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Shining Rock & Cold Mountain

Rating: Moderate to Strenuous

Distance: 16 miles roundtrip

Trailhead: Take road to Black Balsam Parking Area at milepost 420 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Ascend to crest of hill where there is parking on the right hand side of the road -- trailhead for Art Loeb Trail.

Trails: Art Loeb Trail, Cold Mountain Trail, logging road

Campsites: Yellow Gap, Shining Rock

Overview: A great two to three day excursion with breathtaking views from the balds.

After turning off the Blue Ridge Parkway, ascend the paved road uphill to the crest of the hill. The Art Loeb Trail crosses the road at this point and there is plenty of space for parking on the right side of the road. You will notice brown, plastic trailhead markers on both sides of the road. If you proceed to the right (east) the Art Loeb Trail will take you up to Black Balsam, Tennent Mountain, Ivestor Gap, and then into the Shining Rock Wilderness Area. Heading left (west) will take you to Silvermine Bald, Devil's Courthouse, and after crossing highway 215 the Middle Prong Wilderness Area.

Over the crest, the paved road descends and terminates at the Black Balsam Parking Area. From the parking lot, there are several trails leading to the base of Sam Knob and also down to a tributary of the Pigeon River on the eastern flank of Little Sam Knob. However, the main access point into the wilderness area is via the logging road which starts where the paved road ends at the parking area. During the summer, the logging road is open to all-terrain vehicles so it is a popular thoroughfare into the wilderness, in addition to, horseback riders, mountain bikers, day hikers, and backpackers.

If you decide to park at the parking area, the Art Loeb Trail can be reached by walking up the road to the trailhead at the crest of the hill. This time you will be walking southward as you make your way up the road so head left (east) into a wooded area before which shortly opens out onto the open balds that make the Balsam Range such a popular destination. As you walk up the first bald, Black Balsam looms directly to the right of you with views down into Brevard and Looking Glass Rock

My friend Mike with the 6,214' summit of Black Balsam in view

in the Cradle of Forestry (also in Pisgah National Forest) on your right. Climb the first hill with a rock outcropping at the top and then walk along the ridge to the summit of Black Balsam. The trail splits at the base of the climb. Left will take you around the north side of the mountain and then up over onto the easterly running ridge. The right branch of the trail will take you over the summit (6,214') and then rejoins the left branch just past the top. There are numerous trails branching and snaking there way through the grass on top of Black Balsam. Don't be too alarmed because although it may be confusing to know which is the correct route in actuality all the trails lead to the same destination, the base of Tennent Mountain. After descending down the east side of Black Balsam through patches of blueberry the trail intersects anaother trail. Heading to the left will lead down to the logging road. However, proceeding to the right will lead to the top of Tennent Mountain. At the top of Tennent Mountain (6,040') there is a plaque honoring Art Loeb, the trailblazer who mapped this route many decades ago. The trail descends sharply and then follows a narrow ridge with excellent views down into Graveyard Fields and then further down into Brevard and Rosman. The trail turns to the left and then descends through a wooded section before opening out again into tall grass. The logging road can now be clearly seen. In front you will see a small wooded hill and directly behind it a towering, rounded mountaintop covered in low shrub, Grassy Cove Top. At this point, there are two options: either take the logging road around the small wooded hill to Ivestor Gap or take the more direct route over the hill to the gap. At Ivestor Gap the logging road turns sharply to the right and eventually leads down into Graveyard Fields. There is a sign indicating your arrival into the Shining Rock Wilderness Area. There are two routes to Shining Rock: you can stay on the Art Loeb Trail and climb over Grassy Cove Top or from the sign you can proceed straight on a flat trail that is basically an extension of the logging road. This is an easier route but there are no views from the trail as you walk through a wooded section. The trail to the top of Grassy Cove Top may be hard to spot at first but if you head down the logging road (to the right of the sign) you will see a narrow trail snake its way up through the grass to the left of the road. The route up Grassy Cove Top (6,040') no longer crosses the summit. The trail has been rerouted around the south side of the mountain and then up onto the ridge along its eastern flank. The trail flattens on the ridge and then descends sharlpy into Flower Gap, a beautiful mountain meadow. Flower Gap is a popular camping spot with great views to the north and south. Opposite the meadow is Flower Top. The trail at the far end of the meadow turns to the right and enters a wooded patch on the south side of Flower Top. There are two water sources on the right as you proceed down the trail. The first source is the better of the two. Shortly you enter a small clearing at the base of Shining Rock, which is approximately 4 miles from the trailhead. There are several trails that cross the clearing along with many trails snaking off into the woods leading to camping sites. This area can be quite confusing even with a map. As you enter the clearing from the Art Loeb Trail, heading directly across you will find a gulley which leads to the white quartz outcropping that is Shining Rock, (6,040') going to the far left will take you back to the Black Balsam Parking Area via the logging road, and going diagonally across the clearing keeps you on the Art Loeb Trail which follows the ridge across to the base of Cold Mountain. This is a good place to camp for the night. The best camping spots can found around the base of Shinig Rock and at Yellow Gap, so it is a heavily used area especialy during the summer months. If you are seeking solitude you can always climb to the top of Flower Top or hike down into the woods alongside the Art Loeb Trail.

There are two principle detinations for most hikers in the wilderness area. Of course, Shining Rock is the primary attraction, but Cold Mountain is also a popular destination. There is only way out to Cold Mountain so you will have to backtrack. The route is fairly grueling 8 mile roundtrip hike from the base of Shining Rock. Take Art Loeb Trail approximately 3 miles to the base of Cold Mountain. Art Loeb Trail at Deep Gap branches to the left and leads to Boy Scout Camp. Proceed straight ahead onto Cold Mountain Trail. From the base of the mountain it is 1.3 miles to the summit. The first third of the climb is fairly steep and the hardest part of the climb. The trail levels out and then climbs again. There is only one water source on the mountain. About two thirds of the way up there is a small spring on the right -- water trickles out of a white PVC pipe. After reaching the ridge the trail turns sharply to the right. There are some excellent campsites in this area. Push on upwards until you reach the summit of Cold Mountain. Exellent views to the west with the entire Balsam range in full view.

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