Linville Gorge ITAYG

You’ll begin at the Spence Ridge trailhead before descending towards the Linville River following the Spence Ridge trail. On your way down, you’ll pass a few forested campsites and creek crossings.

The river has numerous large boulders here, a nice area to take advantage of the sun above while cooling off in a swimming hole or enjoying lunch. Once there was a bridge here, but it was washed away in the spring of 2013 and there are no plans to rebuild it. Downstream from the 2 largest boulders, you may be able to rock hop across while the river is at lower flow. However, it is safer to remove your shoes, and wade through knee deep water for the first section before finishing the crossing along the remaining boulders.

Shoes back on, turn left (south) along the Linville Gorge Trail (LGT). Shortly, you will come to a view point of the 50 foot (15m) Cathedral Falls dropping from the east side of the gorge. Continuing on further, the trail varies from packed dirt, roots and rock scrambles. Along the LGT, you’ll pass numerous spur trails on your right, campsites along the river and streams to fill up your water bottles. As the ITAYG trail is a loop trail, the spur trails on the west rim are all possible starting points. However, keep in mind you’ll be adding bonus miles and a steep ascent to finish your hike if you choose to begin from any of them.

For the most part, this section of the trail is not too difficult as you slowly descend with the river occasionally leaving the banks before returning. Along the southern side at mile 7.5 (km 12) you’ll reach the Leadmine trail that climbs away from the river before crossing over the junction of the Pinnacle trail and joining the white circle blazed Mountains to Sea trail (MST).

You’ll continue through the forest with the occasional short and steep climb, a couple wooden bridges and a few rock hops over streams. If you haven’t already found your perfect campsite, there is a good one at mile 9.5 (km 15.3). It is a relatively large campsite that can accommodate a couple of tents on the right side of the trail. Directly across, a view through the trees of tomorrow’s challenge, the southern face of Shortoff Mountain. It is a dry camp so you’ll need to pack out water from your last stream crossing.

The next day, you’ll continue southward crossing a forest road as the trail turns east again towards the river. This river crossing is completely different from the first – a much wider and generally shallow crossing, although river events do change the landscape periodically. Again shoes off, look for the large white circle nailed to a tree on the other side. This is the continuation of the MST and your target as you cross the river.

On the other side, you’ll follow the MST along a ridgeline while ascending 1600 feet (468m) up. It’s a good idea to pack an extra liter of water as this ridge can be very hot in the summer. At the signed junction, head left towards Shortoff Mountain. After not too long, you’re given an optional side trail that flanks the edge of the cliffs known as the Olson Trail. This is a great variant, but do keep in mind that there are a few exposed sections with steep drop-offs. As you reconnect with the main trail, you’ll come to the Gully Pipe, a reliable piped spring worth topping off at.

As you reach the southern summit of Shortoff, there are ample camping opportunities, some of which are within feet of the rim. A nice but sometimes busier area to set up for the night due to its accessibility to the trailhead at Wolfpit road.

The next section of trail can feel exciting and monotonous at the same time. The trail is relatively flat with the occasional rock outcropping. You’ll pass a seasonal pond on your left and on your right a spur trail that leads to another spring known as Water Tree.

At the northern side of Shortoff, the trail drops into Chimney Gap, where a few opportunities for campsites can be found along with 2 springs on spur trails to the left. If you’ve made it this far on day 2, it’s worth topping up your bottles for the night and climbing up to the southern side of the Chimneys for some excellent campsites.

Atop the next climb there are a couple of spur trails to the left that drop down to the Amphitheater; it is a beautiful and unique view into the gorge. This vantage point really gives you the feeling of being “in” the gorge. These trails are however seasonally closed due to Peregrine Falcon nesting and will be marked as so. Please respect those closures.

The next morning, the trail finishes with what is considered the highlight of the route with a scramble across the rock outcroppings known as “The Chimneys,” offering 360 degree views into the Appalachian Mountains. Shortly before the (currently closed) Table Rock parking lot, there is another wide open space on the left with room for a lot of tents. After crossing the parking lot and continuing a bit further, you’ll arrive at the optional spur trail to summit Table Rock Mountain 3,940 feet (1,200 meters).

To finish up the loop, you can then descend on the Little Table Rock Gap trail back to the trailhead at Spence Ridge to complete the loop.

This trail can be hiked in all seasons, ranging from deep snow after a winter storm to the very hot months of July and August. Although it is possible to hike the trail any day of the year, the fall and spring tend to be the best. The air temperature is generally cooler, permits are not required for overnight camping and it is less crowded. In the fall, the beautiful tree colors rise while in the spring the fresh trees awaken and the popular daffodils at daffodil flats are in bloom.

The Linville Gorge is home to the Timber Rattlesnake and Copperhead. Both of which are venomous and can easily ruin your hike. Black bears are also present. Store your food in a Bear Vault container or properly hang it while camping. It’s advised not to leave your campsite unattended.

River crossings can be dangerous at higher levels. Check water levels before you head out and keep in mind that large storms will raise the level a day or two after the storm. Be especially cautious during high levels at the Spence Ridge crossing. The southern crossing can be avoided by continuing further south to the road and crossing the bridge there.

For navigation, a GPX device or downloaded maps on your phone are highly recommended as a lot of the trail is unmarked.

Trekking poles and water/camp shoes are very useful for crossing the river.

The ITAYG is a difficult trail. It involves significant elevation gain, two river crossings, optional steep cliffside hiking and is very remote especially within the gorge along the east rim. Hikers should be self sufficient and able to self rescue in the event of an emergency. Cell service especially deep in the gorge is non-existent.