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:
=
Hiker
Reviews For The Cold Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
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?
By:
Kim & Paul
Rating:
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.
By:
willhike
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, October 10, 2008
I did this hike on Friday to avoid the weekend crowds. The leaves are beginning to change and the views were spectacular. I'd recommend this hike to anyone looking for an easily do-able day hike. The major uphill portion was not bad at all and broken up with several stops for taking in the vista.
We did this hike in a figure-8 loop with Mt. Pleasant. We camped overnight at the suggested campsite on the review, which is rated as the best in the GMNF. The campsite was impressive, and the grass/moss was nice to sleep on and didn't dirty our gear overnight. There is plenty of cover in case it rains as well (as was our case). The camping at the shelter, however, is very good as well. The shelter is in excellent shape, and there are several camping sites near the shelter. The nice thing about the shelter is that there is plenty of cover, reliable water source and an out-house.
The balds of Cold Mountain were excellent, although we were not rewarded with any views due to the cloud/fog cover. The vistas on the way up Cold Moutain were in excellent condition - trees were not blocking these views and it was nice to have a nice place to take a break on the way up (potentially - depends on weather). I see this hike as a poor-man's Black Balsam Knob (in NC). If you like this hike, then I'd highly suggest the balds of Black Balsam just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in NC in the Shining Rock Wilderness area. Black Balsam Knob is great because you can camp on the bald, no such luck on Cold Mountain - it is prohibited.
The bald on Cold Mountain is fairly large, and the views looked to be (potentially) better than those of similar bald hikes like Gregory Bald in the Smokies. If you're looking to see a sunrise from the bald, it'd be a pretty far hike to get from the parking lot or the shelter at the base of Cold Mountain to the summit. You'd be better off packing up early and hiking to the top. (For instance, at Gregory Bald, the campsite is only 0.5 miles below the bald, providing a good 'basecamp'). Enjoy!
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Friday, September 19, 2008
Me and my wife just hiked yesterday and it was awesome! We hiked up to the perfect camp site that's about a mile up from the parking lot and had it all to ourselves. In the middle of the night we heard lots of loud howling that sounded just like wolves, does anyone know if that is possible for the Cole mnt. area? If so, then that makes the hike even cooler. we took our time going up to the peak, stopped at Cow Camp Shelter and left a note in the journal, and made lunch at the first overlook. Weather was beautiful and the view from the top was amazing.
icon 
