Grandfather Trail | Grandfather Mountain State Park | MacRae Peak | Attic Window | Calloway Peak

We traveled to one of the most rugged areas of the Southeast, North Carolina’s Grandfather Mountain. The Grandfather Trail traverses the mountain’s ridgeline from the Mile High Swinging Bridge area to the highest point at Calloway Peak. It takes you through a variety of settings as you use in-place cables and wooden ladders to assist climbing the rugged terrain. You meander through wind-dwarfed pine trees on your way to some of the best viewpoints around. The pace, however, is slow due to the careful hand- and foot-work that is necessary to navigate the steep and jagged rock paths. To ease our return we took the slightly less rugged Underwood Trail for a portion of our hike back. This is one of the most challenging hikes in the region, but the rewards are spectacular. Although the state park allows free hiking, our trailhead is located in the privately-owned foundation and thus requires a $20+ dollar admission. To avoid the fee, you can start from the Profile Trail, but this will add over 6 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain to your trek. CONTENTS 00:00 Intro Teaser 00:41 Map Overview 01:47 Forest Gump Curve & Parking 02:12 Mile High Swinging Bridge 02:46 Trailhead 03:02 Ladders to MacRae Peak 08:12 MacRae Peak Summit 08:37 Rock Climb to Attic Window 12:24 Attic Window Summit 12:47 Hike to Calloway Peak 15:00 Watauga View to Calloway 15:53 Hike Back Down Ladders 18:06 Lower Route: Underwood Trail 18:45 Short Cut Back to Parking