Hikes of WNC: Hardtimes Connector Trail in Bent Creek Experimental Forest

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Bent Creek Experimental Forest has a wealth of hiking trails. One that is an especially good time is the Hardtimes Connector Trail, which connects with Deer Lake Lodge Loop for a solid 2 mile hike.

Fast facts

• Bent Creek Experimental Forest has a wide network of trails used by mountain bikers, horseback riders and hikers alike, so be aware of your surroundings and follow trail etiquette.
• Hardtimes Connector Trail links up with Deer Lake Lodge Loop to form its full route.
• There are two road crossings on Wesley Branch Road. Look both ways when crossing!
• Bonus recreation for a full day out can be found readily nearby. Bent Creek Experimental Forest is located nigh-adjacent to the North Carolina Arboretum and Lake Powhatan.

Butterfly beauty

To embark on Hardtimes Connector Trail, navigate first to the Hardtimes Trailhead, 375 Wesley Branch Road. Parking can be competitive in the lot, but alternative parking along the side of the road is common in the forest.

Be sure to stop by the map kiosk, which has a display of the trails in the area, as well as fun facts about the Bent Creek Experimental Forest.

To begin the trail, walk past the gate. The trail begins wide, gravel and open. Continue until you reach a split limb which looks like a wishbone. Just beyond it, take the second left-hand path to a signpost for the Hardtimes Connector Trail.

Walk past the gate.

The open beginning of the trail.

The wishbone branch.

Skip the first left turn.

Take the second left turn and walk uphill to the trail stake.

The Hardtimes Connector stake will lay out a couple of trail rules: Horses are allowed, bikes allowed and hikers are, too. Be courteous on the trail and remember to follow the orange blazes, denoted by the circle at the top of the stake.

Hardtimes Connector stake.

Orange blazes mark the Hardtimes Connector.

In many ways, the Hardtimes Connector Trail is built for mountain biking. The trail has many rolling hills on its ascent, with the impression of tire treads covering the orange banks on the side of the path.

A mountain bike-friendly climb.

A mountain bike-friendly climb.

The summit of the first major hill is fairly open to the sky, probably due to a significant amount of downed lumber piled around it. After returning to tree cover, the bike-inclined terrain reasserts itself. Watch out for the small ponds and be careful on the sudden and dramatic descent.

Open air and downed lumber.

A pleasant, winding path.

Keep out of the water.

A dramatic downhill slope.

The downhill walk bottoms out with pretty flora and a wooden bridge over a small creek. After crossing it, it is not much further before the first road crossing over Wesley Branch Road. Look for the stop sign and watch for cars before crossing.

Wooden bridge along Hardtimes Connector.

Pretty plants and a small creek.

The first Wesley Branch Road crossing.

After crossing, the transition from the Hardtimes Connector Trail to Deer Lake Lodge Trail is soon to follow. Look for the long wooden bridge at the bottom of the hill. You will want to take a left, but before you do, stop and read “Trees,” the Joyce Kilmer poem emblazoned on a small sign just off of the bridge.

After enjoying right way to go will be studded with patches of pavement.

The end of Hardtimes Connector Trail.

A wooden bridge along Deer Lake Lodge Trail.

“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer

Follow this cyclist to the next leg of the loop.

At the next fork, which separates Deer Lake Lodge Trail from Deer Lake Road, take a sharp left onto the former, which should be announced with its own trail stake.

While the Deer Lake Lodge Trail section of the hike may look even more bike-friendly than the Hardtimes Connector Trail, there are several built-in detours for hikers to take, allowing for avoiding steep up-and-down trekking and oncoming bikes.

First-glance, scary.

A sigh of relief for a branching detour.

The next landmark will be a grove of tall pine trees. More likely than not, the walk beneath them will be punctuated by the cries of crows milling above.

Crows flying overhead.

A landmark grove of pine trees.

The second road crossing is a little less obvious. Coming downhill toward Wesley Branch Road, take the steep offshoot down to the pavement, then continue to the right alongside of the road toward a small parking lot.

The way down to the second crossing.

Take this offshoot.

Be careful walking on the side of Wesley Branch Road.

The start of the final segment of the journey.

A jumble of rocks across the road to the left announces the final leg of the journey.

Throughout our hike, we were joined by several species of butterfly. This one was particularly friendly and persistently present.

A butterfly friend.

A butterfly friend.

A butterfly friend.

Finally, the trail will spit you out at the first path behind the wishbone branch. Turn right and head straight back to the parking lot where you began.