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Fryingpan Mountain Lookout Tower - Pisgah National Forest, NC

1,975 views · Published 18 February 2017 · 3:07 · Indexed 11 October 2026

Channel: Zachary Robbins · 2017 · Travel & Events

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Second short hike of the day just down the parkway from Mount Pisgah. I was tempted by the 6-mile round trip from Mount Pisgah, but decided against it. The shortest hike begins at Fryingpan Gap, where there is no official parking and the crowded pullout beside the road is hazardous for drivers and hikers alike. From the gap simply follow gravel FR 450 southwest until it ends at the summit. Fryingpan Mountain is 5,342 feet and is part of Pisgah Ridge in the eastern Great Balsam Mountains. (In the video I mistakenly refer to the top elevation as 5,220 feet. Sometimes the free maps on my GPS device have the landmark descriptions wrong.) The fire tower was built in 1941 and is 70 feet tall, making it the 2nd tallest accessible lookout tower in North Carolina.

The view north of Mount Pisgah is blocked by the communications tower, but below the summit you have an open view. The top cab is closed, but from the top 2 flights of stairs you have panoramic views. Due west is the Shining Rock Wilderness and notably Cold Mountain. Due south Pisgah Ridge continues to Graveyard Fields. Looking Glass Rock and the other plutons are visible to the left of the parkway. The French Broad River Valley is to the east with the Hickory Nut Mountains beyond, and the Black Mountains north of east. Towards the top the wind was 40-50 mph and I could barely stand, making it extremely difficult to hold my camera steady. 

Hike was 1.7 miles in 45 minutes.

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/JVxkTkwdjmhTKWSU6

Hike reports
http://www.hikingupward.com/PNF/FryingpanMountain/
http://www.zacharyrobbins.net/fryingpan-mountain-pisgah-national-forest-nc/

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