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Starts at the Linwood Rd. Access at Crowders Mountain State Park, which can be extremely busy in the spring, summer, and fall. The parking lot is not big and will close when full. You need to be there before 9:00am, at least on the weekends, to make sure you have a spot.

Overview

The hike goes up both of the peaks are Crowders Mountain State Park, one of them twice, from a different direction. Some of the climbing and descent are on a gravel road, but the rest is singletrack. If you can't get to the mountains for your climbing, this is will more than do for a training hike.

It can get busy at times on the trails to the Pinnacle and in the parking lot. Go early.

Need to Know

There are restrooms and water at the start and at the main visitor center about halfway through the hike.

Description

Take the gravel road from the parking lot up Tower Trail to the top (#1). After crossing over the summit, take Backside Trail down the stairs to the intersection of Crowders Trail. Take the long stretch of singletrack all the way past the Sparrow Springs visitor center, where the trail turns into Pinnacle Trail and take you to the summit (#2).

After enjoying the view, take the same way back, except take the right turn on Turnback Trail to the visitor center. Then, after the road crossing, turn on Rocktop Trail to summit the Tower from the other side. Make sure to take a left on Tower Trail to reach the summit (#3). Turn around and head back down the gravel road to the parking lot.