The Big Pinnacle trailhead is located at Massie Gap which right across the road from the day hikers parking lot at Grayson Highlands State Park. It’s very easy to find and is marked fairly well. In the warmer months, this lot fills up fast on the weekends so it’s a good idea to get there early or you will have to park up top by the vistor center. Keep in mind this is bear country so you can consider bearspray, although in the warmer months it’s doubtful you will see anyone because of the larger crowds.
Our plan was to hike the Pinnacles trail to the visitor center and check it out before hiking back to our vehicle. The visitor center is small but great because it has an indoor homestead display with plenty of souvenirs. I’ve never seen the visitor center too busy so that’s nice as well. And, they have plenty of snacks and drinks!
We started at the Twin Pinnacles trailhead where you have a choice of going clockwise for Twin Pinnacles trail. If you go left or counterclockwise that trail is Haw Mountail Trail. We chose to hike clockwise on the Twin Pinnacles trail. Immediately, it ascends uphill at a decent grade which is will get your heart rate going if you hit a pretty good pace. There is no shortage of of rocks and roots in this section so take care. There are also plenty of plants and trees to test your identification abilities so pay attention.
After about 10 minutes the trail gets extremely steep and rocky where you may need to find a handhold or two. If the ground was wet, I would pay a lot of attention at this section because it has the potential for falling with some consequence. This sketchy rocky section doesn’t last too long before it gets a little less rocky but still ascends at a pretty good rate.
A little farther uphill, we came to a small and steep rock section that leads up to Big Pinnacle. Big Pinnacle reminded me very much of Clifftops and Myrtle Point at Mt. Leconte, less the crowds! We explored Big Pinnacle for a while and had a snack. You can look down at Massie Gap and over at the Highlands from atop Big Pinnacle. I didn’t want to leave! We checked out Little Pinnacle and explored the area for awhile before hiking onward. There are lots of Mountain Ash at the top among other plants.
Along this upper section as we meandered along, the trail becomes fairly flat and we started seeing small wood shelters with metal roofs. These shelters were built by a boyscout group as part of building projects. They were nice shelters which, if you were caught in any downpours, would be great to great places to get out of the rain.
Once we hit the junction for Listening Rock Trail, we followed it to the visitor center. Along the Listening Rock trail are small signposts with points of interest, such as the Magic Tree and large boulders. Buzzard rock overlook is also accessible near the visitor center.
Instead of hiking the Haw Mountain Trail back to the trailhead at Massie Gap, we hiked the Stampers Branch Trail to Hickory Ridge Campground. We walked the road back to our vehicle at Massie Gap.
NOTE: The Hickory Ridge Campground is currently closed and under construction until May of 2026. I haven’t hiked any of the trails around this campground and I’m looking forward to exploring.
Summary: Grayson Highlands and Mt. Rogers never fail to disappoint me no matter how many times I’ve been there. I absolutely love that place and hope to spend more time there in the future.
Here is a link to Grayson Highlands official site for a free trail guide and site directions.
I wore my Brooks Divide trail runners and they served me well
Cincinnati
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