O&W Trail - Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

In late July, 2013, I hiked the O&W Trail from Leatherwood Ford to the O&W Bridge in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.  Leatherwood Ford is on TN 297 about eleven miles west of its junction with US 27 in Oneida, Tennessee.  The trailhead at Leatherwood Ford includes paved parking, river access, picnic tables and restrooms.

Quoting from the park sign:

Part of the John Muir Trail, the O&W Trail follows the river upstream to the Oneida and Western Railroad Bridge.  The bridge was previously used by another railroad and erected on this site in 1916.  Trains carried coal, timber, passengers, mail and other goods across this bridge on three daily round trips between Oneida and Jamestown.  On the west side of the bridge, you can climb a steep 1-mile section of the JMT past a waterfall and up to a large rock shelter known as The Devils Den.  The John Muir Trail currently ends here.

Quoting from the second park sign:

An easy to moderate 2.3-mile trail (one way) to the bridge, marked with the John Muir Trail (JMT) blue silhouette blaze.

The O&W was an active railroad during the "boom" days of logging and mining in the 1920s.  This trail follows the river, passing large rock outcroppings and woodland forest of beech, maple, mountain laurel and rhododendron.

The O & W Bridge is a Whipple truss design, manufactured in the late 1800s, few survive today.

The trail starts beside the information shelter and proceeds under the highway 297 bridge.  A marker on the bridge notes that it was an American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. 1984 Award of Merit Bridge for medium span, low clearance bridges.

Information shelter

Trail directions and distances were clearly marked

Award winning Tennessee highway 297 bridge over the Big South Fork

Trail passes under the highway 297 bridge

The Leatherwood Loop trail junction is clearly marked

The initial portion of the trail is wide and easy

Rest bench near the first wooden bridge

The trail skirts large boulders as it heads upstream

Tree growth has limited the view from this platform

The stairs down to the river are closed due to flood damage

The wide trail continues with an easy grade

The first half of the trail closely follows the river

The trail starts climbing along the former mule-drawn skid path

Water has washed out about half the trail width

The second Leatherwood Loop trail junction is also clearly marked

Downed trees and brush from storms earlier in the summer have been cleared

A few small stream crossings are made by rock hopping

View upstream of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River

Tenacity!

View downstream of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River

For the most part, the trail is very well marked.  The one area place where it wasn't clear is where the trail appears to continue straight, but actually climbs the stone steps to the left as shown in the next three pictures.  The trail is blazed with a small blue silhouette of John Muir as can be seen in the third picture.

Trail heads up the steps to the left...

...that quickly becomes a switchback

Note the blue and white trail marker on the tree

The second switchback is much more obvious

The trail narrows and steepens

Looking back at another stream crossing

Looking back at the steps that lead to the railroad spur

The trail follows the grade of a railroad spur that was never completed

Drainage is an issue where the spur cuts through the hill

Bridges and culverts were not built as only the rough grading was completed

For the most part, the river side of the trail is higher and drier

Simple foot bridges span most of the wet areas

A huge boulder fell on the spur during construction

The trail emerges at O&W Road

The O&W Bridge is planked for single-lane vehicle use

A set of wooden stairs beside the bridge allows river access

The underside of the O&W Bridge

Rapids upstream of the railroad bridge

O&W Bridge from upstream

Big South Fork

Looking downstream from the bridge

Looking upstream from the bridge

Looking back across the bridge from the far side

The O&W Bridge and river bluff from the Devil's Den Trail

River bluff from the bridge

Looking downstream from the west end of the bridge

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm.