Posted 2011-05-04 9:01 PM (#133832) Subject: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
Member
Posts: 11
Location: grosse pointe park michgian
I will be heading to the Big South Fork next week. I will be able to have only 3 days of riding. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best trails to take given the short period of time?
Posted 2011-05-05 9:57 AM (#133851 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342 Location: Ohio
You can't go wrong with any of them, really. We have always ridden in off the northeastern side of the park. Be careful, though. They have gotten a lot of rain recently and if you ride in this area, the O&W creek that you will have to cross is very high right now (20+ ft in places). It tends to rush when its deep. Thankfully, its depth changes pretty quick. Just be mindful...
We are heading there Memorial Day and I'm praying the rain stays away for about 2 weeks prior. Otherwise, it will be difficult.
Posted 2011-05-06 5:01 PM (#133899 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
Member
Posts: 14
Location: Milton, FL
We stayed at Laurel Fork last year and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Absolutely loved our cabin. We rode a trail right out of Laurel Fork the first day. What an experience for our Florida horses (and us too!) It's called Yellow Face if I remember right. Straight up a rock face! A little more than we had expected or bargained for but we all made it and had many good laughs and storys to share after the fact. Other than that, we enjoyed East Fork for a nice relaxing day ride. More our style. Have fun! We hope to go back in the fall but probably stay at East Fork in our lq instead. Depends on the price of fuel. Might be more economical to rent the cabin and haul the small trailer.
Posted 2011-05-08 3:59 PM (#133929 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
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Posts: 37
Just got back from 9 days of riding and camping in the Big South Fork. My favorite place to ride, and thoroughly enjoyed myself (as always).
If you are staying at Laurel Fork, the best rides depend on whether you want to trailer to different trail heads, or just ride from the cabin. The trail out the back of the resort is called Yellowface (or some people call it Yellowcliff). I think it is actually easier to ride out the entrance gates of Laurel Fork, ride up the hot topped road for about 1/4 mile, then turn right onto the trail. This puts you climbing UP the steepest part of the trail. At the end of the trail, turn right onto Fork Ridge Road (gravel road) for about 1/2 mile, then turn right onto Salt Pine trail. This trail descends more gradually and brings you right back into the back of Laurel Fork Rustic Retreat. Except for the steep climb on Yellowface, this is a moderately easy ride.
If you can trailer our to any trail head, here are my favorite trails:
#1 - North White Oak Loop. Total trail length (including the overlook spur) is 20.2 miles. You can shorten that to 17 miles by not doing the overlook spur, and shorten again to 15 miles (or so) by cutting back on Gar Blevins Road (really an old jeep trail, minimal gravel, well shaded, easy to ride). This trail keep you up on the plateau, has a couple of creek crossings to water horses, has a couple of places with hitch rails to stop and rest. Overall it is an easy, mostly sandy trail.
#2 - The Charit Creek Hostel Loop. From Bandy Creek, travel down Duncan Hollow Road (this is a gravel road traveled by vehicles -- not a great part of the ride, so we get it over with first). After a couple of miles, it becomes a trail, and descends down to Laurel Fork creek (watch, this creek has a deep crossing point, if the water levels are up, do NOT attempt this crossing). After crossing the creek, turn left onto Station Camp Creek trail which brings you to the Hostel (a primitive hotel in the woods). Bring a little bit of money, they often sell cold drinks, candy bars, and if the caretakers have been industrious that day, freshly baked cookies. Quite a treat in the middle of the woods! From there, you take the Charit Creek Horse Trail to Black House Branch trail to one leg of the Jack's Ridge Loop trail, to the Katie trail and back to the parking area. This is quite a strenuous ride, as you will climb two ridge from the Hostel to the parking lot. Not recommended for out of shape horses.
#3 - Gobbler's Knob Loop. From the Gobbler's Knob parking area, follow the Gobbler's Knob trail onto Hatfield Ridge (be sure to ride out to the Hatfield Ridge overlook spur on this ride). Descend on Hatfield Ridge to Station Camp creek (go look at the river while you are there, it is quite close) then turn right on to Station Camp Creek trail. This will take you to the Hostel (same as above, but you are approaching from the north, rather than the south). At the hostel, turn north onto Charit Creek Lodge Connector trail and climb back up the ridge to Gobbler's Knob trail. Turn left and return back to the parking area. The trail across the top of Hatfield Ridge is wide, open, and somewhat graveled, so I would not do this in the heat of the day. The descent to Station Camp is a little steep and kind of rocky and the Station Camp Creek Trail is very rocky, but has many creek crossings for watering horses.
#4 - The O&W Trail (as mentioned above). Park at Rainbow Field and ride the North White Oak trail to Cumberland Valley Loop trail to Coyle Branch trail down to the old railroad bed. Turn left on the O&W trail and ride along side of North White Oak Creek. If the water levels are low enough, cross the creek and continue on the trail to the old O&W bridge which is a nice place to stop and have lunch. When you have done, retrace your steps back to the trailer. Total length about 6 miles each way (12 total) if you can make it all the way to the bridge. You only have to climb from the creek to the plateau once, not too difficult a ride.
O&W stands for the Oneida and Western Railway, who at one time operated the railway. The tracks have long since been removed, leaving a wide, flat trail which parallels the North White Oak Creek. It was VERY wet and muddy there this past week, but given the amount of rain we have had lately, I was not surprised. We could not cross the North White Oak Creek while we were there -- we would have been swept away for sure.
#5 - Jack's Ridge Loop. Park at Bandy Creek and ride the Katie Trail to Jack's RidgeLoop trail. It will bring you right back to the Katie Trail, and you return to the trailers. This is a short, easy ride - 7 miles long. You stay up on the plateau the whole ride, so it is VERY easy. We usually do this ride on the last day, before we trailer home. Our horses love it, because they always know it signals the end of their stay.
Trails Illustrated puts out a really good map of the Big South Fork. The BSF does a good job of signage at intersections as well. With the recent storms, the trails are somewhat muddy (but they were getting dryer every day). There were several trees down on some trails, but the BSF maintenance crews were out every day clearing the trails. We never found one blow down that we could not get over or around.
Posted 2011-05-09 5:33 PM (#133999 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
Member
Posts: 11
Location: grosse pointe park michgian
sumerset93
wow!! thank you for such a detailed and helpful email. that yellow cliff sounds a bit daunting. to do the end run, when you ride out of the entrance gates of Laurel Fork and ride up the hot topped road, which way do you turn onto the hot topped road? oh and what is a "hot topped" road?
Posted 2011-05-09 6:25 PM (#134001 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
New User
Posts: 1
Location: Woodstock, GA
My wife and I stayed at Timber Ridge (Jamestown side of the Big South Fork) over the 2010 Halloween weekend. Their phone number is 931-267-9152. The rates are $20 per night for water and electric hookup. Our water pump died and we were thankful for the clean bath house and toilet facilities. The trails in close proximity are relatively easy but there are a few challenging spots in the dry river bed and the scenery was very nice. A good map of the trails is a must. When we arrived the staff unloaded our horses, put them in their stalls, and cleaned the horse area of the trailer. My gas water heater would not fire (a moot point after the pump quit) and one of the staff bled the air and got it running. Whatever you do, do not enter the park from the Oneida side. Hwy 297 through the gorge has some incredible switchbacks and rock overhangs making it difficult if not impossible to get to the James town side with a LQ horse trailer (or even a good size bumper pull). It is, however, great fun if you are driving a sports car or motorcycle. We were also unable to purchase alcohol in Jamestown and I think all of Fentress County is dry.
Posted 2011-05-10 5:58 PM (#134032 - in reply to #133832) Subject: RE: Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
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Posts: 37
The hot topped road leads directly into Laurel Fork, there is no intersection at this point (although the road does become gravel as you enter Laurel Fork). So as you exit Laurel Fork, you have only one way to go -- straight ahead.
A "hot topped" road is kind of like a fine gravel that has been tarred down. Not loose gravel, and not slick pavement, but a hybrid of the two. Think of it as a very thin pavement with lots of small gravel thrown on top, most of it imbedded into the asphalt. It is the only type of "rigid" road surface that I ride without borium, as there is enough grip on the surface of the road.
Several years ago, the Yellowface (or yellowcliff) trail used to travel straight up hugh sandstone ledges. At that time, I would not have recommended anyone who was not an experienced rider -- or anyone on an inexperienced horse -- to ride that trail. Several places required your horse to "leap" up the rock faces. Since it was sandstone, there was minimal chances of slipping, but still it was quite a challenging trail. They have since rerouted the trail around those sandstone ledges. While it still quite a climb in places, and your horse will still work quite hard getting up the trail, it is easier now than before. I would think twice before trying to come down that portion of the trail, but never hesitate to go UP that trail.
By the way, 99% of the rock you encounter in BSF will be sandstone, so don't freak out when you come across a stretch of rock that goes all the way across the trail. Even without any traction aids, your horse generally will not slip on the surface. The rocks are a dull yellow to dark tan to muddy red color, so they are easy to identify as you ride.
Unfortunately, I never remember to take my camera with me when I ride, so I don't have any pictures to share. But trust me when I say that the trails are spectacular, as are the views from most of the overlooks.
Big South Fork - best trails in 3 days
