Straight Fork Ridge

File:* Trail Name Straight Fork Ridge Nearest City Ft. Blackmore State Virginia Trail Marking {{{Marking}}} Trail Use/Features Difficulty Rating Medium Hiking Time 33 Hours <br />0.188 Days <br />180 Min <br /> Distance, round-trip 3.63.6 mi <br />5.794 km <br /> Climb/Descent Elevation ~1,800"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number. High Point ~3,400"~" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property. Nearest Medical Kingsport, TN 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":36.8174904738221329125735792331397533416748046875,"lon":-82.6268013886004126788975554518401622772216796875,"icon":""}]} Show Large Map

Trail Overview

Side trail, off of Devils Fork Loop, which follows an old logging road along the Straight Fork Ridge.

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).

For the Devils Fork Loop trailhead:

1. 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).
2. 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.

For the Big Cherry Road trailhead:

1. Continue on FS Road 213/Alley Valley Rd for long ~7 mile drive to top of ridgeline.
2. Take shart left/southwest on FS Road 237/Big Cherry Road.
3. Proceed ~4 miles to trailhead.

Uncertain about parking availability at this trailhead.

Route Description

Two ways to hike this 1.8 mile trail: up or down. "Up" begans at the Devils Fork Loop Trail taking a right at the first split in the trail. About a quarter of the way around the northern side of the loop, the Straight Fork Ridge Trail branches off to the right/north proceed up the ridgeline. "Down" begins at the Forest Service Road and follows the ridge line down.

Typical Conditions

Rarely used trail. Straight Fork Ridge is an old logging road with sometimes tall grass.

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

See also the excellent write-up in [Explore Scott County] website.

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

Maps

A trail map is provided on the Explore Scott County website.

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="36.83" lon="-82.649" type="terrain" zoom="13" width="725" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Devils_Bathtub_Trail.kml http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Straight_Fork_Trail.kml

(C) 36.81337,-82.64956 Devil's Bathtub (A) 36.8185,-82.6266 Parking (G) 36.81945,-82.62895 Trailhead - first yellow blaze (G) 36.84433, -82.65903 Trailhead at FS Road 237/Big Cherry Road </googlemap>

Note: Google Maps does show the path on its views as "Devils Fork Loop Trail".