"Low Key Connector"

GPS Coordinates: 35.28692, -82.72113 (Thrift Cove Loop Trail Junction)

GPS Coordinates: 35.29436, -82.71727 (Sycamore Cove Trail Junction)

Album Direction-Of-Travel: Northbound

Highlights: Cove & Pine Forest

Length: 1.0 miles

Petzoldt Rating: 1.60

Difficulty: MODERATE

Total Elevation Gain: 300'

Elevation Gain/Mile: 188'/mile

Min. Elevation: 2,340'

Max. Elevation: 2,600'

Blaze Color: ORANGE

See Following Trip Reports for more info:

Andy Cove Nature Trail & Grassy Road Trail Loop

Connecting Trails:

Sycamore Cove Loop Trail (#143)

Thrift Cove Loop Trail (#603)

Grassy Road Trail (#364)

Grassy Road Trail Map
Route map of the Grassy Road Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app and depicted a la Google Earth...
Grassy Road Trail Map
Route map of the Grassy Road Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...
Grassy Road/Thrift Cove Loop Trail Junction -- 2,340'
The lower terminus of the Grassy Road Trail is here, where it splits right from the Thrift Cove Trail. This spot is about a 1/2-mile walk above the Black Mountain Trailhead...
Grassy Road/Thrift Cove Loop Trail Junction -- 2,340'
Looking up the Grassy Road Trail as it departs from the Thrift Cove Trail...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,380'
The wide trail starts with an easy to moderate uphill climb along the ridge bordering the valley of Starens Branch...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,420'
Up you go, through the rhodo...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,450'
In places the trail is deeply rutted...evidence of its popularity with mountain bikers...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,480'
The grade isn't punishing but it is continuous...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,500'
Somewhere down there is Starens Branch...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,530'
As the trail climbs higher up the valley, the surrounding rhododendron thins out allowing for a better look at the surrounding woodlands...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,550'
A fern-covered hillside rises to the left...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,580'
Curving through one of the many creases in the side of the ridge...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,590'
The woodland is really pretty up here...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,580'
The surrounding terrain flattens out as the route now curves around the upper end of the valley, crossing an all but unseen Starens Branch...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,580'
Veering more eastward now...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,590'
As the path nears its junction with the Sycamore Cove Trail more and more pines began to dominate the surrounding forest...
Grassy Road Trail -- 2,590'
The Grassy Road Trail as it approaches its junction with the Sycamore Cove Trail...
Grassy Road/Sycamore Cove Trail Junction -- 2,600'
Just over a mile of walking brings you from the lower end of the Grassy Road Trail to its upper end, here at its junction with the Sycamore Cove Trail.