Lake Keokee Loop Trail

File:Placeholder.jpg Trail Name Lake Keokee Loop Trail Nearest City Appalachia State Virginia Trail Marking {{{Marking}}} Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Easy Hiking Time 33 Hours <br />0.188 Days <br />180 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 3.73.7 mi <br />5.955 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation *"*" is not a number. / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point 2,2382,238 Feet <br />746 Yards <br />682.142 Meters <br /> Nearest Medical Big Stone Gap, VA 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":36.854640299999999797364580444991588592529296875,"lon":-82.862554846389997464939369820058345794677734375,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

Easy hike through dense woodlands around the manmade lake. Good for bird watching or wildflowers in season.

How to get there

From Kingsport, TN

1. North on US-23 to Big Stone Gap.
2. Wander thru town on US-23 and continue to Appalachia.
3. Left/north onto VA-68 (Inman Street) for six miles.
4. Continue straight onto SR-606 a couple of miles.
5. Turn left/east onto SR-623 for half mile.
6. Turn left/east onto SR-876 and proceed one mile to Lake Keokee Recreation Area.

Route Description

Lightly used, hardpacked trail around the lake – crossing the dam. In June, flame azaleas can be seen in bloom.

Olinger Gap Trail (1 mile) connects the Keokee Lake Loop Trail to the Stone Mountain Trail.

Typical Conditions

1/3/2012 phone call with Clinch Ranger - Since the severe December 2009 ice storm, a couple of volunteer crews have cleared the trail of blowdowns. While the trail is not listed as approved for mountain bikes, the ranger stated that a rider in December 2011 reported that the trail around the lake was clear - except for dense rhododendron growth of around 100 yards near junction with Olinger Gap Trail.

Fees, Permits, etc.

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

After the Hike

There are no words to decsbire how bodacious this is.

Maps

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="36.849957" lon="-82.861717" type="terrain" zoom="15" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/placeholder.kml

(A) 36.85485,-82.86265 Parking at recreation area </googlemap>

I was seiruosly at DefCon 5 until I saw this post.