Jack Branch Trail & River Ridge Loop via Polecat Holler Road
4.9 mi · ▲ 1,213 ft · 2 hr 14 min
Jack Branch Trail & River Ridge Loop via Polecat Holler Road is a 4.9-mile out-and-back near Paint Rock, NC. It climbs 1,213 ft, with sections as steep as 21% grade. It scores 77/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.
Elevation
0 mi1,296 – 2,379 ft · steepest grade: 21%5.0 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Jack Branch Trail 35.92044, -82.87354
Nearest town Paint Rock, NC
Directions
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Jack Branch Trail & River Ridge Loop via Polecat Holler Road
4.9 mi · ▲ 1,213 ft · 2 hr 14 min
Elevation 1,297–2,378 ft
Out & Back
Trailhead: Jack Branch Trail · 35.92044, -82.87354
Weather Sep 5: sunrise 7:07 AM · sunset 7:57 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start on Jack Branch Trail, heading NE.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto River Ridge Loop, heading E.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Jack Branch Trail, heading NE.
- 2 miTurn left onto Polecat Holler Road, heading NE.
- 0.2 miReach Jack Branch Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto Jack Branch Trail, heading W.
- 2 miTurn right onto River Ridge Loop, heading SW.
- 50 ftTurn left onto Jack Branch Trail, heading SW.
- 0.2 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Weather
Sunrise 7:07 AMSunset 7:57 PM
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from Jack Branch Trail Trailhead
- Bellcow Mountain–Bellcow Mountain Road, 4 sights 11.5 mi · ▲ 2,737 ft
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Hikes near Paint Rock, North Carolina