Looking at the pictures, you might expect to see a monolith, a single pillar of stone. In fact, the Dragon's Tooth is a range of several stone slabs sticking up from the ground. I count three teeth.

It's not a long hike. You'll go 1.5 miles on the Dragon's Tooth Trail, and then 1 mile on the Appalachian Trail. I hiked pretty quickly and covered the entire distance in less than an hour each direction.

If you want a rockier, more solitary path, take the yellow-blazed Boy Scout trail that starts after the second footbridge, 0.2 miles from the parking lot. That path will get you to the Appalachian Trail faster but not as close to the Dragon's Tooth.

The final segment of the Appalachian Trail includes several stone staircases, climbing up diagonal crevices in rock faces, and metal ladders sunk into the face of a cliff.

The trailhead parking lot was half full at 8 a.m. on a Saturday in mid-July and full at 10:15 a.m. The trail was still pretty quiet and didn't feel full. I saw two pieces of trash.

There are lots of campsites all along the hike. There were several tents pitched at the campsite where the Dragon's Tooth Trail meets the Appalachian Trail. Besides that location, I saw only one tent.