Thrift Cove Loop Trail #603

2.4 mi (3.9 miles if hiked as a loop) - Easy - This is a pleasant, relatively undemanding hiking trail that can easily be done as a loop by using the Black Mountain Trail (#127) for your return leg. This loop is also popular with mountain bikers as a short warm-up. After starting as a gravel road, the trail becomes a grassy road for most of its length. Approximately ¼ mile after its departure from the Black Mountain Trail, the trail is intersected by several others [see map on reverse]; follow the signs and old roadbed to stay on course. The trail climbs steadily for over a mile before leveling off; you may be rewarded with glimpses of wild turkeys in this area. At the halfway point, the scenery changes dramatically as you move from an upland hardwood forest into a shady cove forest. The trail tread becomes narrower and more “trail-like” here, and throughout the summer the thick grasses are bright green. Finally, you will circumvent a large field being maintained as wildlife habitat before again encountering the Black Mountain Trail (#127), where the Thrift Cove Trail ends. *If you proceed downhill (to your left) on the Black Mountain Trail (a traditional, single-track, mountain trail), you will, after 1.3 miles, return to the parking lot. The elevation profile below represents a 3.9-mile loop starting and ending at the parking lot.

Approximate Elevation Change: 600 feet
Blaze: Red

At a Glance