Exercise Loop Trail Map

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

Exercise Loop Trail Map

Route map of the Exercise Loop Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center

The Exercise Loop Trail begins alongside the parking lot for the Pisgah Ranger Station and Visitor Center. This is great place to gather info on the National Forest as well as having a nice little gift shop...

Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center Trailhead

Looking at the visitor center from the "trailhead" for the Exercise Loop, which runs along the length of the parking lot...

Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center Trailhead (Andy Cove Nature & Exercise Loop Trails)

If heading around the loop in a clockwise direction (as this album does) the trail immediately passes its eastern junction with the Andy Cove Nature Trail, also right alongside the parking lot...

Exercise Loop Trail

The trail as it departs eastward from the parking lot at the visitor center...

Exercise Loop Trail

The section of the loop between the visitor center and its eastern crossing of US-276 has a number of sharp turns which, thanks to these well placed signs, aren't as confusing as they could be...

Exercise Loop Trail

The trail briefly climbs as it leaves the visitor center, passing through a small grove of conifers...

Exercise Loop Trail

Quickly though the trail returns to the deciduous forest it will spend pretty much the rest of its length in...

Exercise Loop Trail

Another sharp corner, this time to the left...

Exercise Loop Trail

The cone ahead marks where the trail makes a hard right, to head around the nearby maintenance yard for the Forest...

Exercise Loop Trail

A wooden sign points you in the right direction at the turn described in the previous shot...

Exercise Loop Trail

A few ferns mixing into the understory is a nice addition to the surroundings...

Exercise Loop Trail @ US-276 East Crossing

About a quarter-mile east of the visitor center the loop reaches its eastern crossing of US-276...

Exercise Loop Trail @ US-276 East Crossing

Looking up US-276 from the eastern crossing...this is busy road, particularly in the summer, so use extra caution...

Exercise Loop Trail @ US-276 East Crossing

The trail as it re-enters the woods on the south side, of the eastern crossing, of US-276...

Exercise Loop Trail

Once again the trail enters a small conifer grove, which provides some welcome shade on warm afternoons...

Exercise Loop Trail

Cutting through a tunnel of young deciduous trees...

Exercise Loop Trail

Before long the trail emerges on this old roadway along the river. To continue on the loop, bear left and keep heading east...

Exercise Loop Trail

A split rail fence and boulders ahead signals the trails arrival at the entrance road to Davidson River Campground...

Exercise Loop Trail @ Art Loeb Trailhead

Directly across from where the trail reaches the campground road is the busy Art Loeb Trailhead. If you wanted, you could just as easy walk the Exercise Loop from this spot as well...

Davidson River

Overlooking the Davidson River, which the trail and campground road now cross...