Vineyard Gap Trail Map

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

Vineyard Gap Trail Map

Route map of the Vineyard Gap Trail as tracked by the Gaia GPS app...

Turkey Pen Trailhead (Vineyard Gap Trail) -- 2,650'

The Vineyard Gap Trail leaves from the east side mid-point, of the huge parking area at the Turkey Pen Trailhead...

Turkey Pen Trailhead (Vineyard Gap Trail) -- 2,650'

Looking up the trail as it leaves the Turkey Pen Trailhead...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,700'

The climb up to the crest of the Fork Mountain Ridge begins under a thick covering of rhododendron...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,730'

Pines begin to mix in as the trail steepens near the crest of the ridge...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,780'

Arriving at the ridge it appears as if the trail continues straight ahead between these two towering pines...it doesn't, but rather doubles back to the right as seen in the next picture...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,780'

A helpful marker denotes the correct route of the trail as it arrives atop the ridge. Rather than heading between the pines in the previous shot the trail turns right, seen here, into the rhododendron...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,820'

Compared to other trails in the Turkeypen area, the Vineyard Gap Trail shows much lower signs of use...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,850'

The trail now begins its climb over the low knob just west of Jim Gap...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,880'

The pure hardwood forest here is underlain by a scattering of mountain laurel and rhododendron shrubs...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,930'

Nearing the top of the knob west of Jim Gap, the trail steepens briefly...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,980'

Crossing the knob the trail reaches its high-point, elevation-wise...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,930'

Leaving the top of the knob, the long crest of Tarkiln Mountain (3,038') can be seen (seasonally) through the trees ahead...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,880'

The next named landmark the trail passes will be Jim Gap, 2/3-mile ahead, located just beyond the unnamed knob seen on the left side of this shot...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,850'

There's no doubt that a hike of this trail during the laurel bloom would be stunning...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,900'

The trail now begins a brief but moderate ascent up the southern slopes of the unnamed knob rising just east of Jim Gap...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,950'

Jim Gap can be seen just ahead here through the trees...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,920'

On the descent again...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,870'

Nearing the gap, the laurel and rhododendron begins to fill in once again...

Vineyard Gap Trail @ Jim Gap -- 2,820'

Tunneling through Jim Gap...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,870'

The trail now begins a gradual climb as it circles around the northern end of Tarkiln Mountain...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,920'

The trail as it crosses the crest of the northern end of Tarkiln Mountain...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,960'

Beginning the descent to Vineyard Gap...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,900'

You'll start noticing these large red markings on the trees as you near Vineyard Gap. I assume they are property line marks as the adjacent land here is private...

Vineyard Gap Trail @ Vineyard Gap -- 2,850'

The Vineyard Gap Trail ends its time along the ridge here, 1.5-miles from the trailhead, at its namesake landmark. The path now makes a hard left to turn off the north side of the ridge...

Vineyard Gap Trail @ Vineyard Gap -- 2,850'

The trail as it departs north from Vineyard Gap...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,800'

The descent from the ridge is almost immediately steep. From the gap to the river, a distance of a half-mile, I'd be dropping over 500-feet....

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,750'

Dropping through the rhodo...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,700'

A brief reprieve...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,600'

In places the ceiling is a bit low as well...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,500'

Looking back up, to give another perspective on the grade here...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,400'

At this point the trail has now worn deeply into the soil...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,350'

The rhodo's press in closer again...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,320'

Just before reaching the river the trail makes a hard right turn down this steep gully...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,280'

Suddenly the trail breaks onto flat ground, with rushing water being heard just a short distance ahead. This sign implies I was now on the Riverside Trail but, in fact, it's just pointing the way towards that particular trail just across the river...

Vineyard Gap Trail @ South Fork Mills River -- 2,280'

The trail immediately emerges at the South Fork Mills River...this will ALWAYS be a wet crossing, even in the driest conditions...

South Fork Mills River -- 2,280'

Mid-ford, looking upstream along the South Fork Mills River...

South Fork Mills River -- 2,280'

Mid-ford, looking downstream along the South Fork Mills River...

Vineyard Gap Trail @ South Fork Mills River -- 2,280'

Looking back across the ford from the west bank...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,280'

At this point the trail kind of just disappears. The Riverside Trail is a short distance ahead so, unless you can find the faint path just strike out straight ahead and you'll reach it no problem...

Vineyard Gap Trail -- 2,290'

This is the faint stretch of the Vineyard Gap Trail just before it reaches the Riverside Trail...its extremely hard to spot, especially in the winter...

Vineyard Gap/Riverside Trail Junction -- 2,300'

Double yellow blazes announce the Vineyard Gap's arrival at its northern terminus, where it meets the Riverside Trail...

Vineyard Gap/Riverside Trail Junction -- 2,300'

This is a look at the northern terminus of the Vineyard Gap Trail, on left, where it meets the Riverside Trail. This view of the junction is as arriving on the latter trail from the north...

Vineyard Gap/Riverside Trail Junction -- 2,300'

This is a look at the northern terminus of the Vineyard Gap Trail, on right, where it meets the Riverside Trail. This view of the junction is as arriving on the latter trail from the south.