Rough Ridge Trail

Rough Ridge runs the high ground and charges for it. Three thousand one hundred seventy five feet of gain across fourteen and a half miles, with the work concentrated rather than spread out. The ridge line gives you winter views through bare hardwood that close up entirely once the leaves come in, so this is a better cold weather walk than a summer one.

It connects into the Jacks River system, which is how most people use it, as the dry alternative to wading.

The laminated Forest Service map draws this trail too far east, never coming near Rough Creek. On the ground the trail follows a tributary of Rough Creek, crosses the creek, and parallels its bank down to the junction with the Jacks River Trail. Trust the ground over the map here.