Located in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, Max Patch is a grassy, bald mountain and is very popular among tourists and hikers because of its stunning 360-degree views.

The hubs and I are not hikers so we hadn’t heard of it until my husband’s best friend, Lewis, mentioned it to us. He also left for the U.S. a few days after we headed home from our 30-day vacation in the Philippines, and he had this plan of taking us on a road trip and a hike to Max Patch. He had been there many times and wanted to show it to us.

I read about Max Patch after hearing about it from Lewis, and that’s when I learned that there are two trails – a 1.4 mile trail that you can take to reach the summit and a 2.4 mile loop that circles the mountain. If you take the 2.4 mile hike you actually are on part of the legendary Appalachian Trail where you’ll discover actual white-rectangle trail blaze markers. We are not hikers so we opted for the shorter trail. I even doubted myself if I would be able to make it to the top.

What You Need to Know

What you can and cannot do at Max Patch are all posted at this information kiosk. This is located right beside the gravel parking lot which is pretty small. We went on a Thursday and, lucky us, there were only two cars when we arrived. I’ve learned it could get full on some days, especially on weekends.

You take a gravel road driving up Max Patch mountain. I sure did not expect it because the hubs and I have been to Mount Mitchell before and it is paved up to the parking lot.

But before heading to Max Patch, Lewis took us on a road trip around Madison County in North Carolina. We took the back roads, driving on narrow dirt roads and saw a lot of things like covered bridges, creeks, country stores in the middle of nowhere, cabins on the mountain, people fly fishing, deers, etc.

The hubs was reminded of his drive up Pike’s Peak on some of these roads by the stunning drop offs on the side of the narrow roads which had no guard rails. It was kind of difficult to take pictures while in a moving vehicle so I didn’t get to snap any.

The Trail

It was in early June when we did this which was perfect because the cool spring breeze was still lingering in the air. For me, that day was just the perfect temperature to hike. I would not choose to do this in the summer when it’s super hot.

We saw these wildflowers with their beautiful blooms along the way.

There were also a lot of ferns. There were rhododendrons, too, but they were done blooming for the year.

Then we saw this big tree that had fallen.

We were in the forest and I was actually thinking we might get to see some black bears. Good thing we didn’t.

Almost There

The trail had cleared and we can see the top of the mountain now which only meant one thing: we were almost there!

A notice to visitors. You are only allowed to stay on designated trails. They closed user-created trails.

It’s already bald up here but we still had a few more steps to take.

Such an amazing view!

The Summit

We made it to the top! And I didn’t faint. Yay!

There’s the hubs and his best friend, Lewis exploring the summit.

See those dark clouds? It was actually thundering in the distance while we were at the summit. And it drizzled, too.

Just a part of the stunning 360-degree view.

A marker from the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey.

As a historical aside, there was once a landing strip back in the ’20s for airplanes offering thrill rides, though on viewing its present state, that sure would be a bumpy landing.

Max Patch sits at a height of 4,629 feet. We stayed there for quite awhile and enjoyed the spectacular panoramic views.

Have you been to Max Patch before? If you love to hike, you should go and check the place out.