Little Stony Creek Falls

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Upper Falls of Little Stony Creek.jpg
Trail Name Little Stony Creek Falls
Nearest City Dungannon
State Virginia
Trail Marking
Trail Use/Features Dnr hiking.pngDnr dog.png
Difficulty Rating Moderate
Hiking Time 3-4"-4" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.
Distance, round-trip 5.25.2 mi <br />8.369 km <br />
Climb/Descent Elevation 800800 Feet <br />243.84 Meters <br /> / {{{Elevation Loss}}}"{{{Elevation Loss}}}" is not a number.
High Point *"*" is not a number.
Nearest Medical Kingsport, TN
Trip Reports Click Here
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Trail Overview

Two nice waterfalls in gorge with sandstone cliffs along the sides. Hike up good trail with several bridges.

How to get there

From Gate City, VA to lower trailhead:

  1. Turn onto VA-71 north (no sign here).
  2. After one mile, turn left on VA-72 and proceed north (through Ft. Blackmore and Dungannon) for 22 miles.
  3. Look for USFS sign, to USFS Hanging Rock Recreation Area (about 2.6 miles north of Dungannon).
  4. At extremely sharp switchback, go straight (left side of highway) into picnic area and park.

Note: Picnic area is only open mid March-October 31, thus locked gate during off-season. Park along the access road (do not block the gate) and add quarter mile each way to the hike.


To upper parking area:

  1. Follow above directions.
  2. Continue on VA-72 past the entrance to USFS Hanging Rock Recreation Area for an additional 6.6 miles (very curvy!)
  3. Turn left onto SR-664 and go 1.1 miles.
  4. Turn left onto gravel Forest Service Road #700 and go 1.4 miles.
  5. At the road split take the left (Forest Service Road #701) and go one mile to gravel parking area.
  6. Follow the trail downstream.

Route Description

Hikers cross mound barriers and soon make the first of a number of fords. Continue following up creek valley. Follows a former narrow gauge logging railroad grade. Couple of wood bridges cross the creek.

Typical Conditions

1/3/2012 phone call with the Clinch ranger. From the severe December 2009 storm, the chain saw group has removed what blowdowns from that they could. Since then, an expert crew has begun to clear the "technical" (difficult and potentially dangerous) downed trees; however, the trail is passible (may require climbing over/around/under fallen trees) but not back to its former condition. The damaged wood bridge halfway up the trail has been repaired.

Fees, Permits, etc.

$3 Day use fee for USFS Hanging Rock Recreation Area, which also has 16 picnic areas with cooking grills and vault toilets.

See also Forest Service trail description Forest Service trail page
Clinch Ranger District (Wise, VA) Telephone: 276-328-2931. Office hours are Monday-Friday, 8AM to 4:30PM.

After the Hike

Misc. Information

If driving to the upper parking area stop at a small pull-out half a mile from the parking area (rocks with lots of graffiti) and walk quarter mile out to Bear Rock. Spectacular views. No guard rails, use extreme caution!

Maps

<googlemap version="0.9" lat="36.872" lon="-82.449" type="terrain" zoom="14" width="725" height="350" scale="yes" icons="http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/marker{label}.png"> http://tehcc.org/clubwiki/kml/Little_Stony_Creek_Falls_Trail.kml

(G) 36.8609,-82.44625 Parking at lower trailhead (G) 36.8699, -82.4632 Parking at upper trailhead (C) 36.87788, -82.45882 Little Stony Lower Waterfall (C) 36.87472, -82.4632 Little Stony Middle Waterfall (L) 36.87307, -82.46282 Trail bridge (C) 36.87133, -82.46203 Little Stony Upper Waterfall

</googlemap>

Photos

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