8/19/17 Saturday
6.6-mile loop
I had never visited Kings Gap State Park before today. A network of trails traverses the hilly landscape of the park, making for any length and combination of hiking possibilities. The well-maintained and mapped trails were easy to walk and easy to follow. We started with the Scenic Vista Trail, which as promised had a decent view of the Cumberland Valley at one point.
We followed that down to the Watershed Trail, which led to the Boundary Trail, then we took a detour on the Locust Point Trail. This path led to a fern-filled opening with a bench. There was not much of a view, but it was a remote and pleasant setting to sit for a break.
We followed the remainder of the mile-long Locust Point path back to the Boundary Trail. This led us downhill to a road-crossing and the most interesting section of hiking of the day—the Ridge Overlook Trail. This was the steepest trail of the day, as it followed the spine of the ridge and provided some good views.
We drove by the mansion on the hilltop on the way out.
