View from Mount Sterling Fire Tower.
77 Mount Sterling
Of the three hikes in this guidebook that take you to Mount Sterling, this one is the shortest and the only one suitable for a day hike. It’s steep but short enough that you can take all the time you need. Although the trailhead is on the other side of nowhere, a surprising number of people make this steep trek. The elevation of Mount Sterling Gap is 3,888 feet; at the summit of Mount Sterling, it’s 5,842 feet. That makes 1,954 feet you have to climb in less than 3 miles. Fortunately, it’s a continuous, steady climb, without any severely steep sections.
The summit of Mount Sterling is not pristine. There’s the 60-foot steel fire tower, the storage building, the power-line swath, and the clearings for the campsites. However, something about this place makes you feel as though you’re in the middle of an enormous wilderness. A chilly one too. The temperature on top is always a good bit cooler than at the gap, and in autumn, winter, and spring, it can be downright frigid. Also, the wind seems to blow harder here than it does anywhere else in the park.
Start: Mount Sterling trailhead at Mount Sterling Gap
Distance: 5.4 miles out and back
Hiking time: About 3 hours—day hike or overnighter
Difficulty: Strenuous, due to elevation gain
Trail surface: Old jeep trail, very rocky in places
Best season: Spring–autumn
Other trail users: Hikers-only for most of the route; horses allowed on a short section near the end
Maps: Cove Creek Gap and Luftee Knob USGS quads; Trails Illustrated #229 Great Smoky Mountains; Trails Illustrated #317 Clingmans Dome Cataloochee
Special considerations: Old NC 284, the access road to Mount Sterling Gap, is closed in winter when there is ice or snow on the road. Because the trailhead is so remote, it isn’t the safest place to leave your vehicle. Don’t leave any valuables in it.
If you plan to overnight at Campsite 38 on Sterling’s summit, don’t forget 2 things: a reservation (site 38 is rationed) and warm clothes at any time of year.
Others: There is no parking to speak of at the gap—just a wide spot in the road. You might have to park a little closer to the roadway than you’d prefer on summer weekends. There are no facilities of any kind anywhere nearby.
Finding the trailhead: Getting to the trailhead is as much a part of this adventure as the hike itself. The easiest route is to come in from the north. Take the Waterville exit (exit 457) off I-40 and cross Pigeon River. Stay to the left after the crossing and follow the road 2.0 miles to an intersection, passing the Walters Power Plant on the way. The intersection marks the community of Mount Sterling. Turn left onto Mount Sterling Road and drive 6.7 curvy miles to Mount Sterling Gap. Pull off the road here; the trail starts on the right (west) side of the gap.
The Hike
The hike begins rather steeply through an oak forest and doesn’t let up until you start approaching the junction with Long Bunk Trail, coming up from Little Cataloochee Cove on the left (south). Beyond the junction the climbing continues, this time not letting up until you reach Mount Sterling Ridge at 2.3 miles. Fortunately, you are climbing on a well-graded trail, owing to its being the old jeep road that once provided access to the fire tower on Mount Sterling’s summit. As you ascend, notice how the forest changes from an oak association at the beginning to spruce at the higher elevations, finally turning into a true red spruce–Fraser fir forest on the summit.
View from Mount Sterling Fire Tower.
Reach the junction with Mount Sterling Ridge Trail at 0.4 mile below the summit. Turn sharply to the right (northeast) and pass a horse-hitching rack just before reaching the top. If overnighting, you have three choices for tent sites, each with a food-suspension cable. Look around—they are well hidden from one another. If you need water, there is a reliable spring on the north side of the mountain. Hike down Baxter Creek Trail (it starts at the tower) about 0.25 mile to the signed side path on the left. Walk a couple hundred yards along this path to the spring.
The hike isn’t finished when you reach the summit—you still have 60 vertical feet to go. The 360-degree view from the tower ranks among the finest in the park. If you’re camping, give yourself a special treat and climb the tower at sunrise. When the wind is howling, which is often, it’s a little unnerving climbing to the top of the tower, but just consider that as part of the adventure.
Miles and Directions
0.0Begin hiking on the west side of the gap.
0.5Junction with Long Bunk Trail, coming in from the left (south). Continue straight ahead.
2.3Junction with Mount Sterling Ridge Trail. Bear to the right (northeast).
2.7Reach the summit of Mount Sterling and Campsite 38. Return the way you came.
5.4Return to the trailhead.
Options: Two other hikes in this guidebook take you to Sterling’s summit: Hike 79 and Hike 80.