Pink Beds Loop Trail Map

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

Pink Beds Loop Trail Map

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

Pink Beds Picnic Area Trailhead -- 3,300'

The entrance to the Pink Beds Picnic Area and Trailhead along US-276...located approx. 3.5-miles south of 276's junction with the Blue Ridge Parkway....

Pink Beds Picnic Area Trailhead -- 3,290'

The picnic area adjacent to the trailhead is quite large and, despite what you see in this shot, typically quite busy...

Pink Beds Picnic Area Trailhead -- 3,290'

The trailhead at the picnic area is marked by this wooden sign which displays the trail system circling the Pink Beds...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,290'

The trail shortly reaches a split, with the main path bearing left and the right one being a connector to the nearby picnic area...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,280'

Descending slightly the trail arrives at its crossing of Pigeon Branch. You can see the bridge with which the trail passes over it on the right...

South Fork Mills River -- 3,280'

Pigeon Branch is the primary tributary feeding the South Fork Mills River. Just downstream the river officially begins where two smaller tributaries also join the main channel...

Pink Beds Loop Trail Split -- 3,280'

Just after the crossing the trail arrives at the start of its actual loop. In this album we'll follow it by heading left, completing the loop in a clockwise direction...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,270'

Heading clockwise, the trail immediately crosses the first of six grassy fields between here and the north junction with the Barnett Branch Trail...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,290'

As you can see already, simply by its width, this is a very popular footpath...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,280'

Within a minute the trail is back out in the open again, this time into a very long and narrow opening...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,280'

The path as it continues along the lengthy second opening...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,270'

In the woods briefly...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,270'

...and then back out again into a third grassy opening...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,270'

Water weight from heavy rains can push the ceilings of these rhododendron tunnels a bit lower at times...resulting in lots of ducking for us taller folk...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,260'

Breaking out into the fourth opening, which is the smallest yet...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,260'

Looking back across the tiny fourth field...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,260'

The trail now climbs a bit, crossing the small rise to the south of Bearwallow Brook...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,250'

Just before dropping to Bearwallow Brook, the trail passes alongside a fifth field...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,240'

The trail as it now drops to Bearwallow Brook...

Pink Beds Loop Trail @ Bearwallow Brook -- 3,230'

Crossing the interesting L-shaped bridge over Bearwallow Creek, at around the one-mile mark...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,240'

The dreary day these shots were taken on belie the beauty of these wildlife openings...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,250'

The trail is really flattening out now...which can mean LOTS of standing water...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,260'

Right in the middle of the trail...this is definitely one blaze you won't miss seeing...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,230'

The end of laurel season can mean a trail frequently covered in pink petals...

Pink Beds Loop Trail @ Barnett Branch Tributary -- 3,210'

This short footbridge aids with the hop across a tiny tributary of Barnett Branch, just before arriving at the junction with the Barnett Branch Trail...

Pink Beds Loop/Barnett Branch Trail North Junction -- 3,210'

About 1.5-miles from the trailhead the loop reaches its broad northern junction with the Barnett Branch Trail. A right here would take you across the heart of the Pink Beds, intersecting the south side of the Pink Beds Loop a short time later. To stay on the loop simply continue straight ahead...

Pink Beds Loop/Barnett Branch Trail North Junction -- 3,210'

The Pink Beds Loop Trail as it departs, eastbound, from its northern junction with the Barnett Branch Trail...

Pink Beds Loop Trail @ Barnett Branch -- 3,210'

Thankfully a sturdy bridge assists in the crossing of Barnett Branch, which would be just a bit too wide for most to hop across did it not exist...

Barnett Branch -- 3,210'

One more look at beautiful Barnett Branch...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,230'

This stretch of the trail, is for the most part very flat, with only some minor ups and downs...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,250'

More pine trees and laurels...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,230'

There are a couple muddy tributaries to hop across, like this one, but nothing too major...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,250'

Eventually the surroundings open up a bit and, for pretty much the first time on the loop, you'll find yourself surrounded by hardwoods instead of evergreens...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,270'

Cutting a channel through the rhodo again...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,290'

To the south through the treetops (seasonally) the outline of nearby Soapstone Ridge can be seen...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,300'

The Pink Beds Loop sees very heavy traffic in the summertime, so its actually quite impressive how healthy the condition of the trail seems much of the way...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,280'

Entering the flatlands near the east end of the loop...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,260'

A particularly pretty piece of woodland, with the Pisgah Ridge just barely visible through the bare treetops beyond...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,230'

Making a gradual descent now towards the east end of the loop...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,200'

This hard right marks the easternmost extremity of the Pink Beds Loop...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,190'

Approaching its junction with the Gauging Station Trail from the north...

Pink Beds Loop/Pink Beds Connector (Gauging Station) Trail Junction -- 3,180'

At 2.5-miles the loop arrives at the west end of the Gauging Station Trail, which breaks east (left in this shot). To continue the Pink Beds Loop make the hard right turn...

South Fork Mills River -- 3,180'

Looking across the South Fork from the junction of the Pink Beds Loop and the Gauging Station Trail...

Pink Beds Loop/Pink Beds Connector (Gauging Station) Trail Junction -- 3,180'

Starting out on the southern portion of the Pink Beds Loop from its junction with the Gauging Station Trail...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,180'

The trail now embarks on a long flat walk through a dense grove of rhododendron, carpeted by a thick mat of small ferns...

Pink Beds Loop Trail -- 3,180'

The tunnel continues...