Blue Ridge Parkway: Cumberland Knob Recreation Area (Blog Hike #276)

Trail: Cumberland Knob Trail

Hike Location: Blue Ridge Parkway, Cumberland Knob Recreation Area

Geographic Location: south of Galax, VA (36.55372, -80.90780)

Length: 0.6 miles

Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: May 2009, May 2014

Overview: A short leg-stretcher hike through the oldest recreation area on the parkway.

Area Information: https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/cumberland-knob-trail.htm

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=941306
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: The Cumberland Knob Recreation Area is located at milepost 217.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This milepost is located 0.6 miles south of the North Carolina-Virginia state line.  Park in the blacktop parking lot that supports the picnic area.

The hike: The southern Virginia section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is perhaps the most boring piece of the entire route.  While the relatively flat land makes for easy driving, it does not make for good views.  Moreover, once you get south of Rocky Knob, there are few good hiking trails adjacent to the Parkway.  So if you drive from north to south on the Blue Ridge Parkway like I did, you will be ready to stretch your legs by the time you enter North Carolina.

            Fortunately, you don’t have to wait long after crossing the state line to find such an opportunity.  Unannounced to you, the land has been falling away to the east for several miles now, and at the Cumberland Knob Recreation Area, you get your first chance to see the effects.  Even better, this area also has some historic appeal.  Not only is Cumberland Knob the oldest recreation area on the Parkway, the area marks the point where the Parkway’s construction was begun in 1935.

            Two trails depart from the Cumberland Knob Recreation Area.  The Gully Creek Trail is an interesting but challenging 2 mile hike which drops over 900 feet to the bank of Gully Creek.  I visited the area late in the evening, so I chose to hike the shorter and much easier Cumberland Knob Trail described here.

Paved trail through picnic area

            From the parking area, follow the blacktop trail as it heads up the right hand side of the mowed grass play area.  On my visit, one family was enjoying a game of kickball in the grassy area to my left while another was finishing up a picnic dinner on the picnic tables to my right.  At the edge of the grassy area, the trail turns to dirt, enters the forest, and begins the gradual climb to Cumberland Knob.

Eroded outbound trail

            The outbound leg of this hike is the oldest trail to Cumberland Knob, and its age is showing: years of rains have created some erosion gullies, and many of the log steps buried in the trail are starting to break down.  Ignore an access road off to the right, and in 0.2 miles you will reach the summit of the knob, where you will find a rustic picnic shelter.  Despite a small grassy area in front of the shelter, dense forest means that no views can be had from the knob itself.  Don’t despair: you’ll get a great view at the end of the hike.

Rustic picnic shelter

            A connector to the Gully Creek Trail descends steeply to the right, but the Cumberland Knob Trail continues by making a sweeping 180-degree turn around the picnic shelter and heading back into the forest roughly in the opposite direction you just came.  The trail descends, moderately at first and then more gradually.  Unlike the outbound trail, this trail is nicely graded with good footing.

Return trail

            Just before reaching the mowed grass recreation area, the trail turns sharply right to remain in the forest.  Another 200 feet of gradual downhill leads to the official Cumberland Knob Trail’s end at an intersection with the Gully Creek Trail.  Turn sharply left to return to the mowed grass recreation area in another 200 feet, at which point the trail becomes paved.

            Follow the paved trail along the right hand side of the mowed grass area and soon arrive at the Recreation Area’s comfort station.  From the back of the comfort station, a fabulous view unfolds of the Gully Creek ravine and other points further east.  This view more than makes up for the lack of one at the knob itself.  The comfort station is located adjacent to the large blacktop parking lot that contains your car, thus ending the hike.

View from back of comfort station