

14.2 mi · ▲ 2,478 ft · 5 hr 58 min

Elevation 3,822–5,576 ft

Out & Back · Craggy Mountain Wilderness Study Area

Trailhead: Craggy Gardens Trail · 35.69940, -82.38008

Weather Sep 4: Partly cloudy, high 75°F / low 61° · precip 21% · wind 6 mph · sunrise 7:05 AM · sunset 7:54 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading SW.
  2. 100 ftSharp right onto Mountains-to-Sea Trail, heading N.
  3. 0.9 miBear left onto Douglas Falls Trail, heading SE.
  4. 4.5 miTurn left onto Big Ivy Road, heading NW.
  5. 1.7 miReach Douglas Falls Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  6. 1.7 miTurn right, heading S.
  7. 4.5 miBear right onto Mountains-to-Sea Trail, heading SW.
  8. 0.9 miSharp left, heading S.
  9. 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

39% dirt15% gravel46% unspecified

Weather

Partly cloudyTemperature 75°F61°
Precip21%Wind6 mphUV7Humidity77%
Hourly temperatureRain chance
75°60° 12 PM: 1% rain1 PM: 7% rain2 PM: 14% rain3 PM: 21% rain4 PM: 20% rain5 PM: 18% rain6 PM: 11% rain7 PM: 5% rain8 PM: 2% rain
Sunrise 7:05 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 7:54 PM
Sat 74°63°
Sun 71°57° 57%
Mon 66°54° 32%
Tue 68°50°
Wed 75°51°
Thu 76°57°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is right at the trailhead, so there is no walk out. Be there by 7:33 PM to have the sun's last 20 minutes of sky before it sets at 7:54 PM. Your car is right there — dark at 8:20 PM.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

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