Nantahalah National Forest - Pinnacle Park Loop

I did this hike twice: once on December 21st, 2020 with my family and our two dogs, and once on February 23rd, 2021 with just my brother. The first time was a short hike where we spent time mostly on the lower portion of the trail and its foot bridges; the second time was a more intense hike where we went to the peak.

This trail goes by a few different names. The entire area is known as Pinnacle Park, named for the large peak known as The Pinnacle, which I have not actually visited during my time there. The time I did the fuller hike we went to the pinnacle of Blackrock Mountain.






Above are the pictures of the first time I did the trail, which mainly focused on the lower sections which repeatedly crosses Fisher Creek. You can see a map of the lower section here

The second time I did the trail, I hiked about 9 miles total. The trail is technically a loop; typically, people follow the wider but longer trail of loose gravel up, turn towards either The Pinnacle or Blackrock Mountain, and then head back down on the skinnier and steeper section of trail. My brother and I decided to do this in the opposite order, which was a mistake.













There was a decent amount of snow on the ground, and the trail was quite slick and hard to find in some spots. To reward ourselves, my brother and I made a little snowman at the top.





The best map I have found of the entire trail system was posted about 5-6 miles into the trail at an intersection. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate a digital copy of the trail, but you can see my picture of it here. A good digital map of the area can be seen here.

Last updated: 7/11/2022