At an elevation of 4,145 ft. Black Mountain in the Appalachian Plateaus is the highest point in The Bluegrass State. We headed towards Black Mountain from Marion, VA where just hiked Mount Rogers — this was about a 3 hour drive through some old coal mining towns. While most of the drive was relatively boring, one interesting sight was the Dawkins Line Rail Trail, an old railroad line built in the 1900s that has now been converted to a hiking and biking trail that runs through the Kentucky Appalachian region. Kentucky has some beautiful scenery, which I’m sure is highlighted on the rail trail. Here’s a link to AllTrails if you’re interested in learning more about it.
Black Mountain is right on the border of Kentucky and Virginia; actually the road to the summit is right in between the “Welcome to Virginia” and “Welcome to Kentucky” signs. When we were there the road to the summit was not well marked, but we were told to follow Route 160 and we found that pretty easily. Look for the tower at the top and you’ll know you’ve made it. The road to the summit was a rocky, winding two lane highway. I remember we got stuck behind some trucks hauling coal mining equipment, and we were a little shocked they were able to climb that road.
We were there in May so the views were… not great. I can imagine that in the winter when the leaves have fallen the views are much better, although I’m not sure how easily the road to the top could be navigated in the winter if snow and ice were present. I would estimate it to be about a 2-mile hike one way if the road is closed. Another thing to note… There are no trespassing signs all over the place as it used to be located on private property, but from what I understand the state took ownership of the area in 2018 so you no longer need permits to go to the top and a lot of improvements are being made.
If you’re a fan of the show Justified (or you’re just really into coal mining) you’ve heard of Harlan, Kentucky and when we realized it’s about an hour from Black Mountain we decided to go check it out. On the way there we drove through several small mining towns – I guess we didn’t realize how prevalent the mining industry still is in rural Kentucky. It was really interesting to learn that most of the residents in these towns still work in the mining industry. When we got to Harlan we stopped in at The Portal Pizzeria for some lunch and our server, who was born and raised there, gave us an awesome history lesson about Harlan and the surrounding areas. He showed us a lot of old photographs and told us about the stories behind them, including how Harlan came to be known as “Bloody Harlan” after the 1931 Harlan County war where miners and union organizers fought the coal bosses for nearly a decade for the right to have a union in the county where most of the towns were owned by the coal companies. There is a lot of significant history here, but also areas of deep poverty as a result of mines being shut down. Gotta give those Harlan County miners credit for their solidarity though – they were still striking for their fair share of wages in 2019.
From Harlan we headed towards Chattanooga — I can’t remember where we spent the night but I do remember stopping in the tiny historic town of Cumberland Gap, TN. Cumberland Gap had a very “Mayberry” like feel and I wish we could have spent more time there. The views from the Cumberland Gap overlook in the park were absolutely incredible and there were lots of bed and breakfast type places; everyone was so friendly. I’m only mentioning this because if you get the chance to stop for breakfast or lunch, or need to place to sleep for a night — check it out!
