Jackie Steffan — 7.5 mile loop — 4 hours — Strenuous — 1389′ elevation gain —
We kept hearing about Devil’s Bathtub when we moved to the area, but it took us quite awhile to finally visit. The main feature on the trail is a unique crystal-clear, deep pool. The trail can is rather popular, so make sure to plan accordingly and be mindful of staying on the trail and respecting the area for others to also enjoy.
Getting There
From I-26 (Kingsport area)
- Continue straight onto US-23N
- Travel 2.8 miles, then keep left to stay on US-23N, entering Virginia
- Travel 4.4 miles, then take a slight right onto Kane St.
- Travel 0.3 mile, turn right onto Jones St.
- Travel 0.3 mile, turn right onto E Jackson St.
- Travel 0.2 mile, and continue straight onto VA-71N / E Jackson St.
- Travel 0.8 mile, then turn left on VA-72 N
- Travel 10.9 miles, then turn left onto State Rte 619
- Travel 4.4 miles, and take a slight left onto Forest Service Begley and follow the gravel road back to the main parking area loop
- Near the end of this 4.4 miles, before turning on the Forest Service road, you will pass the first parking area for Devil’s Bathtub.
- The main parking area can be very difficult to access unless you have a high-clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle. If you cannot make it, you can backtrack to parking area mentioned in the bullet above and extend the hike a little longer (roughly 1 mile each way) or hitch a ride from someone.
The Hike
The Devil’s Bathtub hike begins from the main parking area by climbing a few stairs to reach the wide trail. You will shortly have a stream crossing with some nice rock steps to hop across.
After the crossing, you will arrive at a trail split. You have two options:
- Left route is our recommendation and described below.
- Right route would involve an extremely steep ascent in the first mile, while reaching Devil’s Bathtub after around 5 miles.
Left Route
This is the most direct way to reach Devil’s Bathtub. It is about a 2 mile trek to reach the crystal-clear blue pool. There have been some recent trail maintenance (as of 2023/2024) that has improved the trail route on the way. You will still have many stream crossings, most fairly simple, but could be challenging if they are flooded. Along the way, you will also see some incredible rock cliffs rising above the trail.
Once you reach Devil’s Bathtub, you must take a mildly precarious walk along a slim rock ledge; however, someone has helpfully added a rope to hold on to maintain balance. Hang out, explore, and enjoy the area; admire how the sunlight filtering in changes the view/color. The waterfall cascade feeding the pool is also quite nice. A little further upstream from Devil’s Bathtub, you’ll find some other cascades and pools. A lot of people choose to swim and even jump in during the summer, but we chose not to due to the colder air temperatures when we arrived in the Fall. On cloudier days or earlier in the morning, the water color will not be quite as vibrant, but still beautiful.
For a shorter, easier hiking day, one could do an out-and-back on this route for around a 4 mile hike.
If you would rather do the full loop hike we took, make your way back to the main trail. When you meet back with the trail, turn right to continue your way around the loop. You will follow the creek for awhile. You’ll leave the creek area and begin to notice the steady elevation gain for the next 2 miles. Most of the rest of the hike will be heavily wooded forest landscape.
You eventually reach a ridgeline and will continue at a fairly consistent elevation for about 2.5 miles. The remaining 1.5 miles will be a steep downhill descent back to the original trail split, dropping about 1100′. There is only one major trail intersection in this stretch; simply continue right at this intersection. Once you reach the original split, turn left and return back to the parking area.
