From the top Old Rag parking area walk back down SR600 0.4 miles to the junction of the Nicholson Hollow Trail. (If you parked in the overflow lot on 600 it is a 0.5 mile walk up to the Nicholson Hollow Trail) Turn left, then immediately right and in 75 yards cross Brokenback Mountain and Hughes rivers.
Continue on the Nicholson Hollow Trail re-crossing Hughes River then passing the Hannah Run Trail in 0.3 miles, cross Hughes River again and follow the Nicholson Hollow Trail for another 1.8 miles and arrive at Corbin Cabin. In another 0.2 miles past Corbin Cabin the Indian Run Trail enters from the left.
Turn left on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road for remaining 1.2 miles to the beginning of the loop and upper Old Rag Parking area at SR600. If you parked in the overflow lot continue down SR600 for another 0.4 miles, veer right at the Nicholson Hollow Trail post and continue down SR600 for the remaining 0.5 miles back to the parking area.
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 Click the icons in the map below for location shots
Calculate roughly how many calories you could burn on the Corbin Mountain hike:
=
Hiker
Reviews For The Corbin Mountain Hike (5 Most Recent)
Looking for a good hike, we decided to tackle the Corbin Mountain hike rather the deal with the crowds on Old Rag. We were not disappointed. While this hike does lack the rock scramble and incredible views of Old Rag, it is equally challenging in its length and assent.
As soon as we got to the split where the road heads up to the Old Rag trail head, the crowds thinned out and we did not see any other hikers until we returned to the fire road some 5 hours later. The isolation was splendid. The hike follows a stream for the first third and the climb slowly steepens as you approach the old cabin. The trail is well marked, but as it is not used by as many people it is more of a foot path for long stretches. The only surprise came after stopping for lunch at the cabin, the remaining mile or so of the ascent is much steeper than the trail to this point, so be prepared.
It was on this part of the hike were we spotted 3 black bears (all moving away from us thank goodness).
This is a great hike and a great workout. If you want views you won't get them here, but you will get a lot of solitude and a wonderful woodland experience.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wow, you really can park at Old Rag and do a different hike. Wasn't sure it was possible. But you really missed an opportunity if you wanted to go there, because the parking lot was as sparse as I've seen it, considering it was a Sunday in the middle of October, regardless of the temperature (it never rained).
Anyway, back to this area. Sadly the foliage is still patchier than I hoped for, but that gives me a reason to go yet somewhere else the next few weekends. The water really wasn't very high, and nowhere near as high as the photos show on this website.
The ranger at the parking lot mentioned it snowed at the upper reaches of the park, and that the central section of Skyline Drive was actually closed. I really didn't believe him, till I saw my first small patch of white on a fallen mossy tree at 2,100'. Somewhat let-down because of the patchy foliage and lack of picturesque waterworks, I perked up at this sight. And when I saw Corbin Cabin, with a roof of snow, I was definitely excited. By the time I was nearing the highpoint of Indian Run Trail, snow was everywhere, like it were the dead of winter, only there were a lot more leaves on the trees. Sadly though, as I escaped the shadow of Thoroughfare Mountain, the snow melt rapidly increased. There was barely any snow at all on Corbin Hollow Trail.
Any other day, this hike is a 3.5-star, at best. Not enough waterworks and certainly no views. But on this day, with the diversity of surroundings, from fading green forests with rich moss, to autumnal colored forests, to winter forests, and the fact that I only saw 1 group of people the whole time of the hike(about a dozen people, but still only 1 group) - and this included Weakly Hollow Rd / Old Rag return route - gives this hike 5 stars for once.
PS - My GPS gave me a distance of 12.3 miles and I parked at the lower parking lot. Only took me about 5.25 hours though, w/o stopping for lunch.
By:
Sarah
Rating:
Date of Hike: Wednesday, August 13, 2008
A nice, long day hike and alternative if Old Rag is overcrowded or you want something a little mellower and easier on the knees. While there are a few ascents, in general the grade is moderate. Much of the trail goes along a pretty stream bed (with opportunities for a dip at the start of nicholson hollow if you are so inclined), and the hike was quite verdant even in July, and I imagine would be spectacular with fall colors. Not much in terms of views or wildlife that we saw, but except for a group of 4 hikers we saw near Corbin canyon we were alone the entire hike. Although there were lots of downed trees, the trail was generally well maintained (the trees had been moved or partially cut) and the stream crossings were not challenging. We went up Nicholson hollow and down indian trail, which is what the park ranger recommended and seemed fine to me.
From the lower old rag parking lot, we hiked the trail in 5hrs 40 minutes with a half hour for lunch and a few brief stops on the way and I'd say our pace was moderate throughout.
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Take extra shoes for river crossings on this hike!! I made the mistake of not bothering to change shoes before I went across one and regretted it as my hiking shoes did not dry out overnight! The loop from Nicholson Hollow to Indian Run to Corbin Mountain Trail is about 11 miles with a challenging climb on Indian Run Trail. We did this loop as our first backpacking trip of the year and there are some nice camping spots below Corbin Cabin on Nicholson Hollow Trail. This was a challenging hike for me as I had not been backpacking in quite a long time. I recommend taking it slow up Indian Run Trail and slow down the downhill part of Corbin Mountain Trail to avoid injury. On Saturday (3-24-07) we hiked only about 4 miles to our campsite, then did about 7 on Sunday (3-25-07). It worked out well as our first backpacking trek of 2007!
By:
Rating:
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 06, 2004
I first hiked this one in July of 04 and then 11/04. Neither time was the water near as high as what Tony experienced. It's a nice hike. The initial elevation gain up to the cabin is barely noticeable except for a few short but steep climbs. If you're out of shape, however, the trek up Indian Run Trail will be very unforgiving. To make matters worse it has 2 or 3 false summits. I recommend that the hiker just take his/her time during that stretch of the trip. The rest of the hike is pretty enjoyable.
Spring and summer flowers include White Baneberry, Naked-flower Tick Trefoil (A seemingly leafless plant in the pea family), and Pale Jewel Weed (AKA Touch-Me-Nots) to name a few.
Beware of Stinging Nettles in the summer. The PATC does a great job of keeping these trimmed back near the trail but they can occasionally be found around the mid-section of the Nicholson Hollow Tr.
icon 
