Blue Ridge Parkway · North Carolina, Virginia

Shut-In Trail

17 mi of trail, end to end · about 2,300 ft of climbing · 5,300 ft of descent · 2,006 ft–5,267 ft · trail class Moderately Developed · hiking

ViewsPeaksGapsTunnelsBridges

4,999 ft 2,006 ft · 16 mi high 5,267 ft

Along the way Bent Creek Gap Road Bridge Beaverdam Gap Bent Creek Gap Chestnut Cove Gap Elk Pasture Gap Grady Fork Gap Sleepy Gap Candler Knob Ferrin Knob Lance Mountain Little Pisgah Mountain Buck Spring Tunnel and 6 more

Trailheads Beaverdam Gap Overlook MP 401.7 3,570 ft Drive there · Bent Creek Gap MP 400.3 3,269 ft Drive there · Big Ridge Overlook MP 403.6 3,818 ft Drive there · Elk Pasture Gap MP 405.5 4,238 ft Drive there · Mills River Overlook MP 404.5 4,077 ft Drive there · Mt. Pisgah Parking Area MP 407.6 4,994 ft Drive there · Sleepy Gap Parking Area MP 397.3 2,929 ft Drive there · SR 191 at Parkway Ramp MP 393.8 2,007 ft Drive there · Stony Bald Overlook MP 402.6 3,744 ft Drive there · Walnut Cove Overlook MP 396.4 2,916 ft Drive there

On the parks map

Other trails from the same trailheads

All 224 trails in Blue Ridge ParkwayFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.