Hiking Shining Rock Mountain via the Art Loeb Trail
Updated: Dec 12, 2022
Hike Stats
Distance: 10-ish miles RT
Elevation Gain: 1000-ish feet
Date Hiked: February 2019
Location: Shining Rock Wilderness off the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
Getting Here
The Art Loeb Trailhead is located on the Black Balsam Road just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile 420. The nearest city is Asheville to the north.
The Hike
After having spent several years in lovely but flat West TN during medical school, I was excited to be spending a few months training in Knoxville, taking advantage of the nearby Appalachian mountains to go hiking every chance I could. When I saw that the Blue Ridge Parkway had opened back up after a few weeks of icy roadways, I excitedly headed out to spend some time hiking along the Art Loeb Trail in the Shining Rock Wilderness. It was a foggy and drizzly day, but as I consider any day spent on a trail to be a good day, I decided to keep my original plans despite the less than ideal weather. Starting at the Black Balsam Trailhead, I climbed through balsam firs shrouded in fog before climbing up the rocky but fairly easy summit of Black Balsam Knob. Now, Black Balsam Knob is supposed to have one of the premier views in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This was mine:
I should note here that there are many intersecting trails in this wilderness and they are not well marked; at one point I went down the wrong path towards what I think was Sam’s Knob which added an extra 30 minutes of sloshing down wet trail. Definitely recommend downloading the AllTrails map as that would’ve helped significantly more than the small paper map I had.
After waiting unsuccessfully for a few minutes hoping that the fog and clouds would break, I continued my climb up the Art Loeb Trail to Tennent Mountain and then to Ivestor Gap, squinting through the fog stained yellow by the sun trying in vain to penetrate its thick vail. The conditions weren’t great for the sprawling views of the area’s rolling mountains as I had hoped, but it was still a special experience and an almost intimate immersion into nature.
After a few more short detours down wrong trails just past Grassy Cove and Flower Gap, I finally made it up to Shining Rock peak. As luck would have it, the clouds broke as I approached the top and I was treated to spectacular views of the area. The Shining Rock itself is a peak covered in white quartz rock that one can see glinting from a distance (when there’s no fog) and a great place to take a rest. I admired the rolling mountains bereft of their summer greenery but dotted with fresh smelling conifers as the fog gently settled into the depressions made by the undulating terrain. The newly freed sun breathed warmth into my chilled bones and I quickly forgot my disappointment about the lack of views earlier.
Finally pulling myself away from the comfort of the sun soaked summit, I made my way back down the trail, taking in the views that were previously hidden. But as quickly as the mountains had come into view, the clouds settled back into the valleys, obscuring them once more. Watching the fog slowly but surely roll back in is one of my favorite hiking experiences of all time; just absolutely surreal.
While the entire hike wasn’t picture perfect, I was so glad that I had made the decision to hike it anyway despite the poor weather. More often than not I have been pleasantly surprised when I’ve decided to chance it and go on the hike anyway. I’m not advocating that you hike in dangerous weather, but imperfect conditions can showcase a different type of beauty not often experienced by others. That being said, I would like to come back and hike it in sunny clear weather next time so that I can actually see the view from Black Balsam Knob! This is another hike that I would happily do again and again. There are several alternate trails one can take to turn the hike into a loop (a popular route is to take the Ivestor Gap Trail back) or to explore other summits so be sure to bring a good map and have fun with it!
Nearby Adventures
The Blue Ridge Parkway itself is a great place to explore. Lots of overlooks and shorter hikes make for a great weekend trip!
The Pisgah National Forest is also known for its stunning hikes and scenery.
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