Sugar Cove Trail #89

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The upper portion of this delightful trail has one of the steepest ascents of any trail in the area. After leaving the roadside this trail continues steadily uphill alongside its namesake stream and one of the major headwaters for North River. The stream quickly changes character from typical rough and tumble to long bedrock runs, creating some beautiful cascades, and then back again.

Around 1.7 miles the part you have been warming up for is beginning. As the grade intensifies and elevation gains, the forest changes from typical hardwood to a tunnel of mountain top shrubbery and rhododendron. The blue sky soon appears as you hike out of the hell and cross the road to the overlook, elevation 4,470 feet.