The Priest is just one mountain in this area that makes up the well named Cardinal Range; with Spy Rock, The Little Priest, The Friar, The Little Friar, and The Cardinal. Although a shorter out/back hike this can be combined with the Crabtree Falls hike to make a longer 9.2 mile hike from the lower Crabtree Falls parking area.
From the upper Crabtree Falls parking area on Crabtree Meadows Road SR826 hike up the now steeper rutted portion of SR826 for 0.5 miles to the ridge, where the Appalachian Trail crosses SR826.
Turn left on the white blazed Appalachian Trail for the 0.9 mile climb to The Priest shelter intersection, gaining 630ft. The Spur Trail down to the shelter is about 0.1 miles where there are plenty of campsites. There is a natural spring about 10 yards behind the shelter.
In the event the area near the shelter is crowded, there is a great flat spot with a fire pit on the right as you are coming down the spur trail just before a slight drop off towards the shelter. Take a right and walk in about 40 yards from the trail.
From the shelter spur trail continue following the A.T. for 0.3 miles north to The Priest Overlook spur trail on your left. Look for a rock cairn to lead you to the overlook.
To return, retrace the route back to the parking area on Crabtree Meadows Road SR826.
If you are looking to make this hike a backpack you can also combine The Priest, Spy Rock and Crabtree Falls as a shuttle hike.
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Hiker
Reviews For The The Priest Hike (5 Most Recent)
16-18 Dec 11, 3 day backpacking trip from Lower falls parking to The Priest and return the same way. Temps were upper 30's during the day, dropped to 21 Saturday night on The Priest. The stairs were icy going up on Saturday buy dry on Sunday going down. Weather was clear with sunshine. The priest has a very nice camping area suitable for multiple tents, the shelter can take a pretty good sized group. The spring at the shelter was flowing strong. From the top of the falls to the upper parking lot were 3 very nice camping areas on the creek. The area around the upper parking lot is not well marked at all and I didn't see any signs making it clear the direction to the AT. The views from the Priest were pretty terrific and well worth the 15 minute walk from the campsite.
By:
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Date of Hike: Friday, November 04, 2011
Excellent hike! Amazing views and great campsites. Not too challenging but not boring or weak. Great for beginners that want a little vertical challenge and enough of a view payoff to satisfy a more seasoned backpacker.
If anyone finds a purple leash and a Surefire flashlight at the campsite at the junction of the Priest Shelter spur and the AT, shoot me a line!
By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, August 27, 2011
I hiked Crabtree Falls, The Priest Wilderness, and Spy Rock as a day hike, taking 8.5 hours. I did it the day we had the hurricane, so solitude was definitely not a problem. I parked at the first parking area and followed the small trail up to the second parking area and restrooms. I continued up the trail to the top of Crabtree, and took the trail to the right and eventually saw blue blaze. Once reaching a clearing where restrooms were available and also a map showing the surrounding trails, I took the gravel road to the left heading to the AT in about .5 miles. There were large boulders intersecting the road, with white blaze. To the left was there was a map showing the area, and I made it to the Priest Wilderness and Shelter in about .9 miles,. I turned around and went back to the gravel road and continued on to Spy Rock. I passed a second fire road and kept steady on the trail until reaching Spy Rock. Once reaching the huge rock, I was able to navigate my way up, which was quite the challenge with all of the wind and rain. It was well worth it once reaching the top. The view was amazing! Follow the trail back and when coming back to the marked rocks by the gravel road, head back left to the restrooms and take the right to get back to Crabtree. All together it was a great hike, well worth the challenge, and definitely happy to see the couple of restrooms along the way (bring your own toilet paper). Saw a few deer but other than that it was quite and peaceful.
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Jacob
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Date of Hike: Sunday, September 26, 2010
I did The Priest yesterday on a cool, rainy Sunday afternoon. The hike was great and the views from the top were amazing. The Priest AT shelter was cool to stop by as well.
Meadows Lane/road up to the upper crabtree falls lot can be good or bad based on your perceptions. I am from Arkansas, and the road had been newly resurfaced, and I made it up fine in my Honda Accord. But, I may be more accustomed than others to driving dirt roads.
By:
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Date of Hike: Sunday, September 19, 2010
The hike is great, however the access road (Meadows Lane) to the parking area is not suitable for front-wheel-drive cars.
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