The Art Loeb Trail is a hiking trail located in

Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The P ...

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

. The northern terminus is at the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp in Haywood County, while the trail's southern terminus is located near the Davidson River Campground, near Brevard, in

Transylvania County Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard. Transylvania County comprises the Brevard, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also incl ...

. Along the way, the trail traverses several significant peaks, including

Black Balsam Knob Black Balsam Knob, also known as Black Balsam Bald, is in the Pisgah National Forest southwest of Asheville, North Carolina, near milepost 420 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is the second highest mountain in the Great Balsam Mountains. The Great Ba ...

(6,214 ft), Tennent Mountain (6040 ft) and Pilot Mountain (5095 ft). The trail also passes the base of Cold Mountain, made famous by the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

and

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. ''

National Geographic Adventure Nat Geo People (short for National Geographic People) is an international pay television channel owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). Targeted a ...

'' listed the trail as one of the thirty best North American hikes. They praised the views offered on the high

Appalachian Balds In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected. Balds are found prim ...

, the challenging climbs, and the trail's diverse landscape.

History

Originally part of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

, the area was heavily logged in the early part of the 20th century. The Art Loeb Trail was dedicated on November 9, 1969. It was named after an avid hiker and Carolina Mountain Club member, who resided in Brevard. Mr. Loeb often explored and cared for the area. Extensive logging and locomotive fires in 1925 and 1942 are the cause for the expansive, open views around Black Balsam Knob.

Animals, plants, and geology

There is a variety of birds, reptiles and mammals in the area.

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...

rabbits Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

, black bears and

bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus ''Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the con ...

may be spotted by the watchful hiker. While most of the

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

and

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

was removed by logging, there are areas where these trees are encountered on the trail. There are significant differences in the landscape from the southern end of the trail compared to the higher elevations. Along the way, the hiker encounters some unique geology. From Pilot Mountain, there's a view of the

Looking Glass Rock Looking Glass Rock is a pluton monolith in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Description The mountain is located within Pisgah National Forest about northwest of Brevard and southwest of Asheville. Name ...

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

. Close to Butter Gap is Cedar Rock, a large granite outcropping. In addition,

Shining Rock Shining Rock is a mountain in western North Carolina, United States. The mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains which are a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains within the Appalachian Mountains. It is the 38th tallest mountain in the eastern ...

and its cluster of quartz boulders can be encountered via a side trail.

Activities

The trail sees many hikers taking advantage of the trail's proximity to the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and National Scenic Byway, All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is the longest linear park in the U.S., runs for through 29 counties in Virginia and ...

and

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

, in addition to literary enthusiasts exploring Cold Mountain. Hikers around in the northern part of the trail in the

Shining Rock Wilderness Named for Shining Rock, the Shining Rock Wilderness is a protected Wilderness Area in Haywood County, North Carolina. Its first have been part of the National Wilderness Preservation System since the System was created in 1964. It now includes ...

should be prepared, as the trails are not marked, and there are no signs. South of Ivestor Gap the trail is outside of the Shining Rock Wilderness, and contains blazes and signs to help with navigation. The trail also shares with the

Mountains-to-Sea Trail The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST) is a long-distance trail in the US for hiking and backpacking, that traverses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Its western endpoint is at Kuwohi, where it connects to the Ap ...

for a short stretch in the Silvermine Bald area. There are also several side trails that connect to the Art Loeb, including the optional climb up Cold Mountain. Challenges for the hiker include steep ascents and descents, exposed hiking on high Appalachian Balds, and few water supply points. It is recommended to have a life straw and gravity filter to maximize the minimal water supply points. To complete the entire trail, most guides recommend either three or four days. There are several backcountry camp spots throughout the trail, with primitive shelters at Deep Gap and Butter Gap. Starting in 2001, an adventure run of the entire trail is held on the

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

Intersecting trails

The Art Loeb Trail intersects with several trails,

, Farlow Gap, Butter Gap Trail, the Estatoe Trail, and others.

Photo gallery

Image:A volcanic igneous intrusion in the Appalachian Mountains.jpg, Looking Glass Rock from Pilot Mountain Image:Art Loeb Trail.jpg,

Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

trees on the Art Loeb Trail Image:View from Black Balsam Knob.jpg, View from the southern sub-peak of

Image:ArtLoebCedarRock.jpg, Cedar Rock from the trail Image:ArtLoebShiningRockGap.jpg, Flower Gap Image:ArtLoebTennent.jpg, View from Tennent Mountain

Notes

External links

Information Page

Photo Journal of Backpacking trip of Art Loeb Trail, June 2006
{{Coord, 35.2784403, -82.8662413, display=title National Recreation Trails in North Carolina Protected areas of Haywood County, North Carolina Protected areas of Transylvania County, North Carolina Pisgah National Forest Long-distance trails in the United States