Guest River Gorge: Difference between revisions

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Folks fishing the Guest River may be seen - especially on the concrete erosion pier between 4-5 miles.  Valid state fishing license is required.
Folks fishing the Guest River may be seen - especially on the concrete erosion pier between 4-5 miles.  Valid state fishing license is required.


== Typical Conditions ==
I relaly appreciate free, succinct, reliable data like this.
<!-- Typical conditions throughout the year of what to expect on the trail. Rocky, muddy, sandy, flowers, lots of downed trees?  -->
Wide fine gravel roadbed.  The Forest Service actively maintains the trail by removing blowdowns and cutting back the annual growth.  Some fresh beaver activity was observed by the tree fallen across the path at the 5 mile marker.  There is pit toilets at the trailhead, but no water source.  Pack out any bottles and food wrappers.


==Fees, Permits, etc. ==
==Fees, Permits, etc. ==

Revision as of 00:28, 15 January 2012


GuestRiverGorge-20040320-1.jpg
Trail Name Guest River Gorge
Nearest City Coeburn
State Virginia
Trail Marking {{{Marking}}}
Trail Use/Features Dnr hiking.png Dnr bike.png Dnr dog.png
Difficulty Rating Easy
Hiking Time 5-6"-6" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.
Distance, round-trip 11.611.6 mi <br />18.668 km <br />
Climb/Descent Elevation 650650 Feet <br />198.12 Meters <br /> / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number.
High Point 2,0352,035 Feet <br />678.333 Yards <br />620.268 Meters <br />
Nearest Medical Coeburn, VA
Trip Reports Click Here
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Trail Overview

Rails-to-trail with a gentle grade of wide fine gravel in the rushing Guest River gorge to its mouth at the Clinch River. Passes through an old tunnel and crosses a couple of wood trestles.

How to get there

From Gate City, VA

  1. Proceed north on VA-72 and through Ft. Blackmore and Dungannon for 30 miles.
  2. Look for USFS sign to Guest River Trail on right about 3 miles south of Coeburn.
  3. Proceed 1.4 miles to parking lot at the trailhead.

Route Description

Walk down steps or take handicapped trail down to old railroad grade. Pass through the former railroad tunnel, built in 1922, and then cross the wood trestle bridge. The trail follows old railroad grade for 5.8 miles downhill, per the mile markers, along rushing river and beside sandstone cliffs with a few coal beds to Clinch River and active railroad. Backtrack uphill to parking area. Do not recommend the obviously unmaintained bike trail which continues upstream along the Clinch River.

The wide rails-to-trail path is easily shared with mountain bikes. There are a couple of small waterfalls on the uphill side, which pass under the trail through culverts.

Folks fishing the Guest River may be seen - especially on the concrete erosion pier between 4-5 miles. Valid state fishing license is required.

I relaly appreciate free, succinct, reliable data like this.

Fees, Permits, etc.

No fees. The trail and parking area are closed at night.

After the Hike

Misc. Information

Maps

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="36.903" lon="-82.4250" type="terrain" zoom="13" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Guest_River_Gorge.kml

(G) 36.89508,-82.41492 Lick Log Branch waterfall (G) 36.8766, -82.40748 End of trail at trestle (A) 36.92363,-82.45137 Parking lot (G) 36.91088,-82.4637 Entrance sign to trailhead parking Guest River Gorge - Jefferson National Forest sign.JPG </googlemap>

Note: The Guest River Gorge trail is shown in the Google maps database. The above red trail was measured with a hand held GPS receiver, thus is another approximate measurement. Used to illustrate that the rails-to-trail follows the Guest River closely.

Photos