I hiked this trail on Saturday, July 4th, 2020, with my mother, brother, dad, and our dog. It was very desolate aside from a couple camping at the top of the lookout, but that's probably mostly due to the fact that a thunderstorm was booming in the distance and because it was late in the day.

To get to Sam Knob, take the Blue Ridge Parkway west. About 3/4 of a mile past the John Rock Overlook (mile marker 419.4), turn right onto Black Balsam Road. This road will be fairly narrow due to encroaching bushes (and aggressive parkers!), but after 1.3 miles you'll come upon a parking lot to your left. Park and head towards the bathroom house on the western side of the parking lot; there, at an unmarked trail, is the start of this hike.

The start of this hike is a bit tricky--not only because of the signless nature of this trail, but also because a short trail to a primitive camping area near the start of the hike appears at first glance more traveled than the trail itself! Stay right at the fork to avoid this mistake. It starts out being a bit muddy in spots, but is otherwise a solid start of the hike and eases you into things.

After hiking for about 1/2 a mile, you'll come across a large open field. To get to this field, you'll have to take a fairly long wooden walkway down a fairly steep and sloping section of the trail.

But once you get down in the meadow, you can see lots of lovely vegetation.

Once you get throuh the meadow, you'll reach a T in the trail; if you go right, you'll continue on Sam Knob Trail, while a left turn will take you down Flat Laurel Creek.

Immediately after turning right, the trail will quickly become darker and narrower as you get surrounded by mountain laurel. Some sections here are very steep and/or rocky and can be tricky to navigate at times, but not overly difficult.

After a deceptively long climb, the trail eventually reaches a nice clearing called, logically, Sam Knob Lookout. There are two major openings to get a nice view from, but the nothernmost one is, im my opinion, the superior view.

To see a map of the trail, click here.

To see more pictures from this hike, click here.