At the start of the trail, you will see a caution sign that warns you that the trail is steep, has uneven footings and steep dropoffs. Here we decided to hike up the other side of Backbone Rock. After hiking the one side of Backbone Rock, we made our way back across the street to the area next to the parking lot. At the base of the trail, we came across a gentleman on his way to try his hand at fishing in the creek. After a few minutes of watching cars pass through Backbone Rock, we turned around and made our way back down the steps towards the picnic pavillion and creek. It did look like you could walk out onto the top/center of Backbone Rock Tunnel if you had the nerve, but I did not venture out past the large open area at the top of the trail steps. It was a little scary, being that there is no guard-rail, but I just kept my distance from the edge. You could walk right over near the edge and look down on the cars that were driving up the road and passing through Backbone Rock Tunnel on State Rd 133. Once at the top we came to an opening covered in fallen pine needles. The steps were close together for the most part, but you definately want to watch your footing as the uneven rocks can get slippery (especially if wet or covered in fallen leaves, moss & wet dirt). There was a open metal handrail that zig zagged along the trail to the top. This trail started out on a dirt path and turned into a bunch of steps carved into rock. After streching our legs & resting beside the creek for a few minutes, we turned around and walked over towards one of the hiking trails that leads up to the top of Backbone Rock. The creek was really beautiful with the water flowing over the river rocks. Here we came upon Beaverdam Creek and a small log cabin style picnic pavillion.
We then walked through the tunnel and across the street. Here we got out and took at look at the short tunnel that was blasted in the rock by the Beaver Dam Railway Company around the year of 1900. Once at Bacbone Rock, we parked our car in the small parking lot that is located on the right hand side of the road once you pass through Backbone Rock Tunnel. We had been to Backbone Rock once over 10 years ago & thought it would be a nice place to revisit.and be a nice place to stretch our legs. We were driving Interstate 81 and had searched for activities along our route of travel. My husband and I decided to stop at Backbone Rock & Backbone Rock Waterfall on our way back from our trip to Gatlinburg, TN. Backbone Rock is located in the Cherokee National Forest near Damascus, VA and Shady Valley, TN.
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