2.1 miles
Distance
16 ft
Climb
-630 ft
Descent
00:20:00
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Butter Gap Trail

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Butter Gap Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
    • Snowshoe
    • Backcountry Ski
    • Nordic Ski
  • Riding Area
    Pisgah Ranger District
    Brevard, North Carolina
  • Ref Number
    #123
  • Difficulty Rating
    Blue rate
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T2 Mountain Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Both Directions
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Blue
  • Physical Rating
    Moderate
  • Trail Visibility
    Always easy to follow
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • eBike Allowed
    No
  • Global Ranking
    #5780 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #47164 in Trail Running
    • #8060 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    80 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 70 in Hiking
    • 5 in Snowshoeing
    • 5 in Skiing
    • 5 in Skiing
  • Land Owner
    USFS

Beautiful scenery, fun trail. Starts in Picklesimer Fields...flat, grassy area with crystal clean streamside riding, then a fast, gradual climb, and then a stiff, technical climb up to Butter Gap. Also makes a great downhill from the gap. Passes a waterfall. Part of Picklesimer Fields Best Ride.

A portion of this trail is seasonal, the segment from the intersection of Long Branch to Cat Gap is only open for riding Oct 15 - April 15, per USFS (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/recarea/?recid=48318&actid=50). This is often confused by locals who think the entire route is season, however it is not. Please do not poach this lower section during the off season as it is very popular with hikers.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Butter Gap multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -616 ft
  • Altitude min
    2,657 ft
  • Altitude max
    3,273 ft
  • Altitude start
    3,273 ft
  • Altitude end
    2,657 ft
  • Grade
    -5.6%
  • Grade max
    -23.2%
  • Grade min
    7.9%
  • Distance climb
    732 ft
  • Distance down
    2 miles
  • Distance flat
    2,152 ft
  • Avg time
    00:20:00
  • Avg reverse time
    00:44:42
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Jan 14, 2023
Freeze/thaw Cycle
Avg: 4.7 (10 votes)
Your vote: 0

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  • Basemap 
  • Trail Style 
    • ?
  • Activity Type  
3D
Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Inadequate
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • > 90%
  • > 80%
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  • > 6 months
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  • Downhill Primary
  • Both Directions
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  • Uphill Only
  • One Direction
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  • Videos
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  • mountain biking recent
  • mountain biking (>6 month)
  • hiking (1 year)
  • moto (1 year)
Activity Recordings
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  • Downhill Ski
  • Backcountry Ski
  • Nordic Ski
  • Snowmobile
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      Directions to butter-gap trailhead (35.253670, -82.811820)
      update trails status or condition

      Butter Gap Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Jan 14, 2023 @ 8:08pm
      Jan 14, 2023
      		 Wet in the usual spots, two trees down on the upper portion, a little bit of freeze thaw grease.
      Jan 7, 2023 @ 3:17am
      Jan 7, 2023
      		 2 trees down. Rocks and roots everywhere. I love me some Butter!
      Jan 2, 2023 @ 1:54pm
      Jan 2, 2023
      		 Two trees down. Locations and photos attached. Riding really nice otherwise. Get it while it’s good.
      Nov 1, 2022 @ 11:52am
      Nov 1, 2022
      		 Down hemlock
      Nov 1, 2022 @ 11:52am
      Nov 1, 2022
      		 Hemlock is gone
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 9 rides
      • 21 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 150 rides
      • 18 miles avg distance
      All
      • 1,422 rides
      • Last: Jan 29, 2023

      Photos

      more »
      0 |
      Jan 29, 2023 @ 6:03pm
      2 days
      0 |
      Jan 29, 2023 @ 5:00pm
      2 days
      0 |
      Jan 29, 2023 @ 5:00pm
      2 days
      0 |
      Jan 29, 2023 @ 4:59pm
      2 days

      Trail Lists

      Routes with this trail

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      Lesser Known Pisgah Fun23 miles
      CP20 - Complete25 miles
      Cove, Daniels, Butter full loop20 miles

      5 Reviews & Comments

      • + 0
      klockwood (Sep 7, 2020 at 17:17)
      We rode up this which was horrible. There is a nice waterfall though
      [Reply]
      • + 0
      sunringlerider (Jul 30, 2020 at 13:51)
      Fun trail but not worth the effort to get to the trail and to climb out. Many better options in Pisgah.
      [Reply]
      • + 2
      johnkk (Jun 4, 2018 at 17:25)
      Butter Gap is actually open to bikes year round, incorrect to call it a seasonal trail. Cat Gap is seasonal.
      [Reply]
      • + 2
      shinook (Aug 30, 2018 at 12:50)
      I do not know why someone downvoted you, I submitted an edit saying the same thing. The section from Long Branch to Cat Gap is seasonal, however the rest is not:

      www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recreation/recarea/?recid=48318&actid=50

      "The portion of the trail between Cat Gap Loop (#120) and Long Branch Trail (#116) is open to mountain bikes seasonally, from October 15 through April 15 only. This is to minimize safety concerns on a heavily used trail."

      Hopefully the edit will be approved shortly.
      [Reply]
      • + 1
      Bennnnnn (Sep 11, 2017 at 8:26)
      Fun trail with many roots. They aren't huge but pretty rough on the downhill (on a low travel hardtail) at high speeds
      [Reply]





      Videos

      more »
      The Couch Potato MTB Race
      5:52 | 202 | Nov 11, 2018 , Brevard

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