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5.3 miles
Distance
499 ft
Climb
-1,868 ft
Descent
01:02:08
Avg time
-1,369 ft
Altitude change
2,703 ft
Altitude min
4,073 ft
Altitude max
4,073 ft
Altitude start
2,703 ft
Altitude end
-4.9%
Grade
-44.6%
Grade max
28.2%
Grade min
2 miles
Distance climb
4 miles
Distance down
253 ft
Distance flat
01:02:08
Avg time
Turkeypen Gap Details
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Activities
- Mountain Bike
- Hike
- Trail Running
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Riding AreaSouth Mills River/Turkey Pen
Brevard, North Carolina -
Ref Number#322
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AKATurkey Pen Gap
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Difficulty Rating
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Local Popularity65 in Mountain Biking [+]
- 50 in Trail Running
- 35 in Hiking
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Global Ranking
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Hiking SAC ScaleT2 Mountain Hiking
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Trail TypeSingletrack
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Bike TypeAM, XC
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DirectionBoth DirectionsPopular Direction Shown
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Climb DifficultyBlack Diamond
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Physical RatingHard
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SeasonAll
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Dogs AllowedYes
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eBike Allowed
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Land OwnerUSFS
A really long singletrack descent from the peak of black mountain. Much of the trail is tight straightforward singletrack but there are a couple points where it gets very steep and technical at the same time. Really good brakes are a big benefit on this trail.
This is not a pure descent like black mountain and there are many valleys with hike-a-bike climbs to get out of.
Turkeypen is a more approachable, generally singletrack, descent for someone who doesn't prefer the rowdiness of black mountain. However, the difficulty of parking either turns it into a 20 mile epic or a shuttled run for groups. A fun trail with a huge descent but the hike-a-bike and parking difficulties may put off some.
Trail Supporters
USFSLand Manager
Local Trail Association
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Please consider joining or donating to the local trail association to supportDonate to earn trail karma!
trail development & maintenance.
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
Recent Activity on Trail
Past Week
- 0 rides
6 Months
- 5 rides
- 31 miles avg distance
All
- 51 rides
- Last: Aug 30, 2026
| c1 | c2 | c3 | c4 |
|---|---|---|---|
January | February | March | April |
May | June | July | August |
September | October | November | December |
Turkeypen Gap Trail Reports
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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
Trail Flow (Ridden Direction)
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The colour categories are based on what percentage of users are riding a trail in its intended direction.
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- > 6 months
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Directions to turkeypen-gap trailhead
(35.326070, -82.733350)
Photos
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Trail Lists
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NC trail checkoff list150 trails -
Pisgah Area SORBA Regions - All Trails
103 trails
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Pisgah Area SORBA - All Maintained Trails
61 trails
Routes with this trail
★ 4.0 • 26 miles • 2,770 ft • 10 • Shuttled •
Start at the Pinkbeds parking lot; Take southmills river to Turkeypen; Turkeypen to middle black. Good...
★ 5.0 • 33 miles • 5,795 ft • 42 •
44 miles • 6,192 ft • 6 •
black-turkey-squirrel-black-buckwheat-bennett
8 Reviews & Comments
ajriding
I rode it last week. As far as Helene the trail is fine, a few trees are down as always but just step over them, no disaster here - maybe 5 logs to cross the whole way. The East side has been kept more clean probably bc close to parking lot.
The hike-a-bikes are steep, and this trail really needs fixing.
The hike sections are not so bad as to skip the trail, but it does keep you from going back anytime soon.
I rode up Black to the west end of the trail and out at Turkeypen trailhead. The Western 2/3rds is not ridden or hiked much so leaves pile up in places so can be slow going downhill even due to the depth of leaves in the ruts, but offers some good views to the south in winter.
IMO this trail really needs to be re-routed so it starts at Maxwell Cove and not as high up as it does, and then switchbacks build to replace the hike-a-bike.
There is a signed trail about half way that goes North, but it is not on TF maps, this could maybe make a loop from Turkeypen trailhead to do just the east half of the trail linked with the wet S Mills River trail but I did not ride that.
Also of note, all the bridges are out, wash out, someone told me "all 3" but I saw both on S Mill R at the trailhead end and at the Squirrel Gap end out.
The hike-a-bikes are steep, and this trail really needs fixing.
The hike sections are not so bad as to skip the trail, but it does keep you from going back anytime soon.
I rode up Black to the west end of the trail and out at Turkeypen trailhead. The Western 2/3rds is not ridden or hiked much so leaves pile up in places so can be slow going downhill even due to the depth of leaves in the ruts, but offers some good views to the south in winter.
IMO this trail really needs to be re-routed so it starts at Maxwell Cove and not as high up as it does, and then switchbacks build to replace the hike-a-bike.
There is a signed trail about half way that goes North, but it is not on TF maps, this could maybe make a loop from Turkeypen trailhead to do just the east half of the trail linked with the wet S Mills River trail but I did not ride that.
Also of note, all the bridges are out, wash out, someone told me "all 3" but I saw both on S Mill R at the trailhead end and at the Squirrel Gap end out.
adrinln
Did this from the parking lot up to black mountain. Definitely the wrong direction we hiked about 3.5 miles of steep uphill.
Cthomps427
I'm surprised this trail isn't more popular because the descents are wild. Some of the steepest, roughest hills in the area. Guessing a lot of people avoid it because it's a ton of work and logistics are a bit tough.
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Nearby Trails
- Maxwell Cove 4,619 ft
- Black Mountain Trail (middle) 4,649 ft
- Buckhorn Gap Trail (lower) 4,987 ft
- Clawhammer Cove 1 mile
- Squirrel Gap 1 mile
South Mills River/Turkey Pen
- By caleb93
& contributors - #7365 - 6,521 views
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