Appalachian Trail Section Hike: Franklin North Carolina

Winding Stair Gap is the nearest road crossing to the popular Appalachian Trail Town of Franklin North Carolina and features great “bald” summits! In 2023 we section hiked 1,225 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world, and spent 13 weeks day hiking, working, and van camping on the Appalachian Trail as we moved up the trail slowly from Georgia to Maine. In this series we cover each section we hiked and in this article we cover the area Northbound and Southbound from Winding Stair Gap in North Carolina.

Winding Stair Gap Road Crossing, Appalachian Trail, North Carolina.

If heading NOBO (Northbound) on the Appalachian Trail Winding Stair Gap begins at mile 109.4 of the 2023 AT Distance and is the nearest road gap to franklin north carolina. The close access to the trail town of franklin and the popular summits to siler bald and wayah bald make this a great weekend section on the Appalachian Trail.

The Lazy Hiker in Franklin is a great respite for food and/or drink. Dogs are even allowed INSIDE!

Winding Stair Gap/Franklin North Carolina Appalachian Trail Section Hike Need to Know’s:

1. The Trail Town of Franklin North Carolina is just 15 minutes away and during the thru hiker bubble peaks they have shuttles available from this gap. Franklin was a top 5 trail town for both of us, we loved it.

2. There is ample parking here to leave a car overnight should you do desire, it does involve a “scamper” across a highway with some blind spots to continue on the trail.

3. We stayed at Franklin Downtown RV and LOVED IT. Tomato Rob was our favorite campground host of our 2023 Hike, there was a dog park around the corner, and you could walk to Lazy Hiker Brewing Company and a grocery store. Our Podcast Episode has more INFO!

4. Winding Stair Gap has some EPIC summit bald hikes very close to it. Wayah and Siler Bald are two of them. We hiked out NOBO one day on the AT and came back to the camper van and the next day we hiked SOBO and came back. We also picked up our first hitch hiker of the trip (a thru hiker from Germany!) at Winding Stair Gap just before a thunderstorm broke out.

5. Most thru hikers find a rainy and/or cold Winding Stair Gap NC if hiking NOBO on the AT due to the time of the year they come through it. We were there in the first week of June and it was LOVELY (70s and some rain). If you are able to choose when to visit late spring/early summer and the fall would be lovely.

What else happened that was memorable during this section hike?

1. Trail Magic returned! The first hiking NOBO from Winding Stair Gap I had to trail run down the final three miles to beat an incoming thunderstorm (beat it by about five minutes) and I lost a trekking pole along the way. A fellow trail angel left it on a wooden post in the parking lot and I retrieved it the next day, thank you!

2. Franklin North Carolina might have gone out of their way more than any other town we visited in terms of showing hiker hospitality. I was really blown away by how much love they showed and it was wonderful to see and experience.

3. This was our 2nd state on the AT but the terrain did not change. Steep up and downs, grindy miles, and the remainder of how well groomed National Park trails are compared to some of the terrain on the AT.

4. This was the beginning of my love affair with picking up hitch hiking hikers! Tomas from Germany was the first of several who needed rides and we had the space in our van to support them.

5. Because we had our dog with us and because you can’t take dogs on the AT Miles of Smoky Mountains National Park we felt like we were cutting North Carolina and Tennessee a bit short but our experiences in places like Franklin made it so memorable, albeit shorter, than some of the other states with similar amounts of miles of trail

What gear did I use and like the most on my 2023 AT Section Hike?

1. Hoka One Kaha’s were my trusted shoes for this day (and for the whole summer on the trail.)

2. I used my REI 40 Liter Backpack. This worked great since I was coming on and off the trail every day but most thru-hikers or multi-day section hikers were looking at bigger packs than mine.

3. Darn Tough Vermont and Merino Wool Socks from REI and SmartWool were my go to’s.

4. Osprey Water Bladder and Lifestraw Collapsible Filter for hydration.

5. I wore New Balance running shorts mainly and much preferred that to more typical hiking shorts.

6. Gaiters were a must as was coating our clothes in Permethrin to avoid ticks. (We did not get any ticks remarkably while hiking the AT in 2023.)

7. The AT Guide by AWOL and AT Conservancy are AMAZING resources for a hike on the AT!

The Appalachian Trail in North Carolina is known for its “bald summits”.

If you are into the bald’s this stretch of terrain in North Carolina is some of the best on the AT. The Siler Bald Summit offered 360 Panoramic Views of the neighboring area, Wayah Bald, and the nearby Max Patch (we took a wrong turn and didn’t make it there) really encapsulate the Appalachian Trail “bald” experience.

Another takeaway I had from this trail was just how great of a hiking area North Carolina is. From Asheville to Mount Mitchell (the highest peak in the US East of the Mississippi River) this is one of the most underrated states in the US for hiking. And the elevations are higher than most imagine and the terrain tougher than most imagine.

Pisgah National Forest has always been one of my favorites but North Carolina definitely rose a few notches on my list of favorite US Hiking States because of the trails on the AT in the state.

As you can see above my hiking pole was returned to me and my dog Cotopaxi rejoiced with barrel rolls in the grass.

We found that from Winding Stair Gap there are a few other places to stage cars and do pickups but we wanted to focus our energy around Franklin North Carolina and to also be able to hike some of the Bartram Trail. It is a Yellow Blazed 110 mile trail in Georgia and North Carolina that had sections even closer to Franklin than the Appalachian Trail.

All in all if you are looking for a 3 or 4 day section hike on the AT combined with a fun mountain town and other trails nearby we highly recommend looking at Winding Stair Gap in North Carolina!

The elevation is steep out of the gap on either side but it subsides compared to most of Georgia. I was hiking 12-15 miles and doing 1-2k feet of elevation gain (which is small compared to days in Georgia, New Hampshire, and Maine on the AT!)

Thanks for reading and happy trails to you! Whether you are planning a thru, section, or day hike…or are a trail town local, trail angel, or just someone wanting to learn more about the longest footpath in the world…I hope the Appalachian Trail gives you what you need! Don’t forget to Leave No Trace and pack your 10 Essentials!

Comment below with questions or your experience on this section.
Our North Carolina AT Trail Towns Podcast Episode can be found HERE or on your podcasts app and it details all of the trail towns we experienced in the state.

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R