I hiked the moderately strenuous 3.2 mile Leatherwood Loop trail in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on a sunny day in late January 2014. With temperatures in the low 50s, there were no icy patches on the trail, but several places were damp to muddy. The trail begins at the Leatherwood Ford river access gazebo. After passing under the Tennessee Highway 297 bridge, I stayed on the O&W trail along the river at the first junction. This gave me the opportunity to get warmed up without the immediate stress of climbing the hillside. The nearly level route along the river led to the second trail junction in about ½ mile. The trail immediately attacks the hillside climbing from 900 feet to 1300 feet in about a mile before leveling out several hundred feet before the side trail to an overlook. From the overlook, the trail climbs another 100 feet to the top of the ridge and another junction. Continuing around the loop, the trail crosses an earthen dam that impounds a small pond. The trail then follows a series of switchbacks down the drainage area with views of several wet weather waterfalls. Once the trail reaches highway 297, it turns left and follows the shoulder of the road for a short distance around a hill before dropping down to the first trail junction almost under the highway bridge. To help visualize the route, I've included a topographic map with my GPS track marked in red. Adding the side trail to the overlook extends the hike to just under 3.5 miles.
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| Topo map with GPS overlay |
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| Park information gazebo |
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| Trail bridge |
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| River views abound along this section |
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| A wet weather stream cuts across the trail... |
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| ...and flows into the river |
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| The trail junction sign is hard to miss |
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| "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost |
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| Sidehill climbing |
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| The second of several switchbacks |
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| Stone staircase |
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| A temporary duck under |
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| More stone steps |
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| Trail? What trail? |
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| Another switchback... |
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| ...and one more |
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| Bus sized boulders were scattered along the trail |
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| A small icicle holds on in the shade |
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| A switchback in the shadow of a boulder |
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| Rock hopping a small brook |
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| Green in the midst of winter |
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| At least the switchbacks aren't as steep here |
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| More icicles |
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| Another switchback takes the trail above the icicles |
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| I imagine a face with chiseled features to the left of the tree |
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| The major climb is over as the trail approaches the top of the plateau |
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| Still frozen |
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| Another stream crossing |
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| The junctions along the trail are well signed |
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| The overlook trail skirts this depression that is steeper and deeper than it first appears |
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| The overlook trail is on bare rock |
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| The fenced overlook... |
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| ...provides a beautiful view of the gorge and the Highway 297 bridge |
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| There are no handrails on the trail along the cliff edge |
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| Beyond the side trail to the overlook, the trail widens out |
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| A boardwalk has been installed across a wet area |
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| Another hurdle |
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| Trail junction to the upper parking area on East Overlook Drive |
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| The trail crosses an earthen dam |
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| Ice on the pond |
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| A sturdy bridge spans the pond outlet |
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| The trail passes by the edge of an open field... |
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| ...before following an old road |
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| Intricate structure against a perfect sky |
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| One of the few trail markers I noticed along the way |
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| More icicles in the shaded ravine |
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| An eight to twelve foot waterfall |
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| Although it looks like it could be, this is not the trail |
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| The trail continues along the old road |
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| Icicles and ice mounds |
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| The second waterfall |
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| The route leaves the road and follows a trail again |
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| The third waterfall is about fifteen feet high |
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| Moving away from the creek to start switchbacking down the hill |
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| Above Highway 297 |
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| Another small hurdle in the open woods |
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| The trail comes down these steps to follow the old road again |
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| Long shadows of winter sunlight |
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| Another trail marker |
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| The trail drops down to the highway... |
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| ...and follows it around the hill to the next guardrail before heading down to the O&W trail junction |
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| The creek crosses under the highway |
There is no entrance fee to visit the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm.
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