Mount Jefferson State Natural Area
Mount Jefferson State Natural Area is the 28th park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. It is a small mountain park that is all about the views! There are three overlooks in the park that you can drive up to: Sunset Overlook, Sunrise Overlook, and Jefferson Overlook. If you want a challenge you can take the strenuous hike through these overlooks from the park office all the way to Luther Rock.
We stopped at the Sunset Overlook on the way up the mountain to the trailhead- and i’m glad we did, the information board in the parking lot is where their passport stamp is located. It’s in a small box on the board- the stamp is there during business hours so you can grab it any time during your trip!
The main parking lot up top is the trailhead for almost all of the trails in the park. There are plenty of picnic tables (covered and uncovered), charcoal grills, and bathrooms (The bathrooms are currently closed for the season but there were a couple port-a-potties at the end of the parking lot). We started off here on the Rhododendron Trail up to Mount Jefferson Peak- there isn’t much of a view here, but up on your tip toes you could just get a taste of the mountain views of this park. Following the trail further lets you walk past a gorgeous path of flowers on your way to the top. Once you get up to Luther Rock there are multiple view points from both directions. Our view was completely covered by fog so we continued hiking on Lost Province Trail (which is a 0.75 mile loop) to buy ourselves some time for the fog to lift. Luckily the fog did move out and we got some amazing views of the valley below.
This park is the perfect place for some gorgeous mountains views with honestly very little effort- many of the view points you can drive up to! This park should not be overlooked, especially in the fall! Enjoy!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 1481 Mount Jefferson State Park Road, West Jefferson NC 28694
HOURS: 8am-Sunset year-round (Park is closed Christmas Day)
VISITOR CENTER: Open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm (Closed on all State Holidays)
PASSPORT STAMP: Located in a box at the info board at the Sunset Overlook parking area.
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 5 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking
DOG RULES: Dogs are not allowed in park building and must be on a leash no longer than 6ft. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
