Discover Stone Mountain State Park

If you’re planning a visit to Stone Mountain State Park and looking to plan out your hike, you’ve come to the right place. The park’s trails offer a remarkable variety of outdoor experiences — from short, family-friendly walks to substantial granite-outcrop climbs, dramatic waterfall hikes, and the signature loop around the park’s iconic 600-foot granite dome. Click on the trail names below to dive deeper into each one — including what to expect on the path, where to find the trailhead, and our own first-hand notes from the trail.

Trail Name	Blaze	Length	Difficulty	Trail Use
Black Jack Ridge Trail	White Squares	1.5-mile one way	Moderate	Hiking Only
Cedar Rock Trail	Red Circles	1-mile one way	Moderate	Hiking Only
Middle Falls / Lower Falls Trail	Blue Circles	1-mile one way	Moderate	Hiking Only
Stone Mountain Loop Trail	Orange Circles	4.5-mile loop	Strenuous	Hiking Only
Widow's Creek Trail	Orange Squares	2.5-mile one way	Strenuous	Hiking Only
Wolf Rock Trail	Red Squares	1.5-mile one way	Moderate	Hiking Only

Planning Your Hike

For a short, rewarding climb to a dramatic granite outcrop, the Cedar Rock Trail and Wolf Rock Trail are both standouts — each opens onto wide, flat expanses of exposed granite with sweeping views of the Blue Ridge escarpment. Both trails are rated moderate and connect to one another at their upper junction, making it easy to combine them for back-to-back granite vistas. Adding the Black Jack Ridge Trail to the route extends the outing into a longer loop through the surrounding woods.

For a more substantial outing, the Stone Mountain Loop Trail is the park’s signature hike — a 4.5-mile loop that circles the 600-foot granite dome, takes in the 200-foot Stone Mountain Falls, and passes the restored 19th-century Hutchinson Homestead. It’s strenuous, but it packs more highlights into 4.5 miles than just about any other hike in this part of the state. The shorter Middle Falls / Lower Falls Trail branches off the loop and adds two smaller waterfalls along Big Sandy Creek, though reaching Lower Falls requires a creek crossing on foot.

For backpackers and those after a quieter experience, the Widow’s Creek Trail is the gateway to the park’s primitive backcountry campsites — a strenuous 2.5-mile one-way trail that follows Widow’s Creek toward the campsites, with a small hidden waterfall along the way. Reservations are required for overnight camping through the North Carolina State Parks reservation system.