Where: Montreat Wilderness Area

Meet: Ironwood Square, Conserving Carolina’s office, 847 Case Street, Hendersonville, NC, at 8:30 a.m.

Distance and difficulty: 3.5 miles, moderate; trail type – loop

Elevation gain: 890′

Approximately 1 hour drive

The trailhead is accessed from the historic Montreat Conference Center.  The highlight of this hike is Lookout Rock, a stone outcrop which offers views of the Montreat and Swannanoa valleys and the Seven Sisters range (or Middle Mountain).

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Montreat Conference Center has been “a place set apart” for spiritual rest, renewal, and recreation for over 100 years.  In 1897, the Mountain Retreat Association purchased 4,500 acres with the intention of building a Christian settlement.  In October of 1916, Montreat Normal School opened as a four-year preparatory and two-year college geared at preparing young Christian women to become teachers; the first session had eight students in attendance.  In 1934, Montreat Normal School was renamed Montreat College.  In 1945, the college began a four-year degree program, and in 1959 the college became a coeducational junior college and was re-named Montreat-Anderson College.   In 1974, the Mountain Retreat Association and Montreat-Anderson College became two separate organizations.  In 1986, the college again became a baccalaureate institution and in 1995, returned to the original name of Montreat College.  In 2004, the 2,460-acre Montreat Wilderness Area was placed under a conservation easement that would permanently protect the mountain cove property from development.  To this day, Montreat College has a four-year program on several campuses, as well as a graduate program, and the Montreat Conference Center offers a wide variety of meeting, housing, dining, and recreational facilities for large conferences to private retreats and reunions.

*Space is limited and pre-registration is required, and space is limited to 20 participants. Registration, by RSVP below, opens at 9:00 am Friday, September 15, 2023.  

Contact [email protected] with additional questions.

Conserving Carolina is sponsoring a Friday hiking series this fall that is free, guided, and open to the public. The hikes will meet at Ironwood Plaza (Conserving Carolina’s office) and will leave promptly at 8:45 a.m. Hikers should plan to return to the area in the late afternoon, time varying with group size, distance of hike, and drive time. Car-pooling will be organized at the meeting location. If you’re coming from an area closer to the trailhead, please contact Pam Torlina (email above) to make other meeting arrangements.

Be sure to wear appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear. Bring a bag lunch and/or snack and plenty of water for yourself.

In case of inclement weather, please contact Pam Torlina by email at: [email protected] by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the hike and/or check the Conserving Carolina website ‘calendar’ and/or Facebook page to see if the hike will take place. Please also remember to bring any medication that you may need in the event of an emergency (ie: epinephrine, nitroglycerine, insulin, etc.). Hike leaders will carry a first aid kit; however, it may not contain specific medication for your individual needs.

Before each hike, you will be asked to sign a waiver form. For your safety, do not attempt any hike beyond your ability and experience. This schedule is subject to change.