North Carolina

Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 3

in North Carolina · centroid 4 mi from Asheville

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail is a developing long distance hiking trail, which connects the Great Smokys to the Outer Banks. The trail is an official unit of the NC State Park System, and it is supported by the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 3
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
States
North Carolina
Network
Regional (rwn)
Maintained by
North Carolina Division of Parks & Recreation
Reference
MST
Centroid nearest city
Asheville, NC · 4 mi · ~5 min drive
Centroid coords
35.5843°, -82.4872°
OSM relation
11612180
From Wikipedia: The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST) is a long-distance trail in the US for hiking and backpacking, that traverses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Its western endpoint is at Kuwohi, where it connects to the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its eastern endpoint is in Jockey's Ridge State Park on the tallest sand dune on the east coast. The trail is envisioned as a scenic backbone of an interconnected trail system spanning the state. As such, its route attempts to connect as many trail systems and natural scenic areas as practicable. A little over half of the trail is complete in multiple segments across the state. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Mountains-to-Sea Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 3 and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Asheville, NC — 4 miles away (~5 min drive). See accommodation in Asheville on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

14 nearby

North Carolina · 1,175 mi

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

11 miles from this trail's centroid

North Carolina

Fonta Flora Trail

28 miles from this trail's centroid

North Carolina

Palmetto Trail: Poinsett Reservoir Passage

29 miles from this trail's centroid

North Carolina

Mountains-to-Sea Trail: Segment 2

29 miles from this trail's centroid

North Carolina

Palmetto Trail: Blue Wall Passage

31 miles from this trail's centroid

North Carolina

Boogerman Trail

34 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.