Guide to Hiking the Art Loeb Trail in One Weekend

If you are looking for a solid prep hike for the Appalachian Trail or just want to hike one of National Geographic Adventure’s top North American hikes, look no further than the Art Loeb Trail in Brevard, NC.

Rather than a loop trail, the Art Loeb Trail runs northbound for 30 miles from the Davidson River Campground to the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp. The hike ranges from climbing up incredibly hilly terrain in the green tunnel to walking along ridgelines. The trail is no walk in the park, with trail section ratings ranging from difficult to most difficult. While the Art Loeb Trail is challenging, it is doable to complete in a weekend, if so desired.

In my planning for the trip, I was dissatisfied with the amount of information available about the Art Loeb Trail, including any information about hikers completing the trail in one weekend. I decided to put together a compilation of no-frills information that I found useful knowing ahead of time and that I discovered from the trek myself.

First, some logistics.

Northbound or Southbound

No surprise; you can hike the Art Loeb Trail northbound or southbound. Some people believe the northbound direction is much hillier, and thus choose to hike southbound. Either way, you are going to encounter some climbing. My sister and I chose to hike northbound for the supposedly greater challenge and to save the views for the end. If you are training for the Appalachian Trail, I recommend going northbound as well.

Transport Between Trailheads

Because the trail is not a loop, you will either need to take two cars and park at both trailheads, which are an hour drive apart, or use a shuttle service, which ranges from $75 to $125, depending on the company. Keep in mind that depending on which option you choose, it will either add time or cost to your trip.

The two trailheads are located at:

  • Davidson River Campground, 1 Davidson River Cir, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
  • Camp Daniel Boone, 3647 Little East Fork Rd, Canton, NC 28716

If you choose to take two cars and hike northbound, leave your first car at Camp Daniel Boone, going past the Ledbetter Lodge and Leadership area, and parking next to the creek before the bridge. Make sure to leave a note in your car dashboard noting when you will return to your vehicle and how many people are with you. Then make the hour drive along mountain roads to the other trailhead at Davidson River Campground to start the hike.

Navigation

I recommend downloading a digital map ahead of time to help make sure you stay on trail. Portions of the trail, particularly around Shining Rock Gap, can be tricky to navigate. Several times there are intersections of multiple trails that are not well marked and it can be easy to get on the wrong trail.

I used maps.me, which is a free app that can be used without phone service. Some people use the GAIA GPS app, but I found this totally unusable. Whatever you choose to use, I recommend having something. It will save you time and provide peace of mind.

Water Sources

There are several water sources along the Art Loeb Trail. They are not hard to find but you do need to keep your eye out for them. I filled up at Butter Gap Shelter and Deep Gap Shelter. You need to go down a short trail to get to the water source at Deep Gap Shelter. It is not hard to find, but after hiking for 13 miles up hills all day, you don’t want to take any extra steps. So, if you are facing away from the Deep Gap Shelter, take the trail to the left and bada bing.

Other water sources I did not personally use (but read about) are as follows:

  • At Gloucester Gap; make a left on the dirt road and go about 200-250 yards.
  • Just before Deep Gap where the trail makes its southern bend on the ridgeline.
  • North on Ivestor Gap trail past the Black Balsam parking area after walking for about 200 meters.
  • Past Shining Rock Gap where you will see “railroad tie looking steps” leading down to the water source.

I definitely recommend having a water filter with you. Some people say a water filter is not necessary but I was thankful for one on the trek. There is sand or dirt in the water sources, which no one wants to drink. So make sure to bring a Sawyer Squeeze or whatever filter you prefer.

Campsites

You can camp anywhere along the trail—following Leave No Trace principles, of course—but if you are looking for a shelter, there are ones located at Butter Gap and Deep Gap. Deep Gap Shelter or a spot at the base of Tennent Mountain toward Ivestor Gap (there is no shelter here) are solid options to camp to avoid the Shining Rock Gap area (more on that in a second).

Bear Canisters

You are required to use a bear canister on the Art Loeb Trail. Due to the popularity of the trail and past hikers’ negligence, the bears in this area, particularly the Shining Rock Gap section of the trail, are not afraid to take hikers’ food. There have been reports of bears shredding gear to get to people’s food—hence why you might not want to camp in the most active area. Bear canisters can be a pain, but they are much better than a close encounter with a bear or a ruined tent or backpack.  

Two places in the area to rent bear canisters are:

  • French Broad Outfitters, 704 Riverside Dr., Asheville, NC
    • Phone number: 828-505-7371
    • Cost: $7 / day
  • Black Dome, 140 Tunnel Rd, Asheville, NC 28805
    • Phone number: (828) 251-2001
    • Cost: $5 / day

Hiking the Trail in One Weekend

Eating lunch with our beloved *cough cough* bear canister.

It is doable to hike the Art Loeb Trail in one weekend. But first you should recognize your limitations.

With the trail being 30 miles long, you will be averaging 15 miles per day, on hilly terrain. This means you will need to start your hike early Saturday morning. So, unless you live in the area, you will need to have traveled to the trailhead by Friday night.

If you are renting a bear canister in Asheville, you should also make sure to get to the shop before it closes on Friday, which likely means arriving to the area even sooner. Don’t forget to factor in the additional hour drive at the end of the night between the two trailheads if you decide to take two cars.

I know. It sounds like a lot. But again, it’s doable. It might just require leaving earlier on Friday than you originally suspected.

Here is how my sister and I successfully hike the Art Loeb Trail in one weekend:

Friday

  • Left home at 1:30 p.m. to make the four-hour-plus drive to Asheville.
  • Arrived at French Broad Outfitters at 5 p.m. to rent a bear canister, one hour before closing.
  • Got to the trailhead at Camp Daniel Boone at 6:30 p.m. to drop off the first car.
  • Arrived at the Davidson River Campground trailhead at 7:30 p.m.
  • Hit the trail at 8 p.m. and hiked for one mile before setting up camp at 9 p.m.

Saturday

  • Started hiking at 8 a.m.
  • Stopped at Butter Gap Shelter around 11:30 a.m. for water and lunch.
  • Arrived for the night at 4:30 p.m. at Deep Gap shelter.
  • Hiked a total of 13 miles with lots of climbing through the green tunnel all day.

Sunday

  • Started hiking at 7:30 a.m.
  • Lots of climbing to start. After crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time and completing another tough uphill section, the trail flattened out and we escaped the green tunnel. We began to see the beautiful views around Black Balsam that we worked so hard for. The trail became more difficult to navigate once we got to Shining Rock Gap. After reaching Cold Mountain, the trail descended steeply for five miles, ending at Camp Daniel Boone.
  • We finished the trail at 5:30 p.m. after hiking a total of 16 miles. We picked up our second car at the Davidson River Campground at 6:30 p.m. and were back home by 11 p.m.

We successfully completed the Art Loeb Trail in one weekend and you can too!

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Comments 14

  • Phoebe Anderson : Feb 11th

    Thank you for this awesome info! I did the Art Loeb last year and definitely got frustrated with the lack of information available as well. Another thing I struggled with during my trip was difficulty in reading the maps – I had to do some exploring to ever make it to Shining Rock itself. I think it’s absolutely one of the most underrated locations in this area!

    Reply
  • Brian Beaudet : Feb 11th

    I rate this trail as one of my top 3 next to anything in Linville Gorge and (most) anything on the AT. I highly recommend spending quality time on the shining rocks in the Shining Rock Wilderness section. There are some fun caves and crevices to explore. Start at the very top and work your way down and don’t neglect the sides of the ridge.

    Reply
  • Brian : Feb 11th

    I’ve hiked it Northbound and Southbound. It’s a very rough trail. Some of the best views I’ve ever seen don’t know if I would do it again though

    Reply
  • Kate : Feb 12th

    I’m looking for a strong but short thruhike this spring and this may be it! Thanks for the detailed overview

    Reply
  • Gregg : Feb 12th

    Planning on this trip June 2019. I’ve made a 65ish mile loop using multiple trails in the area. Heading north from the Davidson River Ranger station – Black Mt Trail, Bennett Branch, MST, Big East Fork Trail, Bridges Camp Gap Trail, Old Butt Knob Trail, ALT to Cold Mt then back backtrack along ALT to Davidson River Campground. Thanks for the additional info. There seems to be enough data out there form websites and youtube, so for anyone planning on a trip I’ve put a lot of planning in.

    Reply
    • Fritz : Dec 20th

      Gregg,

      That route looks pretty neat. How did it go for you?

      Reply
  • Shawn : Feb 12th

    I much preferred the north > south route being out of shape. The difference in total elevation gain is substantial enough to plan your hike accordingly.

    Be aware that going from north to south in shining rock, the proper path is marked even less as of this past August. We hiked through and over a totally overgrown and rutted (some 3-4’ deep holes) section only to find signs on the south side saying that section was closed. Had no signage saying that on the north side.

    Great hike overall. Does mimic the AT if you’re training. I would suggest a three-day weekend to make sure you have enough time. Extra bonus of going N-S is finishing close to several Brevard breweries for that celebratory beer.

    Reply
  • Paul Adams : Feb 19th

    Excellent info! Thanks for taking the time to journal your trek.

    Reply
  • Josh Johnson : Mar 26th

    For some reason it was super hard to find the start/end addresses elsewhere. This article made it easy to find and the rest of the info was great as well – Thanks! Adding this to the list.

    Reply
  • Jessica : Aug 15th

    Thanks for the article. You’re right, there is not a lot of great information about this trail but I am planning to hike it soon and I just started the planning. I use Gaia for overlanding so I am interested that you said it didn’t work for you. I will have to practice with it on a hike since I really do like it a lot for everything else. Thanks for the info!

    Reply
  • Kenneth Lohr : Feb 25th

    There is a lack of information for sure. I have put some of my notes on the Gaia GPS map and made them public. I chose this hike about 5 years ago for its wide variety of things to see. Cedar Rock, Blue Ridge Parkway, Devil’s Courthouse, Black Balsam, The Narrows…so much cool stuff. If you do it when the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed, I highly recommend squeezing in ~2 mile road walk (out-and-back) to Devil’s Courthouse. You might be able to do it when the BRP is open, but it obviously won’t be quite as safe. We did alright with the scant information that’s out there, but what I have to share here should get anyone through with just the Nat Geo map. All is good northbound until you get to Ivestor Gap. Water is somewhat scarce out here, so take the Ivestor Gap trail up a little ways, there was a small spring flowing there. You can back. Lots of the trail follows erosion channels anyway (as you’ll know very well by this point), and the multitude of them here make the trail very difficult to find and follow. We gave up and took Ivestor Gap, knowing it would return us to the ALT. It was a nice break on the legs, and were lucky to find that water, too. At Shining Rock Gap, if you are northbound on the ALT, you need to BEAR LEFT and dive into the tunnel. You will join the same road bed that the Ivestor Gap Trail is on. This isn’t obvious on the Nat Geo map, but if you look close enough…you’ll see how we messed up and were headed toward Dog Loser Knob, instead of being on the ALT. However, this mistake was fortunate, as I recommend taking this trail a short ways to see the the huge quartz boulders…Shining Rock’s namesake Then backtrack to Shining Rock Gap and turn north on the road grade. The Narrows gets almost technical, you’ll be setting your poles down for some climbing/lowering yourself. This is by far, one of the best hikes I’ve done, a little bit of everything. The few troubles we had just add to the stories we can tell about this awesome hike. Pilot Mountain tho…whew…amirite?

    Reply
  • Emily Webb : Mar 29th

    Thank you so much for the itinerary. I plan to do this with some girlfriends over Labor Day weekend!

    Reply
  • Tr : Jul 7th

    Did as a prep hike for Philmont with the Boy Scouts. Great trail though allow 3 days the first time you do it as it has some tough going. We did not make the entire trail in two days. Have fun and be safe.

    Reply

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