Wander Report: Crowder's Trail - Crowders Mountain State Park, NC

One of the many boulders on Crowder's Trail.

Route: Crowder's Trail from Park office to Backside trail
Distance: 6 miles total (out and back)
Elevation change: 686 ft.
Difficulty: Moderate (mainly due to the distance of the hike)
Date: 1/9/2016

Crowders Mountain State Park is located just south of Charlotte in Gaston County. This was our first trip to this state park. The weather was overcast with a dense fog. Temperatures were around 50 degrees.

The area had received quite a bit of rainfall in the week leading up to our hike, so we were a little worried about the trail conditions. Thankfully, there was not an issue with mud and/or slippery conditions on the trails we navigated.

The hike began at the park office and begins with a small drop in elevation for the first quarter mile. The climb up Crowder's Trail is a rolling climb that is very subtle. There are a couple of foot bridges over small creeks in the first mile and we met some volunteers in this first mile that were doing trail maintenance on a connecting trail. Crowder's trail does cross a state road around the one mile mark.

Volunteers on Crowder's Trail

The meandering trail weaved through thick forest that included many rock outcrops and beautiful trees (even in winter time with no leaves). Our group included kids as young as 2 years old. The trail is a good hike for kids 5 and up to hike the complete trail. A few of the younger kids did need to be carried for portions of the trail.

At the end of Crowder's Trail, we met up with the Backside trail to the summit of the mountain. This was a short .4 mile hike up a gravel trail and ultimately 316 +/- wooden railroad tie steps. Along the gravel portion you can view the rock faces that many rock climbers tackle. With the wet conditions, we did not witness any rock climbing. This .4 mile section is the hardest part of the climb as you will gain about 420 feet on this portion alone.

stairs on Backside Trail

From the top of the mountain, I wish I could say the views were breathtaking and awe-inspiring, but with the dense fog, we had very limited views. I look forward to coming back in better weather to see the real majesty of this mountain.

A foggy summit at Crowders Mountain

From the summit, we returned back the way we came. Over all it took us 3 hours and 15 minutes, which is a pretty good pace for kids. If you are not sure if your group can handle the full 6 mile trek, you can park a car at the trailhead of Backside trail to cut the hike in half. The moderate rating is purely for the distance of this hike.

The trail is a popular trail for hikers and runners. Since the weather was a little daunting, I can only imagine how crowded this trail could be on a clear day. We were hiking on a Saturday and we started around 10:30 AM.

Skittles' favorite tree on the hike

Our group of kids at the summit with Buddy Bison