Bakers Mountain Park
Bakers Mountain Park is located on the highest elevation point in Catawba County (1780 feet). The park features 189 acres of mature Chestnut Oak forest with almost 4.5 miles of trails. You will experience a variety of wildlife and plants native to the North Carolina mountains.
Location
6680 Bakers Mountain Road
Hickory, NC 28602
(828) 324-8461
Get a Georeferenced Trail Map
OPTION 1: Avenza Maps
Follow these steps:
- Download the Avenza app from Apple store or Google play store
- Click the word "HERE" below
- For an iPhone, select the save button and scroll to "more" where you can select Avenza Maps. For Android, choose Avenza to open
- Once the Avenza maps opens, the map will appear and be ready for use
Click HERE for downloadable georeferenced trail map for use in the Avenza app
Recreational Opportunities
Nearly 4.5 miles of trails meander through a hardwood forest and lead to an observation platform and gazebo at the mountaintop where you will have an excellent view of the Catawba Valley. A ¼ mile paved ADA accessible trail meanders through plantings near the parking area.
The LITeracy Trail (LIT = literature, information, and technology) at Bakers Mountain Park offers an innovative, delightful way to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. Since children learn to talk, read, and write through social experiences, these skills often develop in real-life settings through positive interactions with engaging materials. LITeracy stations bring reading, technology, and fitness activities to the forefront as people connect to the stories in their own ways.
The trail consists of 18 individual stations that trace the storyline of different children’s books while also offering opportunities for exercise and further exploration. Featured books are changed on a quarterly basis.
Learn more on our Library’s LITeracy Trails page.
2 covered shelters with picnic tables and grills offer places to enjoy a picnic or group gathering. Shelters are used on a first-come basis or they can be reserved to ensure space for your gathering.
A variety of habitats and wildlife give residents another unique opportunity to view the natural beauty of the Western North Carolina foothills. Abundant wildlife, rare plants and a mixed hardwood forest comprised primarily of Chestnut Oak and Mountain Laurel, make the park a refreshingly different recreation opportunity than can be found at lower elevations. A Bird Checklist can help you identify species that you might see in the park.
The shelters can be used for your educational programs (reservations encouraged), or your group could contact the park office for a guided outdoor interpretive tour. The park also sponsors educational events periodically. Watch for them on this website or on Facebook.
You can walk/run along any of the trails with your leashed dog.
Please ask about ways you can volunteer to help maintain/improve our parks or help sponsor a public event.
Please note that biking is not allowed on the trails at Bakers Mountain Park.
Bakers Mountain Park eBird Checklist
See what people are saying about Bakers Mountain Park on TripAdvisor.