Lake James State Park

Lake James–Boat beach Loop, 3 beaches

1.6 mi · ▲ 108 ft · 35 min

Lake James–Boat beach Loop, 3 beaches is a 1.6-mile loop in Lake James State Park near Longtown, NC. The route passes Swimming beach, Boat beach, Lake James and 2 more. It is mostly level, with 108 ft of elevation gain, and mostly dirt. It scores 32/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.

Elevation

0 mi1,201 – 1,309 ft1.8 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 35.75145, -81.87563
Nearest town Longtown, NC

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Lake James–Boat beach Loop, 3 beaches

1.6 mi · ▲ 108 ft · 35 min

Elevation 1,201–1,310 ft

Loop · Lake James State Park

Trailhead: 35.75145, -81.87563

Weather Sep 4: Light drizzle, high 96°F / low 68° · precip 15% · wind 9 mph · sunrise 7:03 AM · sunset 7:52 PM

Toilets at the trailhead · Drinking water at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading E.
  2. 50 ftPass Swimming beach.
  3. 50 ftPass Boat beach.
  4. 50 ftPass Lake James.
  5. 250 ftBear left onto Mills Creek Trail, heading NE.
  6. 0.2 miBear left, heading NW.
  7. 1 miTurn left onto Paddy's Creek Trail, heading SW.
  8. 0.2 miPass Swimming beach.
  9. 50 ftPass Boat beach.
  10. 350 ftBear left, heading S.
  11. 0.2 miTurn left, heading E.
  12. 50 ftBear right, heading E.
  13. 50 ftThe loop closes back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

85% dirt7% sand6% gravel2% paved

Weather

Light drizzleTemperature 96°F68°
Feels like89°Precip15%Wind9 mphUV7Humidity80%
Rained 0.2″ 7 days ago
Hourly temperatureRain chance
100°65° 1 PM: 1% rain2 PM: 3% rain3 PM: 4% rain4 PM: 13% rain5 PM: 15% rain6 PM: 3% rain7 PM: 4% rain8 PM: 4% rain9 PM: 2% rain10 PM: 1% rain11 PM: 1% rain
Sunrise 7:03 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 7:52 PM
Sat 98°73°
Sun 94°70° 69%
Mon 81°68° 62%
Tue 85°64°
Wed 90°64°
Thu 94°68°

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.3 mi in (~8 min). Leave by 7:24 PM for the 7:52 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:16 PM — 3 min before dark.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Toilets at the trailhead
  • Drinking water at the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead