Pisgah Loop Scenic Byway

Pisgah Loop Scenic Byway circles 47 miles through Burke County, North Carolina, climbing into Pisgah National Forest past Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountain. The loop begins north of Morganton and follows NC 181 for 17 miles along Steele Creek, tracing the same ground covered by Kirk's Raiders during the Civil War, before rising into forest views of the two dramatic rock formations. Continuing on NC 183, the route parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Linville Falls visitor center and campground, then turns onto 15 miles of mostly unpaved Old NC 105 along the edge of the Linville Gorge Wilderness, where four-wheel-drive is required and RVs and buses aren't recommended. That stretch runs through one of the only places in the country with stands of hemlock, white pine, tulip tree, and Fraser magnolia that have never been logged. At 2.5 hours end to end, the full loop is a slower, rougher alternative to the parkway, built for travelers willing to trade pavement for old-growth forest and wilderness views.

• Burke County, 47-mile loop
• Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountain
• Kirk's Raiders Civil War route
• Linville Gorge Wilderness
• old-growth forest (never logged)
• 4WD required on unpaved section