AMBLEWAY Wildest hikes

Middle Prong Wilderness

Mount Hardy & Mt Hardy Trail via Mountains-to-Sea Trail

6.5 mi · ▲ 990 ft · 2 hr 40 min

Mount Hardy & Mt Hardy Trail via Mountains-to-Sea Trail is a 6.5-mile out-and-back in Middle Prong Wilderness near Balsam Grove, NC. The route reaches Mount Hardy at the turnaround, 3.2 miles in. It climbs 990 ft, with sections as steep as 23% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 21/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi5,102 – 6,113 ft · steepest grade: 23%6.5 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Mountains-to-Sea Trail 35.30381, -82.90912
Nearest town Balsam Grove, NC
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Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Mount Hardy & Mt Hardy Trail via Mountains-to-Sea Trail

6.5 mi · ▲ 990 ft · 2 hr 40 min

Elevation 5,103–6,114 ft

Out & Back · Middle Prong Wilderness

Trailhead: Mountains-to-Sea Trail · 35.30381, -82.90912

Weather Sep 5: sunrise 7:08 AM · sunset 7:55 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start on Mountains-to-Sea Trail, heading W.
  2. 2.7 miTurn left onto Mt Hardy Trail, heading SE.
  3. 0.5 miReach Mount Hardy, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  4. 0.5 miTurn right, heading N.
  5. 350 ftContinue straight onto Mountains-to-Sea Trail, heading NE.
  6. 2.6 miArrive back at the trailhead.

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

Trail map, photos and weather for this hike: www.ambleway.com/hikes/mount-hardy-mt-hardy-trail-out-back-10-km

Trail surface

98% dirt2% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 7:08 AMSunset 7:55 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 2.5 mi in (~79 min). Leave by 6:16 PM for the 7:55 PM sunset. Back at your car by 9:11 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

More from Mountains-to-Sea Trail Trailhead

Hikes near Balsam Grove, North Carolina