Parking
Use the Brinegar Cabin trailhead parking for the primary start; Basin Cove Overlook and additional Parkway access points allow segment hikes or a shuttle. Seasonal restrooms may be available at Brinegar Cabin when facilities are open.
Overview
About Bluff Mountain Trail
Why go
- Open meadows and broad Blue Ridge views along a long ridgeline
- Relatively level stretches make the one-way traverse feel approachable
Heads up
- Point-to-point logistics require a shuttle for the full route
- Exposed, uneven sections have limited water and few facilities
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Ridge Parkway map
Full mapElevation3,225–3,783 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Blue Ridge Parkway alerts
- ClosureNorth Carolina Helene-related closuresAvoid the closed Parkway section from MP 344.2–355.3; recreation of any kind is prohibited there.Official details
- ClosureVirginia Parkway closures and detourFollow the signed detour around the closed James River Bridge and avoid the closed Roanoke Mountain Loop. - James River Bridge (MP 63.5–63.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Blue Ridge Parkway Tour Guide
Your drive to Bluff Mountain Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Blue Ridge Parkway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Blue Ridge Parkway audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Brinegar Cabin Historic HomesteadListen
“Coming up is Brinegar Cabin, a preserved mountain homestead from the 1880s, right here in Doughton Park.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Ridge Parkway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Doughton Park Campground Trail Hub
- Air Bellows Overlook and the Windy Ridge
- Keeping the Meadows Open: Doughton Park’s Living Landscape
- Wildcat Rocks Overlook and Doughton Park
- 277 audio storiesacross Blue Ridge Parkway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Elk, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 112 trails, 232 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“…We knew we wanted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. The narration was impeccably timed. The facts and info provided were meaningful. Without it, the trip would not have been near as awesome.”
Trail guide
Hiking Bluff Mountain Trail
Choose the full traverseThe 7.
The 7.5-mile point-to-point route follows Bluff Mountain Trail from Brinegar Cabin to Basin Cove Overlook. Allow about 4.5 hours of hiking, plus time for stops and a shuttle; the line is stored once in walking order, while 7.5 miles is the one-way visitor distance.
Ridge meadows and long viewsThis is a ridge walk through Doughton Park, with open meadows, hardwood forest, and broad views…
This is a ridge walk through Doughton Park, with open meadows, hardwood forest, and broad views along the Parkway. The route passes near Bluff Mountain and the Fodder Stack area, so the scenery changes without turning into a collection of unrelated side trails. The trail’s relatively level stretches make it a good choice for a long scenic day, though it still has uneven ground and changing grades.
Plan the accessUse the Brinegar Cabin area as the primary start, with parking and seasonal restrooms when open.
Use the Brinegar Cabin area as the primary start, with parking and seasonal restrooms when open. Basin Cove Overlook is the other end; because this is point-to-point, arrange a shuttle or hike only a chosen section from one of the Parkway access points. There are no regular facilities along the route. Dogs are allowed on leash, and carry water because reliable sources are limited.
Walk for the viewExpect dirt, rocky patches, and occasional erosion.
Expect dirt, rocky patches, and occasional erosion. Exposed ridge sections can be windy and cold, especially in winter. For photos, include a little trail or nearby meadow foreground with the open mountain backdrop; it gives the long views a sense of scale.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Blue Ridge Parkway
1,208 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
1,020 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
2,257 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
200 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
1,126 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
255 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Blue Ridge Parkway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
