About hiking in Madison County

Madison County, North Carolina has 40 named trails tagged for hiking, covering 86.8 miles, an average of 2.2 miles each. The longest is Golden Ridge Trail, at 7.3 miles. 3 run 5 miles or longer.

What the hiking trails in Madison County are like

By length, 13 are under a mile, 24 run 1 to 5 miles, and 3 are 5 miles or longer. 1 is a loop, ending where it starts; the longest is Lover's Leap Trail, at 1.1 miles.

Of the 40 with measured elevation, Hickey Fork Trail climbs the most, about 3,374 ft, and 16 gain 1,000 ft or more.

All 40 hiking trails, longest first

Golden Ridge TrailHike7.3 mi Catpen RoadHike7.0 mi Laurel River TrailHike6.7 mi Hickey Fork TrailHike4.5 mi Jerry Miller TrailHike4.5 mi Pump Gap LoopHike4.2 mi Mill Ridge TrailHikeMTB3.9 mi Neal Barnett RoadHikeMTB3.6 mi Upper SquirrelHike3.2 mi Jack Branch TrailHike3.2 mi Roundtop Ridge TrailHike3.2 mi Bluff Mountain LoopHike2.7 mi Van Cliff LoopHike2.5 mi Big Butt RoadHike2.5 mi Green Ridge TrailHike2.3 mi Doe BranchHike2.2 mi Richard L. Hoffman TrailHike2.1 mi White Oak Flats TrailHike2.1 mi Shut-In TrailHike2.0 mi Big Hurricane Creek RoadHike2.0 mi Fork Ridge TrailHike2.0 mi Squirrel Gap TrailHike2.0 mi Wolf Laurel Nature TrailHike1.4 mi Pounding Mill TrailHike1.3 mi Spring Creek Nature TrailHike1.2 mi Lover's Leap TrailHike1.1 mi Betty Place TrailHike1.1 mi Shirley Brooks RoadHikeMTB0.9 mi Blue TrailHike0.7 mi Red TrailHike0.6 mi Track TrailHike0.5 mi Little Hurricane RoadHike0.4 mi River Ridge LoopHike0.4 mi Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League Nature TrailHike0.3 mi Green TrailHike0.3 mi Baxter Cliff TrailHike0.3 mi Camp Creek Bald Firetower TrailHike0.2 mi Rich Mountain Access TrailHike0.1 mi Spencer's OverlookHike0.1 mi Jones Meadow TrailHike0.1 mi

← All Madison County trails

Trail geometry from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed ODbL. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Compiled and published by Trailmonger · trail data last rebuilt October 4, 2026.