Starting at FR 97, Haywood Gap Trail climbs alongside the Middle Prong of the West Fork of the Pigeon River all the way up to the Mountains to Sea Trail about 75 yards from where it crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway at Haywood Gap. Parts of the trail follows old logging road or railroad beds; parts are purpose-built path.
The upper end of the trail is steep in places, with several tricky areas to negotiate. Although most of the tread is in great condition, a few places are definitely not, warranting the Very Rough rating. A crossing of Haywood Gap Stream may be impossible in high water, or at least a wade (at most times it should be an easy rock-hop, however). There are relics from the logging era, including rusting steel cables and some old puncheon bridge sections that have almost completely collapsed but are still quite visible. The trail travels from a cove hardwood forest, to a high-elevation hardwood forest and a few Red Spruces & Fraser Firs gradually mix in as you go up.
KML is the main file type used by Google Earth. If you have Google Earth installed, clicking the KML link should open the trail or point directly
in Google Earth for viewing. This is the native file format used by Google Earth, but many other map applications can use and understand KML as well,
so if you're not sure which one to download, KML is a good bet.
GPX
The GPX format stands for GPS Exchange - a free, open, XML format for exchanging GPS and map data. GPX is compatible with Google Earth,
many other mapping programs, and most GPS devices (such as Garmin). Load the file directly into your GPS to help find your way on your next trip!
GeoJSON
GeoJSON is a newer, lightweight data exchange format which can be used to quickly share map data and may have a smaller size than KML or GPX. Many
professional mapping and GIS applications support the GeoJSON format.
About the Map
Copyright
Base Layers
Base layers provided by Google, MyTopo.com and Microsoft Research (MSR) Maps. Base layer images are subject to
the respective copyright policies of their owners.
Trail and Marker Overlays
Trail layers and downloadable data are all original works created by WNCOutdoors with guidance from a variety of
sources, including ensembles of our own GPS tracks, user contributed GPS tracks, official maps and GIS data from
government agencies, and field observations. WNCOutdoors data is made freely available under the
Open Database License - you are free to copy and use
it for any purpose unde the terms of that license (summary).
Tips
The map will scroll and zoom, just like a normal Google Map.
Click MyTopo to use a USGS topographic maps as the base layer.
Hover over a trail to see it highlighted. Helps to see start and end points for an individual trail.
Click a trail for more details and to download it.
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