Craven Gap Trail

Beautiful , not busy trail not far from Asheville. It is full of roots and rocks but very walkable with sturdy shoes. Great views along ridgeline and lots of birdsong - some traffic noise but it is worth the views and proximity to city.we walked toward Ox Creek.

Hiked down from the trailhead to folk art center and stopped lunch rock.

We attempted to walk the hiking trail along the side of the mountain towards Bull Gap, but unfortunately the trail is currently not completely walkable. There are downed trees all over the path, some of which you can climb over. At some point the path is too obstructed to continue the walk. We went about 3/4 of the way to Bull Gap, then had to return to halfway and climbed down a very steep path to the road so we could walk back to the car over the road. The views are really nice though, and the hike would be great if the path was cleaned up. I recommend just walking over the road instead of the trail.

While I love this area, it is NOT currently hikeable. Nor can it be reach from the Blue Ridge Parkway by car. However, they have clear enough parking spots for a half dozen vehicles, if you'd like to walk the Parkway.

Very pretty forest hike—with lots of stone steps. Ankle support is probably a good idea. My watch clocked it at 4 miles exactly. 2 miles in you hit the Blue Ridge Parkway and I could have continued on, but turned back. My clock also said 705 elevation there and back. Unsure of accuracy, but it felt uphill both ways (I’m out of practice hiking, though). It did have one clearing that you could see some mountains, but it’s brief. Also note there are not any resting places.