Catawaba Valley Trail

Dogs Off-leash

Features Fall Colors · River/Creek · Wildlife

This trail connects RT. 779 with the ridge of the North Mountain Trail. It starts off as an easy trail with mild elevation change, and progressively gets steeper with switchbacks. Starting at Rt. 779 (directly across the street from the parking lot to Tinker Cliffs) you start by running alongside the road (Blue Blaze).

The first mile will yield not a lot of elevation change but quite a bit of solitude, as you begin your run through the wilderness. There seems to be numerous streams that we crossed over, which were dried up at the time. After the first mile, you begin a steeper accent to the top of the North Mountain Trail via several switchbacks and steep turns.

The views on this trail are just okay - there were no scenic vistas - but the wilderness around the trail provided the perfect calming backdrop to a tougher run.

After the switchbacks, you can start to see the ridge come into view as the elevation grade starts to even out. Finishing up this trail, you end up at the top of the ridge that the North Mountain Trail (Yellow Blaze) traverses.

This trail is commonly backpacked by runners finishing the Virginia's Triple Crown loop.