Breaks Interstate Park
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Overview
Breaks Interstate Park offers twenty, mostly short, hiking trails covering around 12 miles that can be connected to enjoy various views around the gorge. Suggested loop hike take hits highlights of overlooks and down along the creek for a half day jaunt.
How to get there
From Kingsport:
- Take I-81 north to Exit 14 (VA-140/Abingdon).
- Turn right/NE onto VA-140 and travel half mile.
- Turn right onto W Main St/US11/US19 for just under a mile.
- Turn left/norht onto US-19 and travel 29 miles to Rosedale.
- Turn left onto VA-80 and continue for 40 miles to park entrance.
- There are several parkings lots for the main trails.
GPS address for visitors center 627 Commission Circle Breaks, VA 24607.
Route Description
The following trails are available in Breaks Interstate Park.
| Trail | Miles | Blaze | Difficulty | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Pond Trail | 0.4 | Purple | Easy | 
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| Campbranch Trail | 0.7 | White | Easy |
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| Center Creek Trail | 0.5 | Purple | Medium |
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| Cold Springs Trail | 0.5 | Yellow | Medium |
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| Deer Trail | 0.5 | Purple | Easy |
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| Geological Trail | 0.35 | White | Medium |
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| Grassy Creek Trail | 0.5 | Yellow | Medium |
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| Grassy Overlook Trail | 0.5 | Green | Medium |
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| Ladies Loop Trail | 0.24 | Gray | Moderate |
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| Lake Trail | 0.5 | Orange | Easy |
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| Laurel Branch Trail | 1.25 | Red | Medium |
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| Loop Trail | 0.4 | Green | Easy |
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| Mountain Bike Trail | 3.0 | Green | Medium | 
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| Overlook Trail | 0.75 | Green | Medium |
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| Prospectors' Trail | 1.5 | Orange | Medium |
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| Rattlesnake Trail | 2.5 | Orange | Medium |
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| Ridge Trail | 0.5 | Blue | Medium |
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| River Trail | 1.0 | Blue | Difficult |
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| Tower Tunnel Trail | 0.2 | Yellow | Easy |
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| Towers Overlook Trail | 0.15 | Red | Easy |
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An interesting roughly 4.5 mile loop hike can be created by combining half dozen trails. Drive 0.4 mile past the visitor's center to the parking lot for Towers Tunnel Overlook (N37°17.190 W82°18.215). First, head out 0.2 mile to the Towers Tunnel Overlook to see the railroad cut through the sandstone pillar. Back to the trailhead for the Prospectors' Trail. Head down for 0.8 mile until River Trail is reached. Switch to the mile long River Trail for closer look at the Russell Fork. Some of the side trails down to the river are steep (involve rock climbing to get back up). At the south end of River Trail, the path changes names to the Grassy Creek Trail. Follow the trail up along creek for 0.3 mile until Laurel Branch Trail is reached. Here is where some energy is going to be spent hiking 0.6 mile back up out of the gorge. Next, take the Geological Trail up to the parking lot of Stateline Overlook where you can see the second railroad tunnel. Next take the Overlook Trail over to the Clinchfield Overlook. Finally, short piece along the park road back to your vehicle. Depending on number of stops for photos and rest, the loop should take around three hours to complete.
Typical Conditions
Being a VA/KY state park, the dirt and gravel trails are kept in excellent condition. Some of the trail sections are narrow with steep dropoffs, so pay attention. After rain, some of the dirt trails are reported to be slippery.
Fees, Permits, etc.
Daily parking fee for passenger vehicles into VA state parks is $2 weekdays, $3 weekends.
Misc. Information
Maps
<googlemap version="0.9" lat="37.287" lon="-82.2975" type="terrain" zoom="14" width="700" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Breaks_Interstate_Park_loop.kml
(A) 37.2865,-82.30358 Parking lot for Towers Tunnel Trail (E) 37.28369,-82.30354 Towers Tunnel Overlook (G) 37.28511,-82.30308 Prospectors' Trail (G) 37.29004,-82.30941 River and Prospectors' trail intersection (G) 37.29589,-82.31410 Grassy Creek and River trail intesection (G) 37.29821,-82.30890 Grassy Creek and Laurel Branch trail intersection (G) 37.29468,-82.30474 Laurel Branch and Geological trail intersection (G) 37.29271,-82.30803 Overlook Trail (Q)37.28727, -82.2958 Visitors Center </googlemap>
Photos
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