Cow-Foothills Trail Junction

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Gorges State Park - Chestnut Mountain Road & the Cow Trail

Every so often being an employee at Gorges State Park pays off in a big way. Today was one of those days. Although I had been working at the park for nearly a year I had yet to set foot on the Foothills Trail which crosses the remote southern reaches of the park. By foot, the way most people have to access it, it takes a minimum 5-mile walk to reach it and the spot I'd be visiting this day would take closer to 8-miles! Fortunately for me some work needed to be done along the remote, so-called Cow Trail which links the Auger Hole Trail at Turkeypen Gap to the Foothills Trail a couple miles south. This allowed me to drive within a mile or so of the Foothills Trail and, on my lunch break, make the quick walk down for a look around. The day was grey but I wasn't complaining, it was a rare opportunity to visit a less-frequented part of the park with minimal effort. Come on along for a look at a corner of Gorges State Park that few people have the opportunity to see...


4-9-2014

  • Dan Weemhoff (dwhike)

    on May 21, 2020

    Hello Tim...my best estimate puts the distance to Hilliard at around 7 miles one-way from the end of the Cow Trail.

  • Tim Watson

    on May 19, 2020

    Once you reached the Foothills Trail here , How much farther would it be to Hilliard Falls.? I have been to Hilliard Falls from Bad Creek but not this way.