Windy Gap Trail
4.5 mi · ▲ 1,192 ft · 2 hr 6 min
Windy Gap Trail is a 4.5-mile out-and-back near Jenkins Meadow, NC. It climbs 1,192 ft, with sections as steep as 34% grade. It scores 94/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Windy Gap Trail
4.5 mi · ▲ 1,192 ft · 2 hr 6 min
Elevation 1,911–3,077 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Big Fat Branch Trail · 35.41734, -83.97286
Weather Sep 4: Fog, high 85°F / low 70° · precip 5% · wind 3 mph · sunrise 7:11 AM · sunset 8:01 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Windy Gap Trail, heading NW.
- 1.4 miBear right onto Nichols Cove Trail, heading N.
- 0.8 miReach Windy Gap Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.8 miBear left onto Windy Gap Trail, heading S.
- 1.4 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.1 mi in (~3 min). Leave by 7:38 PM for the 8:01 PM sunset. Back at your car by 8:19 PM — 7 min before dark.
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Big Fat Branch Trail Trailhead
- Big Fat Branch Trail 2.7 mi · ▲ 1,007 ft
- Yellowhammer Gap via Hangover Lead Trail 4.5 mi · ▲ 2,200 ft
- Hangover Lead Trail 4.7 mi · ▲ 1,815 ft
- Big Fat Branch Trail–Nichols Cove Trail Loop, 3 sights 7.9 mi · ▲ 1,654 ft
- Calderwood Lake–Yellowhammer Gap Loop, 5 sights 10.7 mi · ▲ 2,976 ft
- Slick Rock Road 13.1 mi · ▲ 2,008 ft
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Hikes near Jenkins Meadow, North Carolina