Can't make it to Scotland or Switzerland anytime soon to hike those spectacular high mountain meadows? Well right here in the Old Dominion we have the next best thing! Every hiker in the mid-Atlantic should hike Cold Mountain at least once. The 360° meadow views from the saddle are are some of the best on the east coast.
Cold Mountain is the sister circuit to the Mount Pleasant hike on the next ridge. If you are looking for a slightly longer hike, or a backpack, consider combining this hike with the Mount Pleasant route for a combined 11.3 mile figure eight circuit.
From the parking area continue down FS48 for 0.2 miles. Just before the road splits the Hotel Trail will be on the right marked by two posts with blue blazes. Head up the blue blazed trail for 0.1 miles arriving at a wooden horse gate (the trail on the left leads down to the Mount Pleasant parking area). Stay straight on the Hotel Trail passing through the horse gate. Descend slightly, then in 0.6 miles head back uphill climbing a spur of Cold Mountain.
Reach the spur ridge entering a clearing 0.4 miles from beginning your ascent. At the end of the clearing is one of the prettiest back country campsites in the Blue Ridge. Situated among a stand of mature oak, this site is suitable for multiple tents.
On the southwest side of the campsite, or on its right corner as you approached, the blue blazed trail descends the spur. Continue to follow the blue blazed trail, cross a small stream, then arrive at the crest of a second spur in 1.5 miles (there is an overgrown abandoned trail on the left here).
Continue downhill on the blue blazed trail into Cowcamp Gap, cross Little Cove Creek, then in 200 yards Cowcamp Gap Shelter is on your right. 100 yards to the right/southeast of the shelter in is a large campsite suitable for 4-6 tents, and 75 yards to the left/northwest of the shelter is a spring and the source of Little Cove Creek.
Continue up the blue blazed trail, on the opposite side of the creek than the shelter, and in 75 yards turn left on the Hotel Trail at the sign towards the Appalachian Trail (AT). (turning right and crossing Little Cove Creek at this point leads back to the spring and shelter. note: this side trail is also blue blazed)
Continue up the Hotel Trail for 0.5 miles to the intersection of the AT. Turn right/north on the white blazed AT and make two switchbacks, pass two view points, then arrive at the first open meadow and 4033ft summit of Cold Mountain in 1.2 miles. Continue, passing through a small stand of trees before reaching the the main Cold Mountain saddle, and largest of the high mountain meadows. The saddle provides a 360° panoramas with views of Pompey Mountain and Mount Pleasant.
After re-entering the forest at the end of the meadow, follow the white blazed AT as it winds its way downhill for the remaining 0.6 miles back to FS48 and hike parking area on the right.
Interactive Hike Map BelowPrintable
Topo Hike Map (PDF) Hike route in Drag the map with your mouse using the icon Zoom with the controls on the left Mouse-over the icons in the map below for location shots
Calculate roughly how many calories you could burn on the Cold Mountain hike:
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Hiker
Reviews For The Cold Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
Great backpacking trip - BMRS in VA Beach really hooked us up with a great place to go.
We did the Cold Mountain/Mt Pleasant routes together. Started at Cold Mountain, and then hiked to the summit of Mount Pleasant to Camp.
Water Source by the Cowgamp shelter was as advertised. Found a stream (marked on the Topo) on the way to Mount Pleasant Summit on the Western Branch of the trail. Did not check other marked watersource in the vicinity of the summit - but it looked like steep going to get down there.
Camping on summit was windy, but the high-use areas were sheltered. Suggest that the marked camping area on the Mount Pleasant map will be a better site - you can go to the summit as a side hike, w/o packs, and it will be more enjoyable.
If anyone has another suggested entry level backpacking trip, we're interested in your suggestion- send me an email.
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Date of Hike: Sunday, July 19, 2009
There's something truly civilized about the Cold Mountain / Mt. Pleasant / Pompey circuit. My trail dog Willie and I camped at the lower meadow on Cold Mountain on Saturday night, and rose early to break camp and hike the balance of the 11.3 mile figure 8 circuit. It was a perfect night, a perfect day, and a spectacular hike! The lower meadow on Hotel Trail is the place to camp . . . there's room at the Shelter, but it's heavily wooded and cramped with more than 2 tents. The meadow is huge, and we had an amazing view of the stars. There's camping at the parking lot for Hotel Trail / Mt. Pleasant for car campers, and there's a few good (but rocky) spots at the top of Mt. Pleasant . . . but the bees were busy, and the trails were busier (on Mt. Pleasant). This has become my favorite hike (second perhaps to Mt. Rogers, but easier access). Three 4,000 plus footers in 6-7 hours. Trails are VERY well marked . . . just fantastic.
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Cool Breeze
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Date of Hike: Saturday, June 27, 2009
This was a very easy hike, but the views were great. There's nothing technical about this hike. Hiking shoes are nice, but a good pair of walking shoes will get you through it just fine. I used a little more than a liter of water, but a hot day will put you in the sun often. The day me and my girls (8 and 11) did this trail - we had clear skies - the only way I would recommend this hike otherwise you lose a lot of the magic around you. We took this trail around hitting Cold Mountain at the very end. This loop brings you through some beautiful mountain meadows that are ideal for a lazy lunch break. There's a few small streams to marvel at. The real treat is walking up Cold Mountain itself. There are several places indicated by cameras on the map that give excellent views of the valley below. Cold Mountain itself has a wide open summit with a set of boulders and a marker that also make a great place for a lazy lunch. Leaving the summit is another beautiful walk along a ridgeline meadow that gives excellent views. The walk back to the car from the summit is a quick walk.
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Date of Hike: Sunday, February 08, 2009
Nice weather, accompanied by generous amounts of mud! We encountered lots of deer throughout the hike. The trail is marked so well, much better than the markings inside SNP. The balds were very much like Scotland, especially with the squishy, watery mud that was all along the trail. We had lunch at the gap shelter, and shared conversation with a couple who were gearing up to head to GA to through-hike the AT this summer. I was not expecting the hike to be used so much, it was pretty busy. I would love to return to do some backcountry camping, however I wonder if it would be crowded?
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Kim & Paul
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Date of Hike: Saturday, November 01, 2008
We did this hike on a Saturday afternoon and enjoyed it immensely! The trail was varied and beautiful throughout. The views from the top of the ridge are spectacular! The meadow at the end was beautiful. The write-up on this site is accurate and very helpful. We'll definitely do it again someday.
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