You Are Here: Pisgah State Park - Chestnut Hill Trail

Today was a practically perfect hiking day. Having been off the trails for 3 weeks, I wanted something on the easier side of things, so I headed back to Pisgah State Park for one of my 3 final planned hikes to complete redlining. I chose an 8 mile loop that began/ended at Fullam Pond Parking lot, which closes to vehicles for Winter.. another reason I wanted to get this one done before the snow falls. The temperatures were perfect in the 50s/60s with no wind. It started sunny but turned cloudy. The colors of Autumn this year are moving fast, due to all the rain we had over the Summer I have heard. I was blessed with some pops of color to brighten up the day. The best part, I saw not a single soul in 8 miles and then only 1 dirt bike as I was driving out. Old Chesterfield Road was in the best shape I've experienced to date with only a couple of very short rough areas. I needed the 2 tenths of Old Chesterfield Road between Fullam Pond and Chestnut Hill parking areas, which is why I chose Fullam Pond for parking. I headed up Old Chesterfield Road from the gate at the Chestnut Hill lot and made good time to Lily Pond Trail, the only trail I'd hike today that I hadn't been on at all. It started off a little messy with some mud and debris and a small very flooded section that there was no real skooch around without getting your feet a little wet. Beyond that was a large blowdown and I was starting to think this was going to be a slog for a mile. However after that it opened up and cleared out and was a lovely trail. There were some peekaboo views over to the pond, with a couple of herd paths that led to better views. The trail then turned and descended gently to meet up with North Ponds Trail. I turned right onto North Ponds Trail and started the climb to my highpoint of the day at Reservoir Trail. This was a repeat of my very first hike at Pisgah in reverse. I turned left onto Reservoir Trail and descended down, passing Parker Trail and Pisgah Ridge Trail and continuing on to Chestnut Hill Trail. This is one of my favorite sections in the entire park. I've done it a few times now in both directions and it goes from being a tighter trail to wide open pines. Rolling ups and downs without being technical in any way. I've enjoyed it each time. Chestnut Hill Trail went up from this point, and again, it wasn't technical in anyway, but I was tired by now so it felt a lot harder than it actually was. the trail bypasses the summits of 2 bumps (named Pisgah Mountain -Middle Peak and Chestnut Hill on Peakbagger) before descending down to pass the intersection with Parker Trail and back to the Chestnut Hill parking lot. I found this trail a little messier, a little muddier and I actually encountered some mosquitoes which was a surprise in this cool weather! Once back at Chestnut Hill parking I backtracked along Old Chesterfield Road to the Fullam Pond lot and my car! Just 2 more pre-planned hikes at Pisgah and I will have completed the entire park!

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