Linville Falls, North Carolina
Hawksbill Mountain
A short, steep climb to the best overlook of the 'Grand Canyon of the East.'
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Length
- 1.5 mi
- Elevation Gain
- 700 ft
- Duration
- 1–2
- Best Season
- Year-round
- Permit
- Not required
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Features
- Linville Gorge views, Granite summit
About the trail
Hawksbill is a granite knob jutting above the Linville Gorge Wilderness — the deepest canyon east of the Mississippi. The trail is short but unrelenting, climbing 700 feet in under a mile to a bare summit with sweeping views of Table Rock, Shortoff Mountain, and the gorge below.
Trailhead map & directions
Trailhead: 35.9381, -81.8861Get directions →
Turn-by-turn route
- Drive Forest Road 210 (Gingercake Road) past the Table Rock turnoff to the small Hawksbill trailhead pullout.
- Climb the eroded trail steeply through rhododendron.
- Reach the granite summit at 0.75 miles.
- Return via the same route.
Parking
Small pullout on FR 210 — limited to 8 cars, fills early on fall weekends.
Tips from the trail
- Cell service is nonexistent; download offline maps.
- The summit edges are unguarded with hundreds of feet of exposure.
- Combine with nearby Table Rock for a full day in the gorge.