Pink Beds Loop Trail
Posted By auntie on April 6, 2021
6.3 miles; 276 ft. total elevation; Brevard, NC
I was intrigued by the name of this route, although I wasn’t there at a time when the rhodys and mountain laurels would be in bloom, I was still excited to see it. It gets its name, by the way… well, lemme outsource the description to the Hike WNC website:
Originally named for the profusion of pink wildflowers that grew here in the spring (including mountain laurel and rhododendron), Pink Beds is not really all that pink. With the notable exception of Swamp Pink (or Helonias), a rare pink flower which loves the mountain bogs found in this valley, most of the wildflowers here are common to the region and something other than pink. Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron are somewhat plentiful and host shades of pink in their blooms, but the Forest Service describes the name as being mostly historical.
Yeah. Well it’s still a great name!
Cool Old Sign
The parking area, which was pretty full by the time I got out there, like most popular trailheads in the area, boasted this really cool sign.
Halberd-leaved Violet (Viola hastata)
Dimpled Trout Lily (Erythronium umbilicatum)
And I didn’t see any pink flowers, just a lot of trout lily and yellow violets. Maybe rename it Yellow Beds? Nah…
Oh, and I thought the name of the yellow violet was kind of interesting, but I had no idea what a “halberd” was so I looked it up.
This is a Halberd
Mmm-kay… Whatever you say. Don’t really see the resemblance myself.
Boardwalk
I will say that this boardwalk that threads through the bog part of the trail is pretty impressive. All in all a nice hike.
You can read more about The Pink Beds at the above-mentioned website, and as always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.
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