Crossing New Bridges

Piedmont Hiking & Outing Club steps up to support new span at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Just in time for a fall hike or backpacking trip, there’s a new bridge on Doughton Park’s Grassy Gap Trail. In the past, the crossing at Basin Creek was often difficult, with only a long, precarious log spanning the waterway for hikers. Thanks to generous donations to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation by members of the Piedmont Hiking and Outing Club, the 30-foot bridge now makes the trek safer and more accessible.

It’s an inspiring example of a group recognizing a need on the Parkway and working together to make a project a reality. Under the direction of the National Park Service, the bridge was constructed by a crew from The Student Conservation Association.

This important connector provides access to the popular Basin Creek Trail up to Caudill Cabin and the rugged Bluff Ridge Primitive Trail that leads to the Bluff Mountain shelter near the Blue Ridge Parkway. Grassy Gap Trail is also the route from Longbottom Road to the backpacker campground at the confluence of Basin and Cove creeks.

To explore this area of Doughton Park, you get there from Longbottom Road between McGrady and Traphill, make the gentle but long hiking descent from the Parkway via Grassy Gap Trail, or take a steep trek on Bluff Ridge Primitive Trail.

Here is a map…

 

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