I hiked this trail on Saturday, July 24th, 2021 with one friend.

This trail is fairly difficult to reach; I strongly recommend a car with AWD/4WD, as my 2WD Hyundai Santa Fe had made it up, but struggled in a few steep spots with slick gravel. It is also pretty deep into the woods, down at least two gravel roads. From the community of Apple Grove, follow Little Horse Creek Rd (SR 1324) west; it changes its name eventually to Coy Ham Rd; follow Coy Ham Rd for 1.4 miles until you turn right to continue down Coy Ham Rd. After 3/4 of a mile, you'll come upon Fairview Church Rd; turn left and drive for 1.5 miles. Then, turn right onto Rock Fence Rd; follow this road for another 3/4 mile, where a right will take you to the entrance of Pond Mountain Game Lands.

Coming from the direction of SR 1358 (Wheenlin Ridge Rd, in the northeast); at the intersection where SR 1358 meets Meadowview Mennonite Church, head east down Tucker Rd. After a quarter of a mile, turn left to stay on Tucker Rd and follow it for a mile. After a mile, turn right onto Fairview Church Road; from there, the directions mesh with the above.

Coming from the Laurel township area (the west), turn off NC 167 (Big Laurel Rd) onto Flatwood Rd; continue on Flatwood Rd and/or Flatwood Post Office Rd for 6.5 miles until you turn right on Rock Fence Rd. After about a mile, the park entrance will appear on your left. Truthfully, there's not really a way to approach this hike from the north.

From there, follow the gravel road as far as you can until you reach a parking lot and a closed gate; seasonally, the top one may be open, which would allow you to hike further, but it is not open often. When I was there, it was closed. The parking area itself has a small side trail which I did not fully explore, as well as a decent looking (probably illegal) backcountry camping area. Continue to follow the gravel road.

After a little bit of hiking, you'll reach the aforementioned seasonal gate, with its own official camping area. Go around the gate, past a large barn building, and continue down the gravel trail. It becomes more grassy and barren at this point, but remains a gravel car path.

After a mile of hiking, you'll meet a T in the trail; turn left. After another quarter mile, you'll come across a Y-shaped branch in the trail. The right turn is very overgrown and hard to see, but is the turn you'll want to take. To help locate it, look out for the sign which directs hunters to the hunt camp.

Unfortunately, I didn't see this turn on the way in, and instead stayed left and then crossed over the mountain which can be seen between the two trails on the topographic map. After passing some rows of corn, you'll see a second hunt camp sign; use this as your memo to turn right and follow the very faint trail. After some fairly steep and rough hiking and a second gate, you'll eventually emerge from the trees and spot an old cabin and a smaller building believed to be the generator house in the foreground.

After that, you'll see a large, decimated house which belonged to a former dentist; technically, the house is private property and should not be trespassed. Hikers online report that the owners do occaisionally come check for miscreants. You can also get some great views from Glenn Bald of the surrounding mountains.

From there, just follow the trail away from the house generally northeasterly. Eventually, you'll reach the tri-point! This spot offers spectacular views of the the southwestern-most edge of Virginia.

For a map of the trail click here.

Browse through other pictures from the trail by clicking here.