I hiked this trail on October 16th, 2021 with my girlfriend. While the main objective of the trip had been to drive the unpaved section of NC 197 between Burnsville and Barnardsville, we camped near and hiked several trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway, including this hike at the site of the former Rattlesnake Lodge.

While this site is listed in the Blue Ridge Parkway section and organized based on its mile marker on the parkway, we actually hiked the trail from the trailhead along Ox Creek Rd, rather than the shorter route from the Parkway.

The history of this intersting site has been detailed elsewhere, so I won't write too much on it. However, it is worth noting that the points of interest attached to the AllTrails map are not correct.

The trail starts with a short incline which eventually gives you a great vista of the foothills of the Blue Ridge. A little more hiking takes you to the ruins of the lodge

A little more hiking takes you to the remains of what I believe to be the pool house, as well as the remains of a gnarled tree.

More hiking takes you to a steeper and more desolate part of the trail. The only real feature that I encountered in this area was this pile of rocks which seemed to function as some sort of water collection basin or well.