Hike Date: May 15, 2013
Route: Spencer Gap Trail
Type: Out and Back
Distance: 3.3 miles
Conditions: Bright and sunny day!
Difficulty: Easy
Impressions: I was looking for something to get into today, as I'm still in my first weeks here in Asheville, NC and love to explore the new area. After picking up the National Geographic Pisgah Ranger District Map, I headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of adventure. After arriving to and driving down F.R. 5000, I considered a couple of other options before settling for this random trail, Spence Gap. The current National Geographic Map for the area has this section of trail mislabeled, so the section I've done here is just the upper 1.65 miles near the parkway...
Route: Spencer Gap Trail
Type: Out and Back
Distance: 3.3 miles
Conditions: Bright and sunny day!
Difficulty: Easy
Impressions: I was looking for something to get into today, as I'm still in my first weeks here in Asheville, NC and love to explore the new area. After picking up the National Geographic Pisgah Ranger District Map, I headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of adventure. After arriving to and driving down F.R. 5000, I considered a couple of other options before settling for this random trail, Spence Gap. The current National Geographic Map for the area has this section of trail mislabeled, so the section I've done here is just the upper 1.65 miles near the parkway...
Anyway, this was a nice, easy trail that was mostly old forest road or wide trail around the ridge. There wasn't anything overly exceptional (except for the trees, birds, fresh air and nature) about the trail, but was perfect for what I wanted with the dog. There was plenty of water for my pooch, which is always a plus as well. As a warning, I saw 2 mountain bikers on the trail and several more on FR 5000, so be aware if you have a dog off the leash. Other than that, this was a perfect getaway and I easily killed a couple of hours exploring this area of Pisgah.
If you have extra time or an adventurous spirit, I also wandered the first gated road, I think it was called 5000A, off of 5000 coming from the parkway. It was about 3/4 of a mile long and ended in a tall grass, open area. This would be a great place to camp during the cooler months when the grass wasn't growing so tall.
Overall, Spencer Gap Trail is a nice trail to escape into the forest on and with it continuing for several more miles, could be used to start an overnight or weekend excursion. Enjoy!
If you have extra time or an adventurous spirit, I also wandered the first gated road, I think it was called 5000A, off of 5000 coming from the parkway. It was about 3/4 of a mile long and ended in a tall grass, open area. This would be a great place to camp during the cooler months when the grass wasn't growing so tall.
Overall, Spencer Gap Trail is a nice trail to escape into the forest on and with it continuing for several more miles, could be used to start an overnight or weekend excursion. Enjoy!
| Directions to Trailhead: From Asheville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway west to just past mile marker 400. About 150 yards past the mile marker (going west) on the south side of the road, there will be the somewhat hard to see Forest Road 5000. Turn left here and follow this around for about a mile. The trail head is the second close gated forest road on the right, labeled 5000B and is fairly easy to find. |  Recommended Map National Geo. #780 Pisgah Ranger District Hike Profile  Click to enlarge |
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