Gordon Pond–Butterfly Alley Trail, 5 sights is a 12.1-mile out-and-back in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park near Bolivar, WV. The route reaches Gordon Pond at the turnaround, 5.9 miles in. It climbs 1,960 ft, with sections as steep as 19% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 8/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi262 – 1,155 ft · steepest grade: 19%12.6 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Park Service Road 39.31639, -77.75522
Nearest town Bolivar, WV
Directions
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Gordon Pond–Butterfly Alley Trail, 5 sights
12.1 mi · ▲ 1,960 ft · 5 hr 1 min
Elevation 261–1,154 ft
Out & Back · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Trailhead: Park Service Road · 39.31639, -77.75522
Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:58 AM · sunset 7:13 PM
Transit-accessible: NPS Shuttle Bus Station stop 164 m from the trailhead · Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Park Service Road, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading SW.
- 250 ftTurn right, heading S.
- 50 ftSharp right onto Lower Town Trail, heading NW.
- 0.9 miTurn right onto Appalachian National Scenic Trail, heading E.
- 1.3 miSharp right onto Appalachian Trail, heading E.
- 2.7 miTurn left onto Butterfly Alley Trail, heading S.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Wood Thrush Trail, heading E.
- 0.5 miBear left onto Legacy Loop, heading NE.
- 200 ftPass Gordon Pond.
- 0.3 miReach Gordon Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.3 miBear right onto Wood Thrush Trail, heading SW.
- 0.5 miTurn right onto Butterfly Alley Trail, heading S.
- 0.3 miTurn right onto Appalachian Trail, heading W.
- 2.7 miSharp left onto Appalachian National Scenic Trail, heading NE.
- 1.3 miTurn left onto Lower Town Trail, heading NW.
- 0.9 miSharp left, heading SW.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading SW.
- 250 ftTurn left onto Park Service Road, heading SW.
- 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
92% dirt5% paved2% gravel1% unspecified
Weather
Sunrise 6:58 AMSunset 7:13 PM
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: NPS Shuttle Bus Station stop 164 m from the trailhead
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Park Service Road Trailhead
- Split Rock–Potomac Water Gap, 4 sights 7.3 mi · ▲ 1,598 ft
- River Overlook–Civil War Earthwork Trail, 3 sights 1.7 mi · ▲ 57 ft
- Camp Hill–Lake Quigley, 3 summits 2.3 mi · ▲ 395 ft
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