Green Knob Tower Trail

File:* Trail Name Green Knob Tower Trail Nearest City * State North Carolina Trail Marking {{{Marking}}} Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Medium Hiking Time 44 Hours <br />0.25 Days <br />240 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 66 mi <br />9.656 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation ~2,400"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point 5,0805,080 Feet <br />1,693.333 Yards <br />1,548.384 Meters <br /> Nearest Medical * Trip Reports Click Here Loading map... {"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"270px","height":"180px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":8,"layers":[],"controls":["zoom"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":35.7510307499999981928340275771915912628173828125,"lon":-82.22009595574019158448209054768085479736328125,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

Seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mt. Mitchell, the views from the Green Knob Lookout Tower at 5,080 ft elevation are great, especially of the Black Mountains.

How to get there

From Gate City, VA

1. Take VA 71 east out of town.
2. Turn on VA 72 and proceed north for 11 miles to and through Ft. Blackmore.
3. Turn left/north onto VA 619 (Big Stoney Creek Road).
4. Cross Stoney Creek and swing right with VA 619.
5. After 4.3 miles on VA 619, enter the National Forest.
6. Turn left past Devil Fork Fishing/Hunting Club (sign) onto a gravel road (FS Road 213/Alley Valley Rd).
7. After 0.25 mile on the gravel road, turn left on a narrow right-of-way between a garage and small white house (FS Road 619).
8. Parking area is in about 0.25 miles at trailhead.

Other visitors have noted that if your vehicle doesn't have good ground clearance (ie, is a sedan), you may want to park at the bottom of the hill near the creek.

Route Description

Hike up Devil Fork from parking area and loop up on mountain and back. There are several fords (at least ten). There is an interesting pool just downstream from the Devil’s Bathtub. On trail above the pool, a sign points downstream to the actual Devils Bathtub pool. To make a longer hike, continue upstream, then follow trail up right side of mountain. This eventually levels out and circles back to the old road leading back to the parking area.

Typical Conditions

Per another trail review site, "Although the trail follows yellow blazes for its entire 7 miles, poor maintenance means it is often difficult to find the blazes-and the path, which, in several places, scrambles over large rocks or up very steep cliff faces."

Fees, Permits, etc.

No fees or permits required for day hiking or camping. Managed by Clinch Ranger District (Wise, VA) Tel: 276-328-2931 (M-F 8AM-4:30PM)

Misc. Information

No facilities at the parking lot. Bring your own water.

Maps

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(A) 35.751137, -82.220009 Parking and north trailhead (B) 35.719832, -82.223874 Green Knob Fire Tower </googlemap>