1.5 miles
Distance
24 ft
Climb
-268 ft
Descent
00:18:22
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 / Brevard
    Brevard, North Carolina
  • Ref Number
    #123
  • Difficulty Rating
  • 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
  • Global Ranking
    #5780 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #47164 in Trail Running
    • #8060 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    90 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 65 in Trail Running
    • 60 in Hiking
    • 5 in Snowshoeing
    • 5 in Backcountry Skiing
    • 5 in Nordic 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
More Stats for Butter Gap multi-use trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -246 ft
  • Altitude min
    2,658 ft
  • Altitude max
    2,905 ft
  • Altitude start
    2,905 ft
  • Altitude end
    2,657 ft
  • Grade
    -3%
  • Grade max
    -19.1%
  • Grade min
    11.8%
  • Distance climb
    787 ft
  • Distance down
    1 mile
  • Distance flat
    1,690 ft
  • Avg time
    00:18:22
  • Avg reverse time
    00:58:38
  • view trail stats
Status:
on May 9, 2025
Wet
Avg: 4.55 (14 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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Radar Time
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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 (35.259500, -82.815870)
      update trails status or condition

      Butter Gap Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      May 9, 2025 @ 10:01am
      May 9, 2025
      May 3, 2025 @ 7:59am
      May 3, 2025
      Apr 30, 2025 @ 11:54am
      Apr 30, 2025
      take care when riding wet. this is a new reworked trail and isn't totally bedded in yet. so it will be very slick
      Apr 4, 2025 @ 3:55pm
      Apr 4, 2025
      Apr 4, 2025 @ 3:55pm
      Apr 4, 2025
      One tree down but rideable Redo is running super good Hats off to the builders They knocked it out
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 2 rides
      • 17 miles avg distance
      6 Months
      • 108 rides
      • 18 miles avg distance
      All
      • 416 rides
      • Last: Jun 22, 2025

      Photos

      more »
      44 |
      Aug 5, 2024 @ 5:17pm
      Aug 5, 2024
      53 |
      Aug 5, 2024 @ 5:17pm
      Aug 5, 2024
      44 |
      Aug 5, 2024 @ 5:17pm
      Aug 5, 2024
      49 |
      Aug 5, 2024 @ 5:17pm
      Aug 5, 2024

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      6 Reviews & Comments


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      Videos

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      The Couch Potato MTB Race
      5:52 | 268 | Nov 11, 2018 , Brevard

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