Pump Gap Loop Trail
At A Glance
5.5 mi one-way
Difficulty Rating: 5.5 
Steepness: Climbs Steeply
Tread Condition: Moderately Rough
Blaze Color: Yellow
Trail Number: 309
Description
This trail is named after a water pump near the trail. The pump delivered water to Runion, which is now a ghost town. The trail accesses the Appalachian Trail and may be used as a loop or as part of a loop with the AT. Aside from that, it doesn't really go anywhere, and despite some nice scenery, feels a bit aimless. One section of this trail starts descending into a neat cove, and then - your easy descent coming to a screeching halt - veers up out of the cove and onto the nearby ridge.
Intersecting Trails
This trail is located in the Hot Springs area. For a list of all the trails in that area, see the Hot Springs trails list page.
All Photos from the Trail
GPS Map
Map Information
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Data Formats
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GPX
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About the Map
Copyright
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Base layers provided by OpenStreetMap, the US Geological Survey, the US Forest Service, and NC OneMap. Base layer images are subject to the respective copyright policies of their owners. Base layers may not be available at all times due to system maintenance or outages.
WNCOutdoors Base Layer
The WNCOutdoors Base layer is provided by WNCOutdoors.info. It is licensed by Creative Commons Attribution 3.0.
Trail and Marker Overlays
Trail layers and downloadable data are all original works created by WNCOutdoors with guidance from a variety of sources, including ensembles of our own GPS tracks, user contributed GPS tracks, official maps and GIS data from government agencies, and field observations. WNCOutdoors data is made freely available under the Open Database License - you are free to copy and use it for any purpose under the terms of that license (summary).
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Trail Segments
Trails are often made up of several connecting paths which may have different characteristics, allowed uses, and seasons. This trail is divided into multiple segments as follows:
Pump Gap Loop - Silvermine Parking to Lover's Leap
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 0.24 mi
Pump Gap Loop - Campground to Split
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 0.77 mi
Pump Gap - Out and Back Segment to A. T. at Gap
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 0.4 mi
Pump Gap Loop - FS 113A to Pump Gap
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 1.21 mi
Pump Gap Loop - FS 113A
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 184 ft
Pump Gap Loop - A.T to FS 113A
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 0.36 mi
Pump Gap Loop - FS 3515 to A. T.
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 300 ft
Pump Gap Loop - Split to FS 3515
- Allowed Uses: Hiking
- Length: 1.31 mi
Total Calculated Length: 4.38 mi
This value is derived from our underlying map data, and it may not match officially published information.
Feedback
Ratings
Average Rating: 5.0 (rated 1 times)
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Traveler said: This is a very peaceful trail; you cannot hear any noise from the road for most of it. It is steep in some parts, in particular for one fairly long stretch, about a mile. You need to pay attention to the map and the markings. The trail has gold markings, and the Appalachian trail, with white markings, intersects it twice. Somehow I got off the Pump Gap Trail and was on the Appalachian trail. I had not paid attention to what color the markings for each were and nearly got lost when I arrived at a four-way intersection. The map at the parking area shows black and red lines for these trails but does not mention marking colors.