Mountain to Sea Trail

The road was closed so we had to start the hike a little prior to what we were expecting but totally worth it
I would do it again
The path is well marked so you can’t really get lost.
It’s also pet friendly
This trail was a 6 mile round trip

I've been hiking this trail for over 20 years as it is right behind my house. Recently with awareness on the internet of this close-in hike, I've never seen so many people. The trail has become hugely overcrowded with a constant flow of people in both directions. There were 15 people at the overlook last time I was there and it's usually one or two or less. Everyone of course can hike wherever they choose, perhaps it's more of a statement of what's happening with Asheville in general than this particular trail. I'm speaking in particular to the stretch between the Folk Art Center and the Haw Creek overlook.

Soooo, this was a frustrating expedition for us. We are experienced hikers but here are some issues we encountered:

1.) No maps either on pamphlet or at the trail head posted or available. No 'person' available inside/outside to ask questions about trail.
2.) There appears to be TWO trails, MST (white), leaving in 2 OPPOSITE directions from the Folk Art Center, which is why we thought this was a LOOP. No loop. No scenic views.
3.) Crossed so many main roads and trails adjacent to main roads, all we heard was traffic 😞 so not our usual 'back-woods' excursion.
4.) Portions VERY DIFFICULT to 'see' markers ahead, like across railroad tracks, through an odd animal barrier on both sides of a field under a major overpass (I-40), and no posted mile markers.

We wound up doing 6.5 miles after turning around when I looked at my Runkeeper and realized we WEREN'T looping, rather straight path south. 😖☹️
Would've LOVE to see Hawk's Peek? Or some other scenic views, but alas, just burned over 800 calories while searching.
Disappointing. Research carefully!

We walked a mile in from the folk art center, and it was okay, but we were between two roads and didn't know where we were going.

Views are really good I really enjoyed it and its almost impossible to get lost because the trees are marked white for the mountain to see trail

BEAR ENCOUNTER - Left from the Folk Art Center's parking lot. About a mile into the hike, I met with a bear, who was on the upslope side of the trail. After chatting with the best for a few minutes, he ran down, across the trail, and over the parkway. Got to the Haw Creek Overlook, and it was all worth it. This is one of the nicest views in this area of the MTS trail..

The MTS is very accessible in many locations along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is so easy to pop on somewhere, close to Asheville, for a quick hike on well-maintained trail. Thank you “friends of MTS” for taking such good care of the trail!