You Are Here: Pisgah State Park

Hitting a notoriously wet trail the day after a lot of rain was probably not the smartest idea, but it's done, and I'm no worse for the wear ;) I headed to Pisgah to pick up one of the last 3 trails I have left in this park. My last time having to drive in to one of the interior parking lots. Reservoir Road seems to be rougher each time I drive on it, thankfully it's only just over a mile long. There was already a car there when I arrived, but I never saw anyone while out. I geared up and headed up the gated section of Reservoir Road that climbs a short, steep, partly paved hill. I'm never ready for a steep climb right off the bat, so I took lots of breather breaks, and soaked in the Fall Foliage glory around me. The ground was wet and I was a bit concerned it would be slippery with all the leaves down, but I had no issues. A group of 4 ATVs passed me on my ascent. I made it to the top and took the left at the fork towards Hinsdale Trail. Primarily a snowmobile trail (if there is ever enough snow to open it), it is currently closed to motorized vehicle traffic, but like Dogwood Swamp Trail, park manager Kim had told me it was open to hikers, with the understanding it was likely very wet and muddy. Not long after starting, there is a fork. The right branch is gated and leads a short ways to a wonderful spot on the shores of the reservoir. The trail continues over a spillway, which the AMC South Guide cautions to avoid if the water is high.. which it was, so I did. The spillway bypass is the left branch of the fork and was my first (but definitely not last) encounter with major mud. It skirts around and down then back up slightly to the other side of the spillway and another lovely view over the reservoir. From here the trail crosses the top of a dam before continuing into the woods and out to the park boundary. There were no significant spots along the trail with views or anything to see, but on the brief portions of dry trail, I can see why some have said it was one of their favorite trails in the park (including park manager Kim). Very lightly traveled, since it doesn't actually go anywhere and you have to double back, there is a remote and somewhat enchanted feel about it.. particularly at this time of year with the golden yellows and on this day with the overcast atmosphere, the colors were popping. There were a couple of sections with flagged bypasses of particularly flooded areas, which were easy enough to follow if not completely broken in yet. I remember Kim telling me there were 12 bridges along this trail, so I was counting.. and there were in fact 12! Some were very short, but there were 12 nonetheless. A key clue to how wet this area actually is. Just over 1.5 miles from the start of Hinsdale Trail, there is an unmarked T-intersection (there was some orange flagging tape but no signs). Despite all the no ATV signs, the group of 4 who had passed me earlier, were heading back. I later wondered if they were in fact Friends of Pisgah volunteers scouting the trail because upon my return at the very start of the trail was now a very definite "Closed" sign in place in the middle of the trail. I took the left branch of the intersection first and headed out 0.8 miles to the park boundary. Although the AMC South Guide does describe the trail as going all the way to Rt 63, Kim had advised me that at the park boundary, where the private land starts, the "bridge" is in fact an old truck bed which he felt was not safe enough to go over and really would prefer hikers didn't (even though the land beyond is not under his jurisdiction). I heeded his advice, and called that the end of the of trail. I could see the truck bed bridge that Kim had told me about and beyond that was a cabin, so honestly I was happy to call that done. I backtracked to the T-intersection and this time headed straight on a spur that leads about half a mile to another lovely view over the reservoir. I enjoyed a few moments of solitude there before retracing my steps all the way back to the car! I passed another ATV and dirt bike as I was descending Reservoir Rd, otherwise I saw no one else all day! Just 2 more trails/1 hike and I will be done with Pisgah State Park!

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