Directions to Trailhead

Directions to Trailhead:

From the South side of Norris Dam, continue up the hill on the East side of the park. Stay straight to the Rustic Cabin area. Follow the loop around the cabins to a dead end road between Rustic # 8 and #10 and turn right. Lake View Trailhead is the narrow path through grass on left just past cabin #10.

Can also access Lake View Trail from 2 locations off High Point:

1. If you enter trail behind white gate at Rustic Cabin #8, go straight up hill 0.20 miles to start at Kerry’s Revenge on left at first map kiosk,

2. Continue past Kerry’s Revenge on up the hill on High Point Trail to the 2 posts where trail seems to stop. Turn left here and continue on High Point Trail until you reach the second map kiosk at a 3-way junction. Take the first trail on left to access Lake View Trail 0.50 miles at the bottom of the High Point Spur/Access.

Trail Description:

Lake View Trailhead will begin to the right of Rustic Cabin #10 down a narrow path through the grassy edge of the wood line at 1203 feet. Approximately 200 feet down the trail, if conditions are right, you may find Dog Stinkhorn on the left. This is a fungus that protrudes from decaying leaf and forest matter that looks like an up-side-down carrot sticking out of the ground. It smells badly of rotting meat and attracts flies. In the spring, be on the lookout for Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Stinking Benjamin, Spring Beauty, Toothwort, Poppy and Yellow Trillium

You will descend gradually for the first 325 yards until you come to the junction of Tall Timbers and Lakeview Trail at 1152 feet. Turn right here to continue Lake View Trail toward Kerry’s Revenge.

Trail continues fairly flat for the next 0.10 miles until you come to another intersection at 1270 feet in 0.20 miles. You may choose to go straight to the wooden gate and then turn back to the right and ascend 0.10 miles up to High Point Trail at the first map kiosk.

Or, to continue the Lake View Trail, turn left at intersection and descend steeply the next 150 feet past the giant root ball to a set of 32 steps that allow for a safer descent in this particularly dangerous section of trail.

From the bottom step at 1120 feet in 0.50 miles from the trailhead, continue descending through another steep sectionfor the next 1200 feet down the dirt path of the trail that now runs parallel to the lakeshore. Watch footing for this part of the trail is dry dirt and loose rock.

Near the foot of the steps, you may see New England Asters on the dry hillside in late summer. Other species you may see on this trail are Goldenrod, Queen Anne’s Lace Wingstem, Pipsissewa or Spotted Wintergreen, Little Brown Jug, Wild Yam, Rattlesnake Plantain, Wild Ginger, trilliums, and ferns like Maidenhair, Christmas, Broad Beech, Bracken and Mountain Wood fern.

Tree Species that you may see areUmbrella Magnolias, Ohio Buckeye, Yellow Poplar, Sycamore, Red and Sugar Maples, American Beech, Flowering Dogwood, Ash, Paw Paw, Eastern Redbud, Sassafras, Persimmon, Sweetgum, Shagbark and Mockernut Hickory, Northern and Southern Red Oak, White, Chestnut, Chinquapin, Scarlet and Post Oaksare just a few of the most common.

From the steps at 0.50 miles total, the trail continues along the lakeshore for just under a mile when the High Point Spur/Accessmeets Lake View Trail on the right at 1270 feet in 0.92 miles total at this intersection. There is a bench on the right just before High Point Spur/Access to the right that will take you 0.50 miles up a steep hill to meet the High Point Trail at the second map kiosk.

Continuing straight, there is a picnic table overlooking the lake on the left at 1258 feet in just under 2.0 miles; and another bench on the right at 1278 feet. A few yards behind this bench, take a moment to find the moss-covered, stacked stone wall. Remnants maybe of one of the many old homesteads that once rested on this ridge before the dam was built and the valley below was flooded.

From the foot of High Point Spur, continue Lake View Trail straight ahead for another 1.46 miles with an elevation gain of a little over 100 feet until you come to another bench on the right at the intersection of the Lakeside Loop at 1292 feet in 2.3 miles.

From this intersection, you can turn right and ascend approximately 0.50 miles back to High Point Trail at the trailhead of Lakeside Loop and the first yellow gate.

To continue Lake View Trail, turn left and descend the steep hill that now becomes a single-track section of trail where Lake View and Lakeside Trails come together and overlap one another for a little more than 1 mile. The beginning of this section is a steep path of dry dirt and loose rocks, so watch your footing through here.

First lake access path on the left at approximately 2.5 miles will take you less than 300 feet to the lakeshore or tree line. This is a popular spot to rest and refresh horses and/or yourself from a long day on the trails.

Continue from here following the lake as it winds in and around the forest. You’ll reach the next big intersection at 1080 feet in 3.4 miles at the end of the single-track section of trail where Lake View and Lakeside Loop overlapped.

As you enter the sun-exposed intersection here, you can enjoy a snack or a packed lunch on the picnic table to the right while you enjoy great views of Norris Lake. Notice the 2-trunk evergreen tree behind the picnic table and the dainty New England Aster sprouts dancing over the lake in late summer.

If you were to bear to the right at the fork and head up the hill, you would complete the second half of Lakeside Loop ending at the second yellow gate on High Point Trail. Continue the trail to the left along the lakeshore to complete the final leg of the Lake View Trail, also known as Dawn’s Access.

Just as you pass the 2-trunk evergreen on your left and head down the narrow trail closest to the water, take a moment to peek into the forest and look closely at the forest floor for a pretty good patch of Squawroot. And right under the trail sign on left, can you find the Post Oak that’s on its way up?

The last section of Lake View Trail is a nice, winding path under a shady canopy that can offer real solitude especially on early weekdays when traffic is slower on land and sea.

Shortly into the trail on the right is a bench overlooking the lake at 1155 feet. Christmas ferns dot the banks of the trail but soon dominate the forest floor ahead.

The trail gently ascends from 1080 to1343 feet at the trails highest point in a little more than 1 mile from the last big intersection. The trail descends slightly to reach its finish at 1270 feet in a total of 4.9 miles when it intersects the High Point Trail at the last map kiosk.

Turn right here and return to the trailhead via High Point Trail in 2.5 miles. If you stay on High Point Trail all the way back, you’ll come out at the white gate behind Rustic Cabin #8. The Lake View Trailhead is now on the right between the gate and Rustic #10.