Guest River Gorge

Trail Name Guest River Gorge Nearest City Coeburn State Virginia Trail Marking None Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Easy Hiking Time 5.55.5 Hours <br />0.344 Days <br />330 Min <br /> 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 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":36.923630000000002837623469531536102294921875,"lon":-82.451369999999997162376530468463897705078125,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

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.

Typical Conditions

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.

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

See also Forest Service trail information. Managed by Clinch Ranger District (Wise, VA) Telephone: 276-679-8370. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8AM to 4:30PM.

Maps

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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

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  Entrance sign to trailhead