Old Butt Knob and Shining Rock Loop

Pisgah National Forest, NC Smokies + Southern Blue Ridge Mountains

Trip stats

Distance
8.4 mi
Net Gain
3,100 ft
Time
4-6 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 1
Route
Loop
Peaks
3

Ratings out of 10

Effort
4.6/10
Personality
6/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
4/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

Ridgeline of the 3 summits in route order 01 02 03
  1. Old Butt Knob
    5,525′ elevation · 125′ prominence
  2. Dog Loser Knob
    5,761′ elevation · 121′ prominence
  3. Shining Rock
    6,000′ elevation · 240′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

35.365841, -82.817721

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

May 1, 2017 — This was a great loop that gave some nice views on the way up, and a loud and relaxing creek led the way down. I lucked out by choosing to hike during the rain because I was able to see the natural progression of countless runoffs merging to create Shining Creek from the top of the mountain. It was the first time I really got to see a creek start from a trickle and end with big waterfalls and a rushing current. Gorgeous.

The route starts out on a wide trail, but branches off up the Old Butt Knob Trail along Chestnut Ridge, where it climbs steeply to Old Butt Knob, lots of gorgeously forested trail to cover. The rdigeline leads over Dog Loser Knob and over to Shining Rock along the Art Loeb Trail briefly before the loop required me to head east down the North Prong Shining Creek.

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Photos

40 photos

  1. I started out, despite the (what seemed like) monsoon.
  5. Super steep up to Old Butt Knob along Chestnut Ridge.
  7. Some nice views from within the trees.
  9. Steep, even with switchbacks.
  12. Not really a summit, but here is the Old Butt Knob summit, I believe.
  13. Along the ridgeline from Old Butt Knob.
  16. Dog Loser Knob. Shining Rock coming up in the distance.
  18. The trails were super flooded from all the rain.
  19. Lots of switchbacks on narrow, flooded trails.
  20. Shining Rock Summit.
  21. Another summit view. This was taken from the top of the actual shiny rocks . The clouds started to clear, thankfully.
  22. Heading down past the Shining Rock.
  23. A mini-scramble to get down from Shining Rock, which you can sort of see here.
  24. Continuing down to the Art Loeb Trail, which marks the point where the second half of the loop begins.
  25. Heading down North Prong Shining Creek.
  30. Lots of waterfalls from the rain - not sure which ones are just runoff and which are streams.
  32. So much runoff, a lot of which followed the trail, ultimately leading into Shining Creek.
  38. The sun came out and everything was blissful.
  40. Shining Creek eventually leads you to the split where you went up to Old Butt Knob. Head back to the trailhead from there.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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