Thanks very much for the info update JTS.

Puliam is white. Bear Branch is blue. Long Ridge is white. Turkey Gut is blue. Stair Step Falls is yellow. That leaves Bluff, Green River, and Bishop Branch. I’ll try and get those colors when I can. The group caring for the trails put a map in the Hendersonville Visitors Center with all the colors.

I hiked Stair Step Falls trail today (connects Turkey Gut and Long Ridge) and loved it. It parallels the green river trail but at the top of the ridge above.

Thanks for the heads up JTS. The NC Wildlife folks must have changed the map I originally linked because it used to have trails on it. Anyway, I updated the link.

Also, the trails are now blazed. Puliam is white. Bear Branch is blue. I don’t know the rest, but the game lands only allow blue, white, yellow, and orange so there is some overlap.

Rick, along the river is the way to go, no question. Enjoy!

Nice spot for early spring flowers, too, because of the low elevation.

Yep Michael, that one little bit of the River Trail past the junction with Pulliam Creek Trail is the only part I haven’t done yet. That is definitely on my to do list. Thanks, as always, for your contributions.

Bear Branch is a lot clearer from the top down. It’s easy to access either from Bishop Branch or Long Ridge. At one time there was a “trail” (more of a manway) straight down the ridge from the Bear Branch Trail, coming out just above the steep trail that goes down to The Narrows. But now the route follows an old roadbed the whole way and comes in about 1/2 mile farther down Pulliam Creek Trail. Possibility of blowdowns on some of Bear Branch — I don’t know how long it has been since trail maintenance was done there.

I definitely recommend taking the Green River Trail all the way to the end, starting at Wilderness Cove… in and out is 7 miles, so it makes for a nice day. The trick is to go all the way upriver and then turn downhill (to the left) at the intersection with the Pulliam Creek Trail. There should be a signpost. That short section to the left goes down to what shows as an island on the map, but at lower water is almost joined to the left bank. Huge jumble of boulders there, our favorite lunch and swimming spot. That’s also a good place to watch kayakers because this is just downstream from The Narrows.

Lots of kudos to the original volunteers who cleared trails in there — Welcome Wagon Hikers, ECO members, Carolina Mountain Club. It wouldn’t be possible without them. There’s more work to be done, but glad to see people are carrying on the tradition. There’s always another ice storm just around the corner. 🙂