Swannanoa Rim Explorer Hike Series

The Swannanoa Valley Museum’s exclusive SWANNANOA VALLEY RIM EXPLORER™ HIKING SERIES offers eleven hikes that generally take place the 3rd Saturday of the month. Each hike covers a portion of the approximately 31 miles of the Swannanoa Rim, which runs from Jesse’s High Top, across Lakey Gap, over Ridgecrest and Montreat, up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and down to Cedar Cliff above Camp Rockmont. The hikes are led by experienced hike leaders who are also extremely knowledgeable about the history, topography, and ownership of the land.

**2025 series registration is sold out, but individual hikes can be purchased below.**

Hiker Resources:

Museum Hiking Policies

Packing For A Day Hike

Difficulty Rating System

WINNER – Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation (Education Category), 2019
Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County

2025 Schedule
Scroll down for full details on each hike.

ROUTE

Total Distance: ~56 miles
Rim Distance: ~31 miles

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SEGMENTS

Rim Hike #1 – Weatherford Heights (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
The hike to Weatherford Heights explores the history and geography of Y.M.C.A. Blue Ridge Assembly. The hike follows the original boundary line of the conference center’s grounds, surveyed by educator, author, and religious leader Willis Duke Weatherford in 1906. Weatherford sought a permanent location for student training sessions he arranged. When he reached the present site of Blue Ridge Assembly, between two steep forested ridges of the Swannanoa Mountains two miles from Black Mountain, he exclaimed, “Eureka, we have found it!”

Difficulty: Strenuous, 6
Elevation Gain: 2,710 feet

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Rim Hike #2 – Rhododendron Rim (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

This 4.3 mile, moderate hike​ runs from Wendell Begley’s home on Sunset Mountain to Route 9. It passes through property once owned by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, best known for his innovative system of self-supporting arches and vaults using interlocking tiles in some of New York’s most famous Beaux-Arts landmarks, as well as Asheville’s Basilica of St. Lawrence. He retired in Black Mountain and built an eclectic estate called Rhododendron and known locally as the “Spanish Castle”.

Difficulty: Moderate, 4.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 1,120 feet

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Rim Hike #3: Cherokee Boundary (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
The Cherokee Boundary was the eastern most boundary of the Cherokee Nation. This difficult hike traverses part of the boundary between the Cherokee and American colonists, as well as the Eastern Continental Divide at the crest of the Blue Ridge Range south of Black Mountain, continuing to near the Swannanoa Gap. Following the boundary, the hike ascends to elevations between 2,600 and 3,600 feet.  Almost all of the approximately 4.5-mile trip (many ups and downs) will be off trail and may require bushwhacking.

Difficulty: Difficult, 4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 931 feet

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Rim Hike #4: Montreat East Ridge (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
This difficult, 6-mile segment traverses the crest of the Blue Ridge (Continental Divide) along the eastern boundary of Montreat. Montreat was founded by Rev. John C. Collins in 1897 as a place “for physical and spiritual renewal,” and was named by combining the words “mountain” and “retreat.” The hike will include the peaks of Rocky Head, Brushy Mountain, and Boggs Bunion and will descend  to the historic Swannanoa Gap at Ridgecrest. On the way we will see remnants of the old Mt. Mitchell Railroad and Scenic Auto Road.

Difficulty: Difficult, 5.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,971 feet

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Rim Hike #5: Pinnacle of Blue Ridge (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

This will be a rewarding hike with some of the best views on the rim. However, it will be long and difficult. The hike will be a loop hike of 6 miles and includes two strenuous ascents, two steep descents, some rock scrambling on three rocky summits, and some moderate off-trail hiking.  The return will be back to the Parkway via the Mt. Mitchell Toll Road.  Hikers will carpool from Black Mountain to the Parkway.  So, plan on an all-day hike and please bring raingear, sturdy shoes, plenty of water, a hearty lunch, and hiking sticks if you have them!

**Note: The route of this hike as shown is dependent on the reopening of the BRP up to Mount Mitchell State Park prior to the date of the hike. If the BRP remains closed as of the date of the hike, an alternate hike will be substituted. Registered hikes will be notified if the route has been changed as soon as possible prior to the hike.**

Difficulty: Strenuous, 6.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,660 feet

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Rim Hike #6: Big Butt Trail – The “Front-Side” of the Blacks (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

**Note: This hike was originally the Grey Eagle Rock Hike but due to BRP closures the hike has changed.
This 6.2-mile out and back hike with an elevation gain of 1750 feet will take us up the Big Butt Trail from the Cane River Gap to the Big Butt Peak on the Brush Fence Ridge. After a steep 1200-foot climb to the ridge in the first 1.3 miles, the hike follows the ridge through a forest of beautiful and haunting Birch trees with views across the Big Tom Wilson Preserve to the Black Mountain Range including Balsam Cone, Big Tom, Mt. Craig, Mt. Mitchell, Hallback, Mount Gibbs, and Clingman’s Peak. While those of us in the Swannanoa Valley may believe that we are viewing the Black Mountains from the “front-side”, The Wilson Family and other Settlers of the Cane River Valley and beyond had a different perspective of the “front-side” of those peaks. Note: The initial climb on this hike is very strenuous with some steep sections. After reaching the ridge, most of the climbing is done and the hike follows the contours of the ridge to Big Butt. The return to the beginning includes the descent back down to the cars.

Difficulty: Strenuous, 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,740 Feet

Meet: 8:30 am – Weaverville Publix (In the side of the parking lot in front of the Wells Fargo) – 165 Weaver Blvd; Weaverville, NC 28787 – Call Jim at 561-670-6043 if you have any issues finding the meeting spot. We carpool to the trailhead from there. The trailhead is a 30-minute drive from Publix and includes 4.5 miles on a well-maintained gravel road.

Estimated Return Time to Publix: 3:30 pm.

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Rim Hike #7: Patton’s Table (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
This hike will start near Clingman’s Peak and then will follow the Old Mitchell Trail to Potato Knob and Patton’s Table. We will then follow the MTS Trail to top of Bearwallow Stand Ridge and descend to Balsam Gap at the Parkway. These mountains, the Blacks, are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States and take their name from the darkly colored Fraser fir and red spruce trees that adorn their slopes.

**Note: The route of this hike as shown is dependent on the reopening of the BRP up to Mount Mitchell State Park prior to the date of the hike. If the BRP remains closed as of the date of the hike, an alternate hike will be substituted. Registered hikes will be notified if the route has been changed as soon as possible prior to the hike.**

Difficulty: Moderate/Difficult, 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,024 feet

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Rim Hike #8: Walker’s Knob (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
This peak (elevation 5,482 feet) was named after North Fork’s Walker family, one of the early families to settle in the upper North Fork valley. The Walkers owned much of the land and were engaged in timber and logging. Along this trail are giant hemlocks, lichen and moss covered rocks, stretches of beech forest, surround by spectacular views. This 4-mile, moderate hike begins at Balsam Gap and then over Bullhead Mountain and ends at Greybeard Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. On this hike there are several long range views over the North Fork Valley and the Asheville Watershed.

**Note: The route of this hike as shown is dependent on the reopening of the BRP up to Mount Mitchell State Park prior to the date of the hike. If the BRP remains closed as of the date of the hike, an alternate hike will be substituted. Registered hikes will be notified if the route has been changed as soon as possible prior to the hike.**

Difficulty: Moderate, 4.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,475 feet

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Rim Hike #9: Buckner’s Knob (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
Buckner’s Knob was the original name given to today’s Craggy Pinnacle, named after the Buckner family, one of the early families to settle on the Barnardsville side of the Craggies. The Flats of Craggy were the spot where the boys from North Fork side of the Craggies and those from the Barnardsville side would meet for baseball games and campouts. The flats were much more open then due to the grazing of cattle and sheep for many years. This 4.0-mile, moderate hike will begin with history and views from the top of Craggy Pinnacle and then a hike to Craggy Flats and back to the Craggy picnic area at Bearpen Gap.
**Note: The route of this hike as shown is dependent on the reopening of the BRP up to Mount Mitchell State Park prior to the date of the hike. If the BRP remains closed as of the date of the hike, an alternate hike will be substituted. Registered hikes will be notified if the route has been changed as soon as possible prior to the hike.**

Difficulty: Moderate, 3.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 794 feet

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Rim Hike #10: Top of Brushy/High Top Bee Tree (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
In the 1800s and early 1900s the top of Brushy was an important meeting spot for hunters. It divides the large drainages of Bee Tree Creek (Right Fork), Laurel Branch, and Sugar Fork. The high top of Bee Tree is the highest point on the Swannanoa Rim. The Bee Trees run south from the Blue Ridge Parkway to Grovemont and Swannanoa, separating the North Fork drainage from the Bee Tree Creek drainage. The Museum’s hike provides a tour of these mountains from White Oak Flats, just south of Brushy Ridge, to the gap near Eden Rock, above the Granny and Laurel Branches.

Difficulty: Difficult, 4.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,909 feet

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Rim Hike #11: Garden of Eden (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)
Join the museum for the final hike of the Swannanoa Rim Hike Series to the Garden of Eden. This rocky mountaintop is located one mile northwest of Lake Eden on the Swannanoa Rim. In the summer months its rocky top was famous for its sunning serpents (rattlesnakes and copperheads) and it why this segment of the rim is hiked in the winter. This loop hike begins at Camp Rockmont.

Difficulty: Strenuous, 7 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,000+ feet