These day hike sections of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail offer a respite from civilization and beautiful scenery over a variety of distances
The Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs through some pretty wild terrain on its 1,200-mile journey across North Carolina. To the west, it starts in the Great Smoky Mountains, then it heads over the highest point in the east, the 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell. It crosses the Linville River, which drops 2,000 vertical feet through its namesake gorge and proceeds directly to the wet and wild Wilson Creek area. Eventually, it makes its way to the coastal Croatan National Forest, whose lush vegetation makes it nearly impenetrable in spots.
Wild as its journey is, though, perhaps nowhere is the MST’s ability to distance us from civilization more appreciated than on its 62-mile run along Falls Lake through the Triangle. You may cross an occasional road; you may bump up against someone’s backyard. But for the most part, you’re insulated from the nation’s 41st-largest metro area by a veneer of forest, meadow and lake.
That 62 miles along the lake’s shoreline, from Falls Lake Dam in west Wake Forest to Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve in Durham, is divided into 18 day-hike sections ranging in length from just under a mile to slightly more than 7 miles. Each section has its own personality, but five in particular excel at offering backcountry escapes…