Jackie Steffan — 12.75 Miles — 7 Hours — Strenuous — 2650 ft. Elevation Gain —
The entire Art Loeb Trail is 30 miles point-to-point, which maybe one day we will complete, but the loop section we describe here has five 6000′ peaks (Black Balsam Knob, Tennent Mountain, Grassy Cove Top, Shining Rock, and Sam Knob). How many places in our area can you reach this many unique peaks at that elevation in such a short distance? We have some friends who tout Art Loeb as being their favorite hike and have done it dozens of times, so we had to give it a try. Spoiler alert, we also completely agree that it is one of the best hikes in the region.
Getting There
From I-26 (North of Asheville)
- Take exit onto I-240 W / I-26 E / US-19 S / US-23 S towards W Asheville
- Travel 0.7 mile, keep right at fork to continue on I-26E
- Travel 3.2 miles, take exit 31B to merge onto I-40
- Travel 1.8 miles, take exit 44 onto US-19 / US-23 toward Enka-Candler / W Asheville
- Use the right two lanes to turn right onto US-19S / US-23 S / US-74 ALT W
- Travel 3.0 miles, turn left onto NC-151 S
- Travel 11.8 miles, turn right onto the Blue Ridge Parkway
- Travel 14.6 miles, turn right onto Black Balsam Knob Road
- Travel 1.3 miles, reach the Sam Knob parking lot and dead-end. If lot is full, there is an alternate lot at the southern end of the Art Loeb Trail on Black Balsam Knob Road before reaching Sam Knob parking area
The Hike
We recommend arriving early because, 1. it’s a long day hike, and 2. it is very popular so expect the lot to fill up quickly. When we arrived in late April, we ended up having to park in the grass off the edge of the road because all the parking spaces were full.
If doing the entire loop hike, we recommend completing Art Loeb Trail first, then finishing with Sam Knob. From the parking area, head towards what looks like a large service road (known as the Ivestor Gap Trail) to begin the hike. After about 200′, find the Art Loeb Spur Trail to the right that ascends a hill fairly quickly. This will get your heart rate up quickly! The spur trail is 0.4 mile, where you start to get a few peak-a-boo views through the scrub brush.
You will then reach a trail junction with the Art Loeb Trail; you will continue left/north (right/south simply takes you back to the beginning of the Art Loeb Trail in 0.4 miles from the alternate parking area detailed above). Continuing left, you quickly reach the first peak in 0.3 mile, Black Balsam Knob, 6214′ elevation, the trail’s highest point. There is nothing quite like a rewarding view in under one mile! For that reason, this part of the trail can be pretty crowded, but don’t worry, that will shortly change. There are a couple trails on top of Black Balsam Knob, but we recommend staying right to reach the true overlook and peak. At the overlook, there is a nice plaque honoring Arthur Loeb, who was a significant activist for the Carolina Mountain Club (CMC).
After taking in the wonderful views, continue north on the Art Loeb Trail. After 0.2 miles, you reach a trail junction with Black Balsam Summit Trail. We recommend keeping left to stay on the Art Loeb Trail, although either one will get you to the same place. Left is about a 0.7 mile trail, while right is about 0.5 mile, with approximately the same elevation loss of 250′. After reaching the next junction where Art Loeb and Black Balsam Summit Trails reconnect, continue right on Art Loeb towards Tennent Mountain. In about 0.3 mile, you will reach the summit of Tennent Mountain, 6040′.
After enjoying those views, continue north on Art Loeb for 0.6 mile. The trail will intersect with the Ivestor Gap Trail, the original service-looking road we started on. Continue on Art Loeb to the right. After another 0.3 mile, you will reach Ivestor Gap which appears a bit confusing at first. The trail again intersects with the Ivestor Gap Trail and several others. Continue right for about 100′, then take a left back onto Art Loeb Trail. Do not take Graveyard Ridge Trail.
Back on Art Loeb, at the time we went at least, the trail to the left up to Grassy Cove Top was closed for conservation efforts, so we continued right on Art Loeb. That trail to the left, if open, is a faster way to the top of Grassy Cove Top, but much steeper. The trail to the right, which loops around the peak, is much gentler anyway. From Ivestor Gap, you will reach another trail junction in 0.4 mile, which is a connector to Greasy Cove Trail. Stay left on Art Loeb.
After 0.3 mile, keep an eye out for a small path to the left that proceeds quickly uphill. This small trail is the path up to Grassy Cove Top. Take this trail, or seemingly what used to be a trail due to how overgrown it was, for 0.1 mile to reach Grassy Cove Top peak, 6050′. This is where we stopped for lunch, and had the entire area to ourselves. The closed path from one direction and the severely overgrown path seem to deter people. The views and seclusion are definitely worth the short bushwhacking endeavor.
When ready to continue onward, retrace your steps back down the overgrown path to rejoin Art Loeb. Continue straight (north) for 1 mile. You’ll notice your surroundings changing a bit from open bald landscape to more coniferous forest. You’ll reach an intersection with Shining Creek Trail, but continue straight on Art Loeb. In about 300′, you’ll reach another large trail junction. This is where we will depart from Art Loeb for the rest of our journey.
Continue right/straight on Old Butt Knob Trail for 0.1 mile. You’ll then reach another trail junction, where you will bear left. Either direction ultimately gets you to the same place though, the left is just much more interesting. You’ll soon reach Shining Rock Bluffs, which are beautiful, and steeply ascend the path skirting the side of them. We decided to explore what the top of the bluffs looked like, but were more impressed by the views from below.
After 0.2 mile from where you bore left, you reach the next junction, which is where the left and right trails meet back up. Continue left for 0.1 mile, and then continue left again. After another approximately 0.1 mile, you reach the unique peak, Shining Rock, 6001′. This peak has spectacular white quartzite rocks to explore and scramble around, in addition to great views.
Shining Rock is the last peak/view for awhile on this loop hike, so be sure to take it in. When ready, return the way you came, roughly 0.5 mile, bearing right twice, passing by Shining Rock Bluffs again, and taking the short stint on Old Butt Knob Trail to return to the trail junction with Art Loeb. We continued north on Art Loeb for a little bit here just to see if we could get another view of the Shining Rock Bluffs from below, but we couldn’t, so we wouldn’t recommend this unless you just want to extend your hike.
Follow the below directions for the loop hike, but there is absolutely nothing stopping you from returning on Art Loeb southbound to re-enjoy the wonderful views. Admittedly, the return part of this loop hike doesn’t offer much besides an expedited, easier trail; 4 miles, 380′ elevation gain/loss vs. 4.5 miles, 950′ gain/loss.
So from the trail junction with Art Loeb and Old Butt Knob Trail, take a right, and then immediate left to start on Little East Fork Trail. Travel 0.4 mile through the woods, before reaching another trail junction.
This is where we begin our return on the Ivestor Gap Trail, so continue left at the fork. After 1.5 miles, you will reach Ivestor Gap again, where you will keep right on the Ivestor Gap Trail. Following the trail for another 0.4 miles, you again intersect with the Art Loeb Trail, and will keep right again. After 0.1 mile, you will reach an intersection with Fork Mountain Trail, but you will continue straight/left on Ivestor Gap Trail. In another 0.7 mile, you reach an intersection with a spur trail that connects back to Art Loeb, in-between Black Balsam and Tennent, but you will continue straight/right on Ivestor Gap Trail. Finally after an additional 1 mile, you reach the parking area at Sam Knob.
At this point, you can call it a day for an ~10 mile loop hike on the Art Loeb Trail, or proceed to the out-and-back hike to Sam Knob below.
Sam Knob Trail
If you have enough energy left from the Art Loeb Trail, Sam Knob is a great way to bag another 6K summit from the same parking area. The trail is 2.4 miles RT with 370′ elevation gain. On our trip, we weren’t able to fully appreciate the views from Sam Knob due to an incoming storm.
From the parking area, near the restrooms, pass by a gate to begin on a gravel path. In about 0.5 mile, you will reach a bunch of stairs descending down to Sam Knob Meadow. Continue through the meadow for about 0.1 mile. From the trail junction at the base of the mountain, near the tree line, continue right on Sam Knob. This section of the trail is fairly steep at times, but there was evidence of a massive amount of recent trail maintenance work to make the path much better. We always take time to appreciate the work of trail maintainers! After 0.6 mile, you will reach the summit of Sam Knob, 6050′. There are several paths to explore on the top to various view-points. When ready to return, simply retrace your steps back to the parking area.
