The Best Hike at Stone Mountain State Park, North Carolina

Stone Mountain State Park is one of the best North Carolina state parks. Discover a unique waterfall and stunning mountain views all in a single hike.

Hiking Stone Mountain Loop Trail

This is the most popular trail at the park. It's listed at 4.5 miles, but with the extender to the parking lot, it's about 5 miles. It also says it's strenuous. Whether or not that is accurate will depend on what kind of shape you're in. It's more of a moderate trail for an experienced hiker. Our hike took about 3 hours including stops at the summit, homestead, and waterfall.

There's three different options for where you can start this hike—the upper trailhead parking, the lower trailhead parking, and the Hutchinson Homestead parking. I recommend parking at the upper trailhead parking and doing the loop counter-clockwise (turn right at the split). This means you start by hiking to the top of the summit, then hike down to get a view of the mountain you just climbed, and finish with the waterfall. You'll see the mountain from the bottom after you've already summitted it if you do it this way.

Stone Mountain Summit

Starting from the upper trailhead parking lot and turning to the right, you'll begin your ascent to the summit. It starts gradually and gets a bit steeper at the end with several switchbacks right before you reach the top. There are a couple of places with good views along the way.

The view from the summit is the highlight of the hike. There are sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. The stone makeup of the mountain is unique compared to other mountains in the Blue Ridge. There is plenty of space to explore at the top. You can walk out to get even better views and get a close up of the lone tree. If you brought a lunch or snacks with you, this is a great place to relax for a while.

Hutchinson Homestead

From the summit, you'll continue down stairs on the other side of the mountain. After hiking through the forest for a bit, you'll arrive at the Hutchinson Homestead. There are several buildings to explore and informational signs throughout. You're able to go inside the buildings as well.

In addition to the homestead, the highlight here is the view of Stone Mountain. The stone façade makes for a gorgeous view from the bottom and it's hard to believe you were just at the summit.

Stone Mountain Falls

From the homestead, you'll continue through the woods for a little while before coming to Stone Mountain Falls. The volume of the falls varies greatly depending on the recent rainfall.

The falls are quite unique as they slide down the stone rock—very different from a traditional waterfall. Stairs take you down to the base of the waterfall and you can climb out on some rocks and logs to get even closer to the falls if you like.

Once you're done enjoying the falls, you'll climb a couple hundred stairs and walk through the woods for a bit to get back to the upper trailhead lot where you parked.

Getting to Stone Mountain State Park

Located about an hour and a half north of Charlotte, it's a pretty easy drive up 77. Google Maps will get you to the visitor's center. From there, there are several different parking lots depending on which hike you're doing and where you want to start. Like most state parks in North Carolina, it's free to visit.

Best time to visit Stone Mountain State Park

There's really not a bad time to visit this park. Summer would probably be my last choice of season to visit because there are more crowds and the weather can be hot. There are mild temperatures in the spring and fall as well as beautiful colors in the fall. Temperatures can be mild in the winter and there aren't many people visiting.