Flat Top Mountain Lookout Tower

This is a great hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Moses Cone Memorial Park. The route is on a closed road that was built for horse-drawn carriages, so it is easy gentle walking. Numerous trails between road switchbacks make the milage even shorter. At the top is a historic lookout tower. The first half is in wide-open meadows that have wildflowers in the summer. The second half is forested with the tower just high enough to see over the treetops.

Summit Elevation: 4,558 feet
Hiking Distance: 2.5 miles one-way
Elevation Gain: 600 feet
Prominence: 1,078 feet
Access: Paved Road

Just park by the Moses Cone Manor house, go to the restrooms and find the trail down below the building. The road heads up and goes under the Blue Ridge Parkway. Just follow the road to the top. Signs ask horses not to take the shorter trails off the road but those on foot are ok to do so.

This estate was donated to the National Park Service in 1949 after the death of Bertha Cone. Moses Cone and his wife retired to this estate building over 20 miles of carriage trails, three lakes, and a road to the highpoint on Flat Top Mountain.

In order to see the mountain vistas, Moses Cone had a lookout tower constructed on top of Flat Top Mountain in 1900 that was made of chestnut. The Cones referred to their lookout tower on Flat Top Mountain as the Observatory. After the National Park Service began administering the property as part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, they replaced the original chestnut tower with a steel observation tower in 1954 for the safety of visitors. The steel structure was also used by the National Park Service as a fire tower (Buxton, Historic Resource Study, Moses H. Cone Estate, 5).

Flat Top Mountain Lookout Tower, NC at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

Flat Top Mountain Lookout Tower, NC
at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park