Buck Spring Trail Map

Route map of the Buck Spring Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...

Buck Spring Trail Map

Route map of the Buck Spring Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Buck Spring Trailhead @ US-276 -- 3,700'

The Buck Spring Trailhead is seen here on the right, at a large pulloff along US-276. This spot is about 2.3-miles south of where 276 crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,690'

The Buck Spring Trail as it arrives at US-276...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,650'

The trail immediately makes a moderate, but short, descent from the highway...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,640'

Soon the terrain all but completely flattens out...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,650'

Looking down the steep neighboring slope...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,660'

Though jaw-dropping scenery might be in short supply on this trail, it's still hard to not consider the beauty of what does surround it at times...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,680'

The trail as it nears its crossing of Bearwallow Brook (eastbound)...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,690'

About 1/3-mile from US-276 the trail makes this pretty rock-hop of Bearwallow Brook...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,690'

The trail as it crosses between the drainages of Barnett Branch and Bearwallow Brook...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,710'

About midway between US-276 and the MST, the Buck Spring Trail crosses a tiny tributary in-between a pair of small but beautiful cascades...

Unnamed Tributary of Barnett Branch -- 3,710'

The tiny cascade just upstream of the crossing is particularly pretty, with the creek squeezing between a pair of large boulders...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,720'

Winding along the side of the ridge...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,730'

The trail as it rounds the shoulder of the ridge to the west of Barnett Branch...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,750'

The trail now climbs, though only slightly, as it winds its way along the steep side of the ridge...

Buck Spring Trail -- 3,760'

Looking up the neighboring hillside as the trail nears its junction with the MST from the west...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail Junction -- 3,780'

Just under a mile east of US-276 the Buck Spring Trail (left) meets the Mountains-to Sea Trail (MST, right). From this point west, the Buck Spring Trail and MST coincide for next 5.2-miles to the Pisgah Inn. Note, however, this stretch of trail is only marked as the MST so you won't see any more references on signs for the Buck Spring Trail from here on out...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,780'

Immediately west of the junction, the trail crosses another major tributary of Barnett Branch...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,780'

Looking back on the junction of the MST (right) and the Buck Spring Trail (left), where the two trails begin coinciding...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,780'

Heading down the ridge to the east of the tributary now...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,790'

A slightly overgrown stretch of trail, not a common occurrence along this route...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea/Barnett Branch Trail Junction -- 3,800'

Within a quarter-mile of the Buck Spring/MST junction, the coinciding trails pass by the north end of the Barnett Branch Trail, which heads south from here to cross the Pink Beds...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea/Barnett Branch Trail Junction -- 3,800'

Looking westbound as the trail passes its junction with the Barnett Branch Trail (left)...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,800'

For the better part of five miles, between the Barnett Branch Trail and the Pisgah Inn, the route wouldn't be crossing a road or even passing another trail...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,820'

The grade is easy along this stretch and the trail looks surprisingly well-traveled...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,820'

With little in the way of scenery to mark your progress along this forested stretch of trail you might keep track of where you are by the number of streams you cross, of which there will be seven. The first one (if eastbound) is in the drainage just east of the Barnett Branch Trail...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,820'

Looking upstream at a very thirsty Barnett Branch from the crossing...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,830'

Time to round the next ridge...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,840'

Despite the steep surrounding terrain the path maintains a fairly easy grade...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,860'

The next stream is reached in another 1/3-mile, this one an unnamed north tributary of Barnett Branch...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,860'

In dry conditions there might not be much 'stream' to these streams...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,880'

Continuing eastward through the sunlit forest...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,920'

One of the rougher stretches of trail...this is very much the exception over its length, however...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,950'

This is a beautiful and wild stretch of trail...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 3,980'

The forested slope above the trail...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,000'

Continuing to wind along the side of the ridge...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,020'

Entering the head of the next drainage...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,020'

Approximately 2/3-mile since the last stream crossing the path reaches the (usually) dry hop across a southern tributary of Poplar Creek...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,020'

Looking up the aforementioned tributary...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,030'

Another quick ridge to round...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,040'

Barely 1/10-mile after crossing its southern tributary, the trail reaches Poplar Creek itself...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,040'

The trail now turns southeasterly to round the long protruding ridge separating Poplar Creek from its first northern tributary...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,050'

As the trail moves farther out on the ridge, laurels began to press in...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,060'

Into a full-on laurel tunnel...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,070'

At the point where the trail doubles back around the end of the ridge east of Poplar Creek is this large campsite, tucked into the thick laurel grove...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,070'

The trail as it doubles back across the crest of the long ridge to the east of Poplar Creek...

Buck Spring/Mountains-to-Sea Trail -- 4,060'

Now moving up the opposite side of the ridge, the laurels all but disappear...