Mountains-to-Sea Trail

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Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Sunset view from Kuwohi, the western terminus of the trail
Length	1,175 mi (1,891 km)
Location	North Carolina, United States
Designation	National Recreation Trail North Carolina State Trail
Trailheads	Jockey's Ridge, Kuwohi
Use	Hiking
Elevation change	6,684 ft (2,037 m)
Highest point	Mount Mitchell
Lowest point	Pamlico Sound
Difficulty	Moderate to Strenuous
Sights	Appalachian Mountains Sauratown Mountains Multiple rivers Outer Banks
Hazards	American alligator American black bear Biting flies Chiggers Diarrhea from water Dog attacks Limited water Mosquitos Poison ivy Severe weather Steep grades Tick-borne diseases Traffic collisions Venomous snakes Yellowjackets
Surface	Natural, sand, gravel, boardwalk, asphalt
Website	https://mountainstoseatrail.org/

The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST) is a long-distance trail in the US for hiking and backpacking, that traverses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Its western endpoint is at Kuwohi, where it connects to the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its eastern endpoint is in Jockey's Ridge State Park on the tallest sand dune on the east coast. The trail is envisioned as a scenic backbone of an interconnected trail system spanning the state. As such, its route attempts to connect as many trail systems and natural scenic areas as practicable. A little over half of the trail is complete in multiple segments across the state.

The Mountains-to-Sea State Park Trail was made an official land-based unit of the state park system by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 2, 2000.^[1] Since that time, the state trail unit has grown to encompass 691 acres (280 ha) in three tracts and 87 acres (35 ha) in conservation easements.^[2] Each of these tracts is leased to local governments for management as nature parks, under the guidance of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation (NCDPR). The vast majority of the foot trail is located on lands not directly managed as part of a state park unit.

The trail is a part of the North Carolina State Trails System, which is a section of NCDPR and, by January 2019, 669 miles (1,077 km) of trail had been designated as a part of the MST by NCDPR.^[2]

The segments of MST along the Blue Ridge Parkway were designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2005.

The MST has the distinction of being the highest elevation long-distance trail in the eastern United States as it crosses Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet (2,037 m).^{[citation needed]}