Pilot Mountain State Park

Lovely spot to catch a sunset! Three Bears Gulley Pics are from 11/9/25 Several trails with varying levels of difficulty are offered here. Parking can get full on weekends, but there are other satellite lots you can park at and use to hike in. They also offer a free shuttle at various times. The unique mountain 'top' is definitely a cool feature of this Park, but it is also fun to watch the rock... Lovely spot to catch a sunset! Three Bears Gulley Pics are from 11/9/25 Several trails with varying levels of difficulty are offered here. Parking can get full on weekends, but there are other satellite lots you can park at and use to hike in. They also offer a free shuttle at various times. The unique mountain 'top' is definitely a cool feature of this Park, but it is also fun to watch the rock climbers on Ledge Spring Trail Today I did an out and back starting at the Pilot Creek trail. There's not as much to see along this section, but it is nice a good way to tack on an extra 6+ miles to your hike and have a little more solitude along the way.

We made a fall trip with bunch of friends to this gem of a place. Views and rock formations were amazing. We did a few short trails. The one called Pilot knob trail is a must, it is 0.8 mile and takes just a little to go around the top. Drive from Charlotte was easy. We didn’t have to use shuttle as there were many parking spots on top of mountain but they do have shuttles from the bottom parking... We made a fall trip with bunch of friends to this gem of a place. Views and rock formations were amazing. We did a few short trails. The one called Pilot knob trail is a must, it is 0.8 mile and takes just a little to go around the top. Drive from Charlotte was easy. We didn’t have to use shuttle as there were many parking spots on top of mountain but they do have shuttles from the bottom parking lot if top one is full. State park folks has maintained this park to the top notch. Some parts were closed for rock climbers while in other part we saw many climbers.

We hiked the Grindstone and the Pilot Knob Trails. Both trails are well maintained and marked. While Grindstone is rated strenuous, I would rate it moderately strenuous. Overall it's mostly moderate due to the trail surface itself being well maintained and use of switchbacks to ease the climb. One section above the 1.5 mile marker is more difficult as it's not switchbacked with a steeper pitch up... We hiked the Grindstone and the Pilot Knob Trails. Both trails are well maintained and marked. While Grindstone is rated strenuous, I would rate it moderately strenuous. Overall it's mostly moderate due to the trail surface itself being well maintained and use of switchbacks to ease the climb. One section above the 1.5 mile marker is more difficult as it's not switchbacked with a steeper pitch up the mountain and a bit rocky. The views from Little Pinnacle Overlook and Pilot Knob Trail are outstanding. The top is a bit like Mount Mitchell since you can also drive to the top. Pick your time to do the hike carefully to avoid the crowds at the top!