Hiking trails near airports in the Southeast.

[Andy Anderson]

In addition to backpacking my main hobby is flying. I live near Myrtle Beach, SC and have been looking for small airports that I could fly into and would be within walking distance or a short ride away from some decent hiking trails. One problem with flying into small airports, is there is no form of transportation. I have been to the Brevard, NC airport and think this is a good option, however, the closest trails are still about 10 miles away. My ideal range would be NC, SC, GA, TN, VA or parts of WVA. My airplane can get me to most of these places within 1.5 hours. It would be great to find an airport with trails really close by, so I could fly up in the morning, dayhike or overnight and fly back out after the hike. Any advice?

[Chris Caisse]

What are you flying? How big a strip do you need? A quick look at the shortfield website shows numerous possible strips in the areas you list.

One of those folding bikes also helps when there is no on to hitch a ride to a trail head.

If you fly further north to New England there are a several in NH with good hiking within walking distance; a couple even have an ILS.

http://www.shortfield.com/

and for some good weather
http://maps.avnwx.com/

[Andy Anderson]

I fly a Cessna 310, so I would prefer 3,000 – 3,500 feet of runway. I am from the level part of South Carolina, so I can get by with as short as 2,500 down here. But in the mountains, I want as much as I can get. I have been into the Brevard, NC airport a few times and it is kind of tight, but doable, just have to fly the valley out. I think it is about 2,800 or 3,000 feet. Thanks for the website links.

[Bruce Warner]

Mountain Empire Airport. Groseclose Va. Flat and wide open. Right along I-81. About a 1-2 mile walk to where The AT crosses under I-81. Really nice sections of the AT either direction.

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