It is the Thanksgiving Weekend and that means it was time for the annual hike. Like the Ice Bears hockey game on Friday after Turkey Day, the following day (Saturday) has become an annual event too. This year I went out with Deb to Laurel Run Park near Church Hill. While this hike in Hawkins County may not have been as impressive on paper as the last two when Glen and I hiked to Rich Mountain Fire Tower and Max Patch, it was a nice outing and worthy of the annual Thanksgiving Weekend Hike.
Another thing different this year is the weather. The last two years we were greeted with snow on the trail, but this year it was a balmy 60 degrees. Anyway, for those who don't know that the area that is Laurel Run Park was a farm that was used as the backdrop for the 1984 movie The River. After the filming the 440 acres was ceded to Hawkins County and became Laurel Run Park. This wasn't my first trip here, but it had been quite a while since that visit. I was last here in the early 1990's for a family reunion. When we arrived at the gate the paved road for the park was in much need of work, but one will find there are two places to park. The first is to the left, the second is past the visitor center and is closer to the trailhead for the hike to Laurel Run Falls.
The trailhead is up past a monument for W.C. Cooper and picnic pavilion number five. When you get to the trailhead you will see a sign with a guide to the blazes on the trail. The blue and white blazes lead to Laurel Run Falls and beyond (Bays Mountain), while the green leads the way back to the park. The one I was surprised by was the black blaze which leads to an overlook. Everything that I have read about this hike no one mentioned an overlook at the park, so I figured this would be something to explore on the way back.
The trail actually follows an old roadbed as it passes an old log building and what is described as a smokehouse (but looks more like an outhouse). It then follows the old road with a nice uphill. At about six-tenths of a mile one comes to the only real tough spot on the first part of the trail and that is a creek crossing that is half rock hopping and half log balancing. Once over this, the trail goes from road bed to a narrower, normal, trail.
At another 0.3 miles up the trail is the main destination, Laurel Run Falls. This 15-foot curtain type cascade can be very wide, but not on this day as the water flow was low, but it is a nice waterfall.
At this point I was trying to find where the Laurel Run Trail continued as there was two white blazed paths. In Johnny Molloy book he described the trail to the right as an unmarked one, but now it has a white blaze. It leads to a small waterfall that doesn't have an official name, but we will call it Lower Kiner Creek Falls. It is another curtain cascade between 8-to-10 feet.
The trail here goes a little past this waterfall before looping back up to the main Laurel Run Trail. Here it is about another two-tenths to the final destination of the day Kiner Creek Falls. You have to look to see the somewhat trail that leads to the right down to the top of this 25-foot plunging cascade. I have seen in places where people have climbed down to the base of this waterfall, but that trail looked reeeeeally steep. Since I was alone I thought it was best (also with the low water flow) not to risk going down. Oh, I forgot, Deb turned around and went back at the creek crossing. Another thing I found about this waterfall is that it is actually the middle one as there is another waterfall (which I didn't know about at the time) above this one, looks like another trip.
Anyway, this is where I turned around, but on a future hike, I will visit the site of three old homesteads as the trail passes them before heading up Bays Mountain. On the way back I had another detour, up the black blaze to the overlook. The junction is right before one gets back to the two buildings.
It is a 300-foot climb, which doesn’t sound like much, but at only three-tenths of a mile that means 100 feet ever tenth and that is pretty steep (about 36% grade). The main reason it is steep is because it also follows an old road bed, which means no switchbacks. Once at the overlook, there is a bench and a nice view across Goshen Valley and the Holston River. Let me add this is a late fall, winter, and early spring view once the trees leave out it won't be very good.
When I got back I discovered Deb had been busy on the walking path at the park, doing three laps. The walking path is a one-mile paved surface that runs partly down by the river. I decided to do a lap to round my day out at five miles. So, this was a nice return to a park that I had visited but never explored and I will be returning to in the future.
Another thing different this year is the weather. The last two years we were greeted with snow on the trail, but this year it was a balmy 60 degrees. Anyway, for those who don't know that the area that is Laurel Run Park was a farm that was used as the backdrop for the 1984 movie The River. After the filming the 440 acres was ceded to Hawkins County and became Laurel Run Park. This wasn't my first trip here, but it had been quite a while since that visit. I was last here in the early 1990's for a family reunion. When we arrived at the gate the paved road for the park was in much need of work, but one will find there are two places to park. The first is to the left, the second is past the visitor center and is closer to the trailhead for the hike to Laurel Run Falls.
The trailhead is up past a monument for W.C. Cooper and picnic pavilion number five. When you get to the trailhead you will see a sign with a guide to the blazes on the trail. The blue and white blazes lead to Laurel Run Falls and beyond (Bays Mountain), while the green leads the way back to the park. The one I was surprised by was the black blaze which leads to an overlook. Everything that I have read about this hike no one mentioned an overlook at the park, so I figured this would be something to explore on the way back.
The trail actually follows an old roadbed as it passes an old log building and what is described as a smokehouse (but looks more like an outhouse). It then follows the old road with a nice uphill. At about six-tenths of a mile one comes to the only real tough spot on the first part of the trail and that is a creek crossing that is half rock hopping and half log balancing. Once over this, the trail goes from road bed to a narrower, normal, trail.
At another 0.3 miles up the trail is the main destination, Laurel Run Falls. This 15-foot curtain type cascade can be very wide, but not on this day as the water flow was low, but it is a nice waterfall.
At this point I was trying to find where the Laurel Run Trail continued as there was two white blazed paths. In Johnny Molloy book he described the trail to the right as an unmarked one, but now it has a white blaze. It leads to a small waterfall that doesn't have an official name, but we will call it Lower Kiner Creek Falls. It is another curtain cascade between 8-to-10 feet.
The trail here goes a little past this waterfall before looping back up to the main Laurel Run Trail. Here it is about another two-tenths to the final destination of the day Kiner Creek Falls. You have to look to see the somewhat trail that leads to the right down to the top of this 25-foot plunging cascade. I have seen in places where people have climbed down to the base of this waterfall, but that trail looked reeeeeally steep. Since I was alone I thought it was best (also with the low water flow) not to risk going down. Oh, I forgot, Deb turned around and went back at the creek crossing. Another thing I found about this waterfall is that it is actually the middle one as there is another waterfall (which I didn't know about at the time) above this one, looks like another trip.
Anyway, this is where I turned around, but on a future hike, I will visit the site of three old homesteads as the trail passes them before heading up Bays Mountain. On the way back I had another detour, up the black blaze to the overlook. The junction is right before one gets back to the two buildings.
It is a 300-foot climb, which doesn’t sound like much, but at only three-tenths of a mile that means 100 feet ever tenth and that is pretty steep (about 36% grade). The main reason it is steep is because it also follows an old road bed, which means no switchbacks. Once at the overlook, there is a bench and a nice view across Goshen Valley and the Holston River. Let me add this is a late fall, winter, and early spring view once the trees leave out it won't be very good.
When I got back I discovered Deb had been busy on the walking path at the park, doing three laps. The walking path is a one-mile paved surface that runs partly down by the river. I decided to do a lap to round my day out at five miles. So, this was a nice return to a park that I had visited but never explored and I will be returning to in the future.
