Conley Cove Trail
Conley Cove is a trail of the Linville Gorge Wilderness area that goes from its trailhead by Old NC 105 Hwy to the bottom of the gorge by the Linville river’s west shore. The trail is relatively well maintained (compared to other trails in the area) and has nicely graded switchbacks all the way to the bottom.
There are a few parking spots right by the trailhead, but if you arrive from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in the weekends, expect to have to park your car further away and walk back to the trailhead.
It took me about one hour to hike down, at a leisure pace, the 1.6 miles to the river bank. From there, I hiked north along the intersecting Linville Gorge trail for another mile, all the way to the intersection with the Spence Ridge trail, the site of the “broken” bridge that got washed out by floods years ago. From there I doubled back and hiked back up to the Conley Cove trailhead to finish the day with a 1600 ft elevation gain workout. It was definitely worth the effort!
Conley Cove Trail – flower bushes along the way in early June
The Conley Cove trail ends by the west shore of the Linville river, where it intersects with the Linville Gorge trail, with views to Table Rock to the south.
After the Conley Cove Trail ends by the Linville River, follow the intersecting Linville Gorge Trail to the north to find great places to rest, have a snack, camp or just appreciate the cascades and rock formations along the river.
Nice views along the Linville Gorge Trail, such as this view of Hawksbill Mountain as the backdrop for cascades and rock formations along the Linville River.
For a more detailed view of my day hike down the Conley Cove trail in June, 2020, here is the GPS data of the activity:
More in this series
Useful links
- AllTrails – Conley Cove Trail
- AllTrails – Spence Ridge Trail
- USDA Forest Service – Linville Gorge Wilderness information
- Linville Gorge Wilderness – Wikipedia
