The Green Knob Trail is a 2.3-mile hike in Price Park that begins at Sims Pond Overlook and passes through woods, valleys, and meadows, over Sims Creek, under the Sims Creek Viaduct, and up to the 3,920′ Green Knob. The varied terrain makes this an excellent trail for tourists who want to see the many types of landscapes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. On October 11, 2015, the fall color was nearing peak.
Before setting out, check out our map of the Price Park trails.
Click on any photo to open the photo tour as a slideshow.
-
- The trail begins on this bridge over Sims Pond. From Sims Pond Overlook, Milepost 295.9, you can walk around either side of the fence and down a short hill to reach this bridge.
-
- The first part of the trail winds through a grove of towering trees on a narrow rhododendron-lined pathway.
-
- The first section of the trail passes through a grove of hemlock trees, so the damage to the hemlocks caused by the Wooly Adelgid is visible and severe.
-
- 0.2 miles in, the trail slopes steeply downward and Sims Creek crosses the trail.
-
- At several points along the trail, there are small cascades in Sims Creek.
-
- About 0.7 miles in, the Sims Creek Viaduct starts to show through the trees.
-
- The trail crosses directly under the Sims Creek Viaduct.
-
- The Parkway towers above you at mile 0.7.
-
- Round-leaved Boneset is still blooming along the trailsides.
-
- The woods end at this fence, where you pass through a cattle gate and enter a wide, bowl-shaped valley.
-
- The trail climbs upward through the center of the valley.
-
- This tree, located at the center of the valley, turns vibrant red each year. There is a bench under it, just before the trail gets very steep to climb out of the valley.
-
- Arrows clearly mark the entire trail, and this sign directs you out of the valley and back into woods & rhododendron thickets.
-
- The sunny valley still has patches of daisy fleabane scattered across it.
-
- The trees along the left side of the trail just before we re-entered the woods were a stunning, vibrant orange.
-
- The trail opens up into a flat and gentle path through a shaded section of woods.
-
- The trail briefly opens up onto a field of wildflowers. In fall, it is filled with blooming goldenrod.
-
- At the edge of this second field, a sign directs the hiker through a second cattle gate, back into the woods.
-
- The trail then descends steeply back downward towards the Parkway.
-
- At the bottom of the hill is a bench under a magnificent oak tree.
-
- The woods end abruptly at the two-mile mark, and the trail passes by a fence and into another valley.
-
- The wide, open valley comes into view suddenly at the edge of the woods. This moment is the highlight of the trail.
-
- The trail is edged with goldenrod, and the valley has a view of Grandfather Mountain to the southwest.
-
- The trail dead ends into the Parkway, where you turn left and walk a short ways back to Sims Pond Overlook.
