The Great Channels Slot Canyons

Rocks around and above me — One of the most-fun areas of the Great Channels

Possibly my favorite adventure in western Virginia last fall was The Great Channels, located north of Abingdon. The hike was steep, forested, and fairly uninteresting, but the top boasted great views before dropping you into a labyrinth of slot canyons – East Coast-style slots, but slot canyons all the same! It was so much fun to explore all the nooks and crannies, and it’s big enough that it took me about 40 minutes to see all of the canyons. I’d go back in a heartbeat!

Quick Stats

Round Trip Length: 6.9 miles Trail Type: Out & back Elevation Gain: 2,336ft. Pets: Leashed Fees: None

Signs on a tree and a sign kiosk in a misty forest with fall leaves on the ground — The Great Channels Trailhead

The biggest barrier to visiting The Great Channels is parking. Only 10 spots are available, and when they’re full, that’s it. No parking is allowed along the road (at least, nowhere nearby), nor is double-parking. I figured a Wednesday morning in November after a heavy rain wouldn’t be too terribly popular, and I was right. There were two cars when I arrived, and another two cars in the lot when I left.

Autumn leaves along the sides of a gravel road in the misty forest — Heading up the gravel road

0.0 The Great Channels Trailhead (3,014ft.). Head up the gravel road past the trail kiosk, then walk around the gate and continue up the road. The road is usually a bit steep but not too bad, and the tread is firm. Pass a driveway on the right at 0.2 miles. (36.8645780°, -081.9469890°)

A sign on a tree in a misty forest beside a gravel road — The gate where you leave the first road

0.7 Road split (3,109ft.). Take the left fork to continue uphill. After 0.3 miles, you’ll enter a small cluster of cabins. Please respect the privacy of the owners. In this area, the trail will turn left to leave the road. (36.8611910°, -081.9556280°)

A road divides in two near a sign in a forest with a house in the distance — The neighborhood near where you’ll turn left onto another trail at the second sign kiosk

1.0 Turn left (3,215ft.). Turn left to leave the gravel road you’ve been following. Pass another sign kiosk and continue walking uphill following an old road or ATV track (closed for many years from the looks of things). Keep hiking uphill. There are occasional peek-a-boo views through the trees to the surrounding mountains. The day I hiked was very foggy, so we didn’t get much in the way of views, but I could just barely see that they were out there when I was coming back down. (36.8642070°, -081.9596450°)

A dirt road in a forest with autumn leaves on the hillside — The upper road

2.9 Turn left onto the Spur Trail(4,126ft.). I’m not sure exactly where the right trail goes, but I believe it’s down to another trailhead many miles away. The left fork climbs through rhododendron bushes. Ignore a side-trail on the left at the end of a switchback. At last, you’ll pop out of the forest near an old fire tower. (36.8719360°, -081.9783120°)

Hiking the upper part of the trail in the rhododenrons

3.1 Fire Tower (4,193ft.). I expect there are some good views from the rocks near here; it was so foggy that I didn’t try very hard to see very much! The fire tower, itself, is closed to the public – they’ve tried to block it off, etc., and put up signs. To continue to The Great Channels, walk straight beneath the fire tower and follow the white blazes through the woods. The path will eventually split – the left fork goes up onto a rock where you can look down on the Channels from above, while the right fork becomes almost social-trail-looking as it drops steeply between the rhododendrons down into The Great Channels. (36.8713080°, -081.9784610°)

A fire tower above trees disappearing into the mist — The fire tower

3.1 The Great Channels (4,171ft.). This is where the fun really begins. There are many slot canyons between the huge rocks, some rock formations and arches, and a few caves, and just so many places to explore! Multiple times, I’d find I’d gone in a circle while trying to explore new places. It’s just so much fun! There is some graffiti and a few places where people have had fires (just don’t), but in general, it was clean and I felt perfectly safe exploring on my own. (Well, there was that one dark area that smelled like animals; I didn’t hang out there too long… and then as I was exiting, my companion lay in wait in a side-canyon and whispered, “Me Precious!!” right as I went by… I won’t say I didn’t scream. Lol). When you’ve finished exploring, retrace your steps back to the fire tower and down the mountain to your vehicle. (36.8712830°, -081.9792650°)

Mossy rock walls tower to trees above — Exploring one of the slot canyons

Round Trip Trail Distance: 6.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,336ft. (3,020ft. to 4,209ft.)

Roots on a hillside with giant rocks beyond — Roots reaching down into the slots

Facilities: None

Fees: None

Cone of a rhododendron with its leaves — A rhododendron cone

Trail Notes: I already talked about parking; be ready to go somewhere else if the parking lot is full. There is very little cell signal (at least on Verizon) here, though I got a little up near the fire tower. The trail up is always easy to follow. I thought the trail was steep, but friends who have done it (thanks for the trail suggestion, M!) declare it not too bad by Maine standards. One of the good things about the limited parking is that there are few people at a time trying to explore the slot canyons – most are too narrow to pass each other comfortably.

Trail

Road

Signs

Scenery

Would I go 100 miles out of my way for this?

Overall Rating:

Mossy roots and rocks on a hillside with a path down the hill — Descending into the Great Channels

GPS Coordinates for the Great Channels

TH: 36.8645780°, -081.9469890° (36°51.87468′, -081°56.81934′ / 36°51’52.4808″, -081°56’49.1604″) (3,014ft.) (0.0)

Cabin junction: 36.8622080°, -081.9498000° (36°51.73248′, -081°56.98800’/ 36°51’43.9488″, -081°56’59.2800″) (3,085ft.) (0.22)

Looking up from between two boulders to moss on the boulders and trees above — Looking up at moss and trees

Leave road: 36.8611910°, -081.9556280° (36°51.67146′, -081°57.33768′ / 36°51’40.2876″, -081°57’20.2608″) (3,109ft.) (0.66)

Houses: 36.8634320°, -081.9592100° (36°51.80592′, -081°57.55260′ / 36°51’48.3552″, -081°57’33.1560″) (3,205ft.) (0.97)

Roots between two boulders with moss on the rocks and a tree also visible — Misty entrance to a slot canyon

Junction: 36.8642070°, -081.9596450° (36°51.85242′, -081°57.57870′ / 36°51’51.1452″, -081°57’34.7220″) (3,215ft.) (1.03)

Spur trail junction: 36.8719360°, -081.9783120° (36°52.31616′, -081°58.69872′ / 36°52’18.9696″, -081°58’41.9232″) (4,126ft.) (2.96)

A narrow slot canyon between two mossy rocks with views of trees at the end of the canyon — Narrow passage

Fire Tower: 36.8713080°, -081.9784610° (36°52.27848′, -081°58.70766′ / 36°52’16.7088″, -081°58’42.4596″) (4,193ft.) (3.10)

Channels: 36.8712830°, -081.9792650° (36°52.27698′, -081°58.75590′ / 36°52’16.6188″, -081°58’45.3540″) (4,171ft.) (3.16)

A pointed rock covered in moss — A mossy rock

End: 36.8645770°, -081.9470320° (36°51.87462′, -081°56.82192′ / 36°51’52.4772″, -081°56’49.3152″) (3,015ft.) (6.93)

A narrow passage between to huge rocks — Texture in the rocks

The gpx file for the Great Channels can be downloaded – please note that this and the GPS Coordinates are for reference only and should not be used as a sole resource when hiking this trail.

Download GPX File size: 149.3 KB Downloaded 0 times

(Note: I do my best to ensure that all downloads, the webpage, etc. are virus-free and accurate; however, I cannot be held responsible for any damage that might result, including but not limited to loss of data, damages to hardware, harm to users, from use of files, information, etc. from this website. Thanks!)

A hiker on a leafy hillside climbing over roots between huge boulders and below trees — Climbing the path out of the Great Channels – it’s not much of a trail!

Getting to the Great Channels

From Abingdon, take I-81 East to Exit 24. At the bottom of the exit ramp, turn left onto VA-80W. After 0.3 miles, turn left onto Glenbrook Avenue to stay on VA-180. Turn left again onto VA-80 W 0.4 miles later. After 0.2 miles, turn right onto VA-80W (Lindell Road) for 4.8 miles. Turn left onto VA-80W for another 5.2 miles, then turn left to stay on VA-80W 3.7 miles as the road winds up to the top of the ridge. As the road crests the ridge and begins down the other side, the parking area will be on the left.

Aerial map with a blue line marking the trail to the Great Channels and a pink line indicating elevation gain — Visual trail map for my hike to the Great Channels

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