Birkhead Mountains Wilderness

Birkhead Mountains Wilderness is a 5,216-acre federally designated Wilderness Area in North Carolina, managed by the Forest Service. The area protects primitive backcountry landscape where motorized travel, mechanized equipment, and roads are prohibited—the defining feature of any Wilderness designation. Visitors come here to hike and backpack in solitude, experiencing the land on foot as it exists without modern infrastructure.

Access requires leaving your vehicle behind and entering on foot. The wilderness operates under strict Leave No Trace principles: pack out everything you pack in, camp below timberline where permitted, and travel without motors or mountain bikes. Spring through fall offers the most reliable conditions for backcountry travel in the region. Winter weather can make access difficult and hazardous. Plan for self-sufficiency—this is genuine backcountry, not a day-use park.