LITTLE EAST FORK TRAIL

The Little East Fork trail is a moderate hike that takes you past cascades and waterfalls and beautiful hardwood and fir forests before emerging high in the Shining Rock Wilderness.

This often overlooked trail starts just a few hundred yards away from the Art Loeb trailhead at Camp Daniel Boone. Start the hike by crossing the bridge and going left up the gravel road through the camp. After .25 miles you’ll leave the road and head on to the trail. Take note of any information or warning signs at the trailhead.

The trail climbs gently for the next 3 miles. Along the way you will pass dozens of large waterfalls and cascades as the trail follows the Little East Fork of the Pigeon River up the mountain. Some of the falls are easy to reach from the trail and some take a bushwhack down the steep ravine to reach. This trail is a waterfall photographers dream. You could spend all day taking photos of this short section alone.

The next 2.5 miles are a little easier than the first section of the climb, and you will transition from a mostly hardwood forest and rhododendron tunnels up in to a wonderland of fir and pine trees. There are a few small water crossings on the trail, the most significant is where you cross the river around mile 3.

You’ll reach the top of the mountain and the trail merges with the Ivestor Gap trail to continue until it ends at the intersection with the Art Loeb trail. You can head back down, or continue for .5 miles to reach the top of Shining Rock as I did on this trip. You can also make a nice loop taking the Art Loeb trail back down to Camp Daniel Boone instead of returning the same way you came.

I think this is one of the easier and quicker routes to reach Shining Rock, and while it may not have a lot of views on the way up, the waterfalls and lack of traffic on this trail make it a great hike.