Agile Trekker: Rocky Ridge, Switchback, Frank, and Plantation Trails, Dupont State Recreational Forest

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
5/17/2026	5.9 miles	2 hours 57 minutes	639'	2.1 mph	155.5

Parking:

Sky Valley Road, at Rocky Ridge Trail. The road is a gravel road in good condition. Room for a few cars.

Map:

Gaia GPS app
Pisgah Map Co., Dupont

Directions:

Take the Rocky Ridge Trail. Pass the Switchback Trail. Hike to the Old CCC Road. Turn around and go back on the Rocky Ridge Trail. Turn left onto the Switchback Trail. Pass Stone Mountain Trail (likely permanently closed). Turn left onto Frank Street (a forest road) and hike to gate. Turn around. Hike back on Frank Street, passing the Switchback Trail. Turn left briefly onto Sky Valley Road and reenter the woods at Plantation Trail. This is a lollypop trail. Hike to the split and keep left at the split. Where you rejoin at the split, turn left. Return to Sky Valley Road. Turn left onto Sky Valley Road and return to the parking area.

We haven't been out to Dupont in a long time. We're attempting to hike all of the trails in the park by the end of this year, so we were eager to get back out there. Glen suggested today. I should have known better. It's a Sunday. Weekends are the worst time to visit Dupont. It was in the 80's today, so I wanted to do a hike by a lake so Krumm could cool off. Our first attempt was Fawn Lake. The parking lot was full (and the entrance is extremely rutted - yikes!). High Falls Access area was also full. Lake Imaging was not full, but the number of mountain bikers there on a weekend makes hiking unpleasant. Guion Farm Access had parking but was also busy. We continued on down Sky Valley Road to hike some trails we haven't done yet. This was perfect. It's a less used area. We only encountered 2 bicyclists and a group of 4 boys (all on Rocky Ridge Trail). It was a very quiet peaceful hike.

We started out on Rocky Ridge Trail. The beginning was nice, but once past the Switchback Trail, it turns into mountain biking terrain (hard dirt, banked edges). We were gently hiking mostly downhill. We turned around at the paved road and started hiking back. We turned left on the Switchback Trail, which was nice. The terrain was nicer. I'm not sure why it's called the Switchback Trail, because it was level, and I didn't notice any switchbacks on it. It ended at Frank Street. We checked, and its actually listed as a trail on the map index. First, we hiked left. We got excited, because it showed a pond at the end. Well, the trail ends at a gate, and the pond is just beyond the gate. A sign says no hikers - private property. That means no swimming for Krumm. It was a nice gentle trail though. I thought it was pretty. We hiked back to Sky Valley Road. There was a mailbox at Sky Valley Road at Frank Street (a woods road). We thought that was odd. I peeked inside, and there was dusty mail there from 2023 and 2024, with the address being Frank Street. We decided we'd do the Plantation Trail as well, which is across the street. I also liked this trail. It was very easy and very peaceful. I wondered if it was a pine plantation, as we often had pine needles under foot. Krumm never got his swimming in.