Blue Ridge Hiking Company is Western North Carolina's premier guiding service for day hikes and backpacking trips. Our private trips are fully customizable, so itineraries are planned to meet hikers' needs. Our group trips are designed to empower hikers to hit the trail again soon!
Blue Ridge Hiking Company's mission is to make the wilderness accessible and enjoyable to all. We believe that the trail is there for everyone at every phase of life and we welcome ALL hikers regardless of their background or ability level.
We strive to provide safe on-trail experiences with engaging, knowledgeable, and well-equipped guides. Blue Ridge Hiking Company embraces and encourages diversity on the trail- including but not limited to race, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and special needs- and is an LGBTQ+ friendly business, and provides a safe and inclusive environment on all our trips.
We also follow Leave No Trace principles to emphasize the importance of enjoying the outdoors responsibly.
Founder Story Blue Ridge Hiking Company was founded in 2008 by Jennifer Pharr Davis, a renowned backpacker and leading voice in the outdoor industry. Jennifer grew up in these mountains but didn't backpack until she walked the entire 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail at age 21. As she crossed a solitary ridge at sunset, she realized for the first time in her life that she was a part of nature, not merely an outside observer of it. That moment made her feel beautiful, capable and wild, and she vowed then and there to help others experience "that" feeling.
At age 24, Jennifer founded Blue Ridge Hiking Company to help everyone - especially women - experience the joy and wonder of spending time in the woods. Twelve years later, Jennifer has been named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, one of Men's Journal's 25 Most Adventurous Women of the Past 25 Years, and the Asheville Area Chamber's 2019 Female Entrepreneur of the Year. She has grown as an author and speaker, and in 2020 she played a key role in the IMAX film Into America's Wild, narrated by Morgan Freeman.
During that time, Blue Ridge Hiking Company has grown from a one woman operation to a small business with a dozen guides, a shop in downtown Asheville, a bunkhouse in the Appalachian Trail hamlet of Hot Springs, and a small fleet of vehicles, and has been recognized coast to coast - from the LA Times, to the Washington Post and New York Times as a key cog in Asheville's burgeoning tourist industry. More importantly, BRHC has helped thousands of people experience the transformative power of walking through and with nature. Today, the company guides in Pisgah National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mount Mitchell State Park, Dupont State Forest, on the Appalachian Trail, and more!
