Cedar Rock Mountain–Horse Cove, 7 sights is a 5.8-mile out-and-back near Laurel Falls, NC. The route passes Horse Cove, Cat Gap and Sandy Gap before reaching Cedar Rock Mountain at the turnaround, 2.9 miles in. It climbs 1,799 ft, with sections as steep as 31% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 80/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
0 mi2,323 – 4,055 ft · steepest grade: 31%6.0 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Cat Gap Loop 35.28433, -82.79055
Nearest town Laurel Falls, NC
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Cedar Rock Mountain–Horse Cove, 7 sights
5.8 mi · ▲ 1,799 ft · 2 hr 50 min
Elevation 2,322–4,054 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Cat Gap Loop · 35.28433, -82.79055
Weather Sep 4: Partly cloudy, high 88°F / low 70° · precip 18% · wind 4 mph · sunrise 7:07 AM · sunset 7:56 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Cat Gap Loop, heading E.
- 0.9 miTurn right, heading S.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Cat Gap Loop Trail, heading S.
- 0.2 miPass Horse Cove.
- 0.9 miPass Cat Gap.
- 200 ftBear left onto Art Loeb Trail, heading SW.
- 0.5 miPass Sandy Gap.
- 250 ftTurn right onto Cedar Rock Mountain Trail, heading SW.
- 0.3 miReach Cedar Rock Mountain, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Art Loeb Trail, heading E.
- 0.6 miBear right onto Cat Gap Loop Trail, heading NE.
- 1.2 miTurn right, heading N.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Cat Gap Loop, heading N.
- 0.8 miBear right, heading W.
- 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
Partly cloudyTemperature 88°F70°
Precip18%Wind4 mphUV7Humidity75%
Rained 0.1″ 7 days ago
Hourly temperatureRain chance
90°70°
Sunrise 7:07 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 7:56 PM
Sat
91°72°
17%
Sun
89°68°
62%
Mon
73°65°
43%
Tue
79°61°
Wed
86°62°
Thu
90°66°
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.9 mi in (~119 min). Leave by 5:37 PM for the 7:56 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:22 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Cat Gap Loop Trailhead
- Upper Cedar Rock Falls via Cat Gap Loop Trail 1.4 mi · ▲ 235 ft
- Horse Cove–Cat Gap Loop Trail, 3 sights 2.3 mi · ▲ 252 ft
- Butter Gap Trail 2.5 mi · ▲ 297 ft
- Cat Gap Loop 3.7 mi · ▲ 247 ft
- Cedar Rock Falls–Horse Cove Loop, 4 sights 4.4 mi · ▲ 828 ft
- Upper Cedar Rock Falls–Horse Cove, 5 sights 6.7 mi · ▲ 1,277 ft
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Hikes near Laurel Falls, North Carolina