Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Friday Hoofer hikes are the longest, have more climb, and are consistently the most strenuous of the five groups.   Please consult with one of the hike leaders before hiking with this group.  We normally ask potential Friday Hoofers to first hike with the Wednesday Striders.

Here is a Friday Hoofer Video that describes some of the fun we experience during our hikes.

Time:  Unless noted in the hike description the regular start time is 9:00 am.  Please arrive 10 minutes early for a prompt departure.

Updates:  Updates are posted on the Updates page every Thursday morning before the Friday hike, and sometimes at other times.  Because of the uncertain weather in Western North Carolina an update may be posted the morning of the hike changing or cancelling the hike.  Hikers are encouraged to check for updates before heading to the meeting place.  If you would like to receive updates sent directly to your email, press the “+Follow” button at the lower right hand corner of any web page and provide your email address.  Hkers can Unsubcribe by clicking that button on the top of the Update email they receive.

Note: Do NOT reply to the Update emails. Only use the RSVP link to reply.

Assembly:  Four different Assembly Area locations are generally used depending upon the location of the hike.  The schedule specifies a starting location for each hike, which differs from hike to hike.  The four starting locations are the Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center, Walmart parking lot in Pisgah Forest, Catheys Creek Road at US64 and the Cedar Mountain Community Center parking lot.  Details for each location are given in the Assembly Areas tab. Note: the assembly area may be different from these three areas so always check the Update for the hike.

Photos: Pictures taken during some of the hikes can be found here.

Friday Hoofer Hike Leaders :
Vic Zona–victor.zona@sbcglobal.net

Friday Hoofers Winter 2026 Schedule

Our start time for the Winter Quarter hikes will be 9:00 AM.
Hikes with longer drive times will meet earlier and noted in the weekly update.

January 2, Coontree – Bennett Gap – Pressley Cove – Maxwell Cove Loop (P400)
10 mi, 2900′cl, R10+
Meet at the Coontree Parking
From the Coontree trail parking lot we hike up the south side of the Coontree loop to the Bennett Gap trail. Then down to Avery Creek Road to hike the Pressley Cove trail to Clawhammer road. We return to our cars via the Maxwell Cove, Bennett Gap and Coontree trails.

January 9, Table Rock – Pinnacle loop
11.2 mi, 2,800’ cl, R10+
Meet at the Cedar Mountain Community Center
Sharon will lead this hike starting at the Nature Center parking lot at Table Rock State Park. After a climb to Pinnacle Mountain for lunch, we will walk the ridgeline to Table Rock, then back down to our cars. Contact Sharon at sharonbode1@gmail.com to sign up. NOTE: $6 admission fee per person.

January 16, Connestee Falls Ramble
10 miles, 1,929’ cl, R10+
Meet at the Connestee Falls Parking Area next to the Information Center
Beyond the gates of Connestee Falls, Marianne will lead this hike through the well-maintained trails to Kelly Mountain and view Lake Wanteska then hike over to Amakola where we will hike along Carson Creek upstream to view Connestee Falls and then hike along Middle Creek to view Batson Falls before heading back to our cars. Contact Marianne Hutchison at 828 553-7431 or catch1776@gmail.com NOTE: This hike is limited to no more than 10 hikers.

January 23, Case Camp / Seniard Ridge (P400)
10.6 mi, 2,600’cl, R10+
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Case Camp trailhead on 475B we hike up to the BRP and continue on the MTS trail to Graveyard Fields. We will walk the BRP to the Seniard Ridge trail / road and hike back to our cars. If we are lucky, we should see the ice walls along the BRP.

January 30, Cat Gap – Art Loeb – Chestnut Knob shuttle (P400)
10mi. 1,700’ cl, R10
Meet at the Fish Hatchery
From the Fish Hatchery we go up the left Cat Gap trail to Cat
Gap where we turn left onto the Art Loeb, which we hike to our shuttle at the AL parking lot.

February 6, Ashmore Preserve – Mountain Bridge shuttle
8.7 mi, 2,249’cl, R10
Meet at Cedar Mt. Community Center
From the Ashmore Preserve parking area, Sharon will lead the hike up to High Rock Overlook, then onto the Mountain Bridge Passage Trail, to Pinnacle Pass Trail, then to our shuttle car at Hwy 276. Contact Sharon at sharonbode1@gmail.com to sign up.

Feb 13 Bent Creek Loop (P400)
9.4 mi, 1400’ cl, R9
Meet at the Ingles in Mills River at 8:30am or Pisgah Forest Walmart at 8:00 am.
Starting at the Bent Creek River Park off NC 191, 1610 Brevard Rd. Asheville. Kelly will lead this hike from the Bent Creek River Park up the Hard times road to MST, walk down Sleepy gap, lunch at the picnic tables at the lake, then walk through the Arboretum to see the new Troll exhibit and back to the cars. Contact Kelly at kellyleann@comcast.net to sign up.

February 20, Montreat Gate to Rocky Head Loop
11 mi, 3209’cl, R10+
Meet at the Pisgah Walmart or Ingles in Mills River
This hike takes us over and along several peaks on the way to the top of Rocky Head before looping back to our cars. Before heading back to Brevard, we can stop at My Father’s pizza for a bite and a drink.

February 27, Slate Rock Loop (P400)
9.5 mi, 2,431’cl, R10+
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From Wolf Ford Horse Camp on Yellow Gap Road, we will hike the Pilot Rock Trail to the Pilot Connector. That takes us to the Pilot Cove-Slate Rock Trail and our lunch spot on Slate Rock. We then take the Slate Rock Loop trail back to our cars completing the lollipop stick.

March 6, MST to the Greasy Cove Trail and back (P400)
10 mi, 1,500’ cl, R10
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
From the intersection of 816 and the MST, we hike to the Greasy Cove Trail to complete last year’s maintenance on the Greasy Cove trail. The return hike will take us over Tennant and Black Balsam back to our cars.

March 13, Buck Spring to Pisgah Inn (P400)
12 mi, 1450’cl, R10
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
Tim will be leading this hike, starting from the trailhead on 276, hiking to the Pisgah Inn for lunch and some fantastic views before retracing our steps back to our cars. Email Tim at tkthorpe1@yahoo.com to sign up.

March 20, Buckhorn – Twin Falls – Avery Creek loop (P400)
9 miles, 1,700’cl, R10
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
We will hike Buckhorn to Twin Falls then hike Black Mountain to Cat Gap. From there will hike Avery Creek back to our cars.

March 27, Cataloochee Divide
12 mi, 2,000’cl, R10+
Meet at Walmart or the Mills River Ingles
We follow the Cataloochee Divide Trail out to the Swag Resort and back.
NOTE: A parking pass for each vehicle is required in the GSMNP. For more information: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/ planyourvisit/fees.htm