Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium
For more information about the park, see previous post :)
Holly Loop
This is a great short trail! It's relatively easy and only about 1 mile in length. You access it from Lakeside Trail - make you loop and head back. It is a good option if you want a quick hike or even to extend Lakeside a little more.
Bays Ridge Road to Lake Road
This trail is best used when the leaves are off the trees so that you get the best view. It's definitely a climb, but not steep and offers beautiful views from the top. You can hike back down the same way or make a loop and go back Lake Road. To make the loop is about 2.25 miles
Bays Mountain to Laurel Run
There are several options for this hike - which can be from 12 to 15 miles if you choose to hike up to the radio towers first - there and back. When we hiked, we only went one way and had someone pick us up at Laurel Run and bring us back to Bays. We hiked up to the fire tower, which is the hardest part because the rest is practically down hill from there. We kept to the upper trails (looking at a map) and had no problems navigating it. We probably hiked close to 7 miles one way. If you want to hike there and back, I would recommend starting at Laurel Run, so that you can get the uphill in first - then hike to the fire tower or radio towers and then turn around.
I did not even realize there were falls at Bays when I started hiking - and while it isn't a true waterfall - because it is dam controlled, which means if there hasn't been rain, there is no falls. But, it's still pretty when there has been and it's a neat area to explore. It's only about 3/4 mile roundtrip and you have to walk across the road at the park to access it, so just be aware of that. The trail is just across from the dam.
This trail is on the steeper side and goes along the edge of the mountain. It's short at only 1 mile roundtrip and ends at a lookout tower that you can climb up and have a picnic or just enjoy the view. You can continue up to the radio towers for another 1.5 miles or just return back down.
Orchid Trail
This trail is a short 3/4 mile trail between Lake Road and Bays Ridge. Even though it is short, it's challenging because it is on the steeper side.
Moonshiners Delight
This is primarily a mountain bike trail, but it's a great one for trail runners and for hiking. It's not overly strenuous, however, you're looking at at least 7 miles. When I hiked it, it was 8 - that's accessing it from Big Oak and hiking to River Mountain Road. There was .30 at the beginning that I missed and I cut out the last .5 mile because I actually thought it ended at River Mountain. It's a great trail and easy to navigate. There are several options if you wanted to only hike half, hike the entire trail or just most of the middle.
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