Shenandoah National Park: Turk Branch Trail
Solitude rules on this 6.2-mile out-and-back past the headwaters of a lively mountain stream where deer and black bears roam by the skeleton of a weatherbeaten homestead.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 4.9
Waypoints
TBT001
Location: 38.1292152404785, -78.7847137451172
Trail leads S, staying near Skyline Drive
TBT005
Location: 38.1174011230469, -78.7786483764648
Middle fork of the Turk; descend E
TBT006
Location: 38.1182670593262, -78.7732467651367
Trail crosses main stem and stays mostly along rumbling creek
TBT009
Location: 38.1239318847656, -78.7638168334961
Huge pools swirl in the South Fork of the Moormans River; stay on E side of river
TBT010
Location: 38.1262168884277, -78.761962890625
Explore an old chimney and homestead foundation in the woods, the eroding evidence
of the families who lived here before the park was established; break for lunch and return to car
TBT002
Location: 38.1249008178711, -78.7852554321289
Begin knee-buckling descent into wooded valley
TBT008
Location: 38.1213645935059, -78.7659301757812
Path widens and leaves park
TBT007
Location: 38.1187324523926, -78.7677841186524
Swing L; trail straddles park boundary
TBT003
Location: 38.1235542297363, -78.7769012451172
Path switchbacks down loose grade where headwaters of Turk Branch begin
TBT004
Location: 38.1202239990234, -78.7780532836914
Trail undulates through undergrowth of mountain laurel
