ALL NORTH CAROLINA STATE PARKS: GENERAL STATUS OF FACILITIES AND GUIDELINES WHEN VISITING PARKS
Posted on: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 2:15pm |
Ecology
**FACILITIES AND PARKING ARE LIMITED. NO OVERFLOW PARKING IS ALLOWED. **
Bring water as the fountains are off. Park office and park office restrooms are closed.
Summit restrooms are open but are closed periodically throughout the day to be cleaned.
Campground is closed through at least July due to lightning damage to sewer system.
Executive Order 147 effective at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26 requires wearing face coverings when in public places, indoors or outdoors, where physical distancing of 6 feet from other people who aren’t in the same household or residence isn’t possible, unless an exception applies.
PARKING: Open parking areas have limited capacity. Parking on road shoulders is prohibited. If you arrive and a parking area is full, consider that area closed. When parking lots fill, there will be no waiting in line to get in. All cars will be turned away.
Capacity for parking areas:
Top of the mountain – 80 cars
Park office – 30 cars
Pinnacle Hotel Road – 50 cars
Pilot Creek Trailhead – 15 cars
Hauser Road – 40 cars
Ivy Bluffs Trailhead – 20 cars
Ivy Bluffs canoe launch – 10 cars
Portions of Ledge Spring Trail and top rope climbing adjacent to the summit parking lot will be closed at times in July due to construction at the overlook.
Last updated on: Thursday, July 2, 2020Due to culvert collapse the Corridor bridle trail can only be ridden to midway.
Last updated on: Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Contact the park
336-325-2355
pilot.mountain@ncparks.gov
Addresses
Mountain section
and park office
1792 Pilot Knob Park Road
Pinnacle, NC 27043
GPS: 36.3412, -80.4629
Pinnacle Hotel Road/
Culler Road parking
134 Culler Road
Pinnacle, NC 27043
GPS: 36.3280, -80.4631
Hauser Road parking
622 Hauser Road
Pinnacle, NC 27043
GPS: 36.2675, -80.4958
Pilot Creek access
382 Boyd Nelson Road
Pinnacle, NC 27043
GPS: 36.3587, -80.4933
Bean Shoals access
103 Yadkin River Park Trail
Pinnacle, NC 27043
GPS: 36.2647, -80.4878
Ivy Bluff access
4240 Shoals Road
East Bend, NC 27018
GPS: 36.2537, -80.5087
Shoals fishing area
4454 Shoals Road
East Bend, NC 27018
GPS: 36.2574, -80.5171
Hours
►
- December to February:
8:00am to 6:00pm
- March 1 to March 14:
8:00am to 8:00pm
- March 15 to April:
7:00am to 8:00pm
- May to September:
7:00am to 9:00pm
- October:
7:00am to 8:00pm
- November:
7:00am to 6:00pm
- Closed Christmas Day
►
- November to February:
8:30am to 5:00pm
- March to April:
8:30am to 7:00pm
- May to September:
8:30am to 8:00pm
- October:
8:30am to 7:00pm
- Closed Christmas Day
►
- March to April:
7:00am to 9:00pm
- May to September:
7:00am to 10:00pm
- October:
7:00am to 9:00pm
- November:
7:00am to 8:00pm
- Closed Christmas Day
- Gates are locked promptly at closing. There is no gate entry before or after hours, except in the case of a medical or law enforcement emergency. No vehicles other than those registered to campers may be left in the park overnight.
►
- Open daily:
8:00am to 4:30pm
- Closed Christmas Day
Natural resources
Get plant and animal checklists at the park office.
The vegetation in the park is similar to that found in mountain habitats such as those in the Blue Ridge Mountains. More than 70 families of vascular plants grow on and around Pilot Mountain. In late spring, the Big Pinnacle is ringed with the bright pink blooms of Catawba rhododendron. Also abundant is mountain laurel, distinguished by its leathery evergreen leaves and showy clusters of white flowers. Typical trees include the chestnut oak, table mountain pine and pitch pine. Wild blueberry, huckleberry and grape can be spotted along the trails.
Listen as American toads, chorus frogs and spring peepers call from nearby pools. Numerous songbirds including the eastern bluebird, Carolina wren, brown thrasher and various warblers supply the woods with music. Watch for ravens soaring above Big Pinnacle. The raven and the pileated woodpecker are two of the rarer birds of Pilot Mountain. Other wildlife in the park includes red and gray fox, white-tailed deer, woodchuck, opossum, gray squirrel, raccoon, and several species of reptiles and amphibians.
Park Maps and Brochures:
