Have you ever traveled through an area over and over and still not really explored it? It is never the destination, just somewhere you have to pass by in order to get to where you are going? That is what Pilot Mountain has always been to us. We have driven by Pilot Mountain at least 100 times in our lives, yet we had never stopped there. That is why I love the North Carolina State Park Passport system. It causes you to stop at places and visit areas of the state you might have just passed by. We are grateful that we did, because Pilot Mountain really is a gem in the park system.

Pilot Mountain State Park

Pilot Mountain is one of the most recognizable landmarks of North Carolina. Over the years it was used by Native Americans and early European explorers to help them navigate in the area. Nowadays, it is used by people driving down Highway 52 to let them know they are getting close to the mountains.

Pilot Mountain State Park has two main access areas – the mountain and river sections. The mountain section surrounds Pilot Mountain and the river section has the Yadkin River flowing through it. There is a corridor trail that connects the two access points. This is a strenuous trail that covers 6.6 miles. The mountain section is definitely the most popular. If you are coming in to get a stamp, make sure you stop by the park office at the mountain section.

The current park office is pretty small and showing some age. However, they are in the process of building a new office, set to open in 2020. This one looks awesome and we can’t wait to see how it turns out. We had a great time talking with the ranger on duty when we checked in. He gave us some great information on what to do with the amount of time that we had. He was an wonderful help.

This brings me to an important reminder. The best way to not miss out on what the parks have to offer is by talking to the rangers on duty. It doesn’t matter how many blogs you read or websites you research; always go and talk to the rangers on duty. They know the parks better than anyone and know in real time the status of the parks that they look after. They love talking to guests and helping them out, go and use this great resource that the parks provide.

Pilot Mountain offers hiking, camping, canoeing and is one of the few North Carolina State Parks that offers rock climbing. You are not able to climb Pilot Mountain itself, but there are plenty of other rocky areas that are available. If rock climbing is your thing, you will need to register with the park office before you go out there. There are some third party companies that you can connect with who will actually teach you the in’s and out’s of the sport. A great way to learn from someone who knows.

Hiking at Pilot Mountain

The main reason to go to Pilot Mountain is to take a hike. They have trails for all skill levels, all with really great views. If you are there for the day and want to climb to the top, you can take the Grindstone Trail located across the street from the park office. This is 3 miles one way and can be pretty steep in some places.

If you only have an hour or two or have kids with you, the best thing to do is drive all the way to the top and park at the summit parking area. This parking area is at the summit of the Little Pinnacle of Pilot Mountain. You can hike to the top of this pinnacle for an incredible view of the Big Pinnacle, Pilot Mountain. You cannot hike to the top of Pilot Mountain, but you can circle it near the top. We highly suggest you do this, it is really awesome. This is what we did on this trip.

The Jomeokee Trail was a great little hike with some spectacular scenery and a lot of great rocks that you are able to climb on. This is a trail on the ridge line between the Little Pinnacle to the Big Pinnacle. It is just under a mile round trip. It is not incredibly difficult and there are plenty of areas to stop and take a break. You can get some really unique views of Pilot Mountain going this way. When we went there were a ton of people at the Little Pinnacle overlook but we were the only ones on Pilot Mountain when we circled it. Don’t miss out on this and don’t miss out on the views that you get from Pilot Mountain.

Around Pilot Mountain

There are a ton of great little towns around Pilot Mountain, but the one you have to go to is Mt. Airy. Mt. Airy is about a 15 minute drive up Highway 52 and is the boyhood home of Andy Griffith. If you are born before 1995 you know who this is. If you were not – like Silas – you have no clue. Nevertheless, we had a great time walking around the town that Mayberry was based on.

One thing about this town is it is pretty touristy, but not overdone. The downtown section is filled with tons of shops with Mayberry merchandise and theming. There are so many little shops to go in and around of and plenty of places to just sit and relax. There is an Andy Griffith museum that is great and the home that he was born in is right down the street from downtown. You can even take a tour of Mayberry on a 1950’s era police car just like the one Andy drove.

We loved going into Bear Creek Gifts and Fudge Factory. Silas enjoyed checking out the store and we enjoyed checking out the sweets. The peanut butter fudge was really great, but the best thing I had was the smoke salted carmel chocolates. I would drive back just to get those.

Another really big thing to us was that this downtown has a public restroom. This is something that all downtowns in the world need to have. The worst thing in the world (huge exaggeration) is to be enjoying a downtown only to realize that there is nowhere to go, this is doubly worse if you have kids. If you want to have a downtown that will thrive, build a public restroom – and keep it clean. We wish our hometown would do this. Ok, rant over.

Lunch In Mount Airy

We ate at Snappy Lunch on this trip. We did this for two reasons. The first reason was because it is a restaurant that was mentioned on the Andy Griffith Show. The second reason was because everyone told us to get the pork chop sandwich. However, we did not know that the sandwich came with chili and slaw on it. I am not a fan of either of those so we got it plain. Because of that, we probably didn’t enjoy it like the rest of the world. It was good, but not a lot of flavor – that is where the chili and slaw come in I would guess.

For our actual meal I got a BLT with one of the best tomatoes I have ever eaten. Megan got a hamburger which she wasn’t thrilled with. Silas got the chicken tenders which he loved. The prices were tiny, we got all of our food for about $17, (including the extra pork chop sandwich).

We have eaten at Barney’s Cafe on previous trips and probably enjoyed that one a little better. They are both about the same – great service, friendly people, diner food. Megan loves the fact that Barney’s serves orangeade. Any place that serves orangeade goes up a couple of notches in her book. We both agree that overall the food is a little better at Barney’s.

Takeaways for Visiting Pilot Mountain/Mount Airy

• Go early to avoid the crowds and also have time to visit a local town like Mount Airy.
• Make sure to take the Jomeokee Trail to hike all the way around Pilot Mountain.
• There are sections along the Jomeokee Trail that are not shaded and the sun is blazing, so make sure to have plenty of water on hot days!
• Don’t forget to stop into the Visitors Center and talk to a Park Ranger.
• Get the pork chop sandwich all the way!

We had a great day exploring Pilot Mountain and Mt. Airy. We are so glad we stopped and went the adventure way. What are some places that you need to slow down and check out instead of breezing through?

Psst! Looking for more State Park Day Trip Ideas? Check out our posts for Chimney Rock State Park and Mayo River!