Driving/ Parking: Coming from the North, if you type Shriner Peak into Google Maps, it will not take you to the trailhead. But you’ll get pretty close. After it says, “You’ve Arrived”, continue along the road for another couple miles. There are multiple pull offs and you won’t know exactly which one it is until you see the Shriner Peak sign at which point you have already passed the parking area on the right side of the road. You may have to back track or do what I saw some cars doing and just park on the left side of the road in front of the trail head. If you do park in the designated parking area, there is a path along the side of the road that is easy to follow until you need to cross to get to the trailhead. It’s probably 100 feet away. I arrived at 7:15am and there was one car in the parking area and 1 car in front of the TH.
Trail: There is no toilet at the TH; however, there is a camp privy at the top. Fall foliage is ramping up; I’d say it’ll probably peak in the next couple weeks! I was surprised at how gentle this incline felt! I was preparing for a doozy but as previously mentioned, the trail is mostly dirt or covered with pine needles. Not a lot of rocks/ roots/ stair climbing. So it felt nice going up AND going down. AND added bonus, only passed 4 people (overnighters) going down. And I had the whole Lookout to myself! Can’t go inside but can walk along the perimeter for amazing views. Passed about 15 people coming up as I was headed down. Mask usage was pretty bad… maybe 25%. Made it back to the parking lot by 1130am and there were still a couple spots left and plenty along the road. I was surprised it wasn’t more busy being Labor Day! What a great hike and definitely worth a repeat!
HAPPY TRAILS!
More photos @jac.of.all.trails
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