Trail to popular Devil’s Bathtub swimming hole gets safety improvements

If you’re dying to visit the chilly aquamarine waters of the popular swimming hole known as the Devil’s Bathtub in Scott County, or just take a scenic hike there, your trek will be safer thanks to more than $300,000 worth of improvements recently made to the trail.

Work to the 2-mile Devil’s Fork Loop Trail added three new trail segments and eliminated five stream crossings.

Fast facts about the Devil’s Bathtub

What is the Devil’s Bathtub? It’s a natural swimming hole in Scott County. There are several smaller pools and a small waterfall at the top of the bathtub, which is kidney-shaped and filled with chilly water from Stony Creek.

Where is it? It is in the Jefferson National Forest near Fort Blackmore in Scott County, accessible by taking one of two routes. The shorter one is about 4 miles round-trip, on the Devil’s Fork Loop Trail.

How did it get its name? No one seems to know for sure, although most admit the name seems to be a big part of its allure. Ask Pam Cox, the county’s tourism director, and she says: “The general story about how the tub got its name is, this is the only water cold enough to squelch the fires of hell.”

How cold is the water? The water is said to never get above 65 degrees, even in the hottest weather. This is because the water comes down from the mountain and the area is shady, one county official said.

What color is the water? It is described as aquamarine and other shades of blue, a color that’s attributed to algae on the bottom of the pool.

Can you really swim in it? Yes. The pool is 10 to 12 feet deep and about 8 feet wide.

The creek that runs through the area and feeds the Devil’s Bathtub is aptly named Stony Creek because it’s full of rocks, according to John Kilgore, executive director of the Scott County Economic Development Authority. When the stones are wet, they get slippery, so removing the stream crossings has made the area much safer, he added.

“If you have to cross the creek, it’s all stones. So if somebody falls, there is a real potential that they would really get hurt,” he said.

The county’s EDA partnered with the U.S. Forest Service and the Appalachian Conservation Corps on the work. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was recently held by the Virginia Department of Energy to celebrate the improvements.

Blazes are now clearly marked so visitors stay on the intended trail, and access to the trailhead is better after changes were made to the parking lot, according to a news release.

Crews also removed a dangerous ledge that visitors had to traverse using a rope, according to Kilgore.

The improvements were paid for with $317,000 from the Virginia Department of Energy’s Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant, which is federal money administered through Virginia Energy. The grant went to the Scott County EDA.

The Devil’s Bathtub, close to Fort Blackmore and in the Jefferson National Forest, has grown so popular that it’s now known across the world, according to Scott County tourism information.

A travel writer who visited the Devil’s Bathtub described it on the Go Hike Virginia website as a natural wonder that’s “magical. It’s easily one of the most uniquely beautiful destinations in Virginia.”

A Scott County visitor guide describes the attraction as a “stunning stream that races down a rock chute, swirls through the tub and heads downstream.”

The water in the bathtub stays cold, around 60 to 65 degrees, because the creek runs down the mountain, according to Kilgore. There is also a waterfall at the site, which is shady.

The recent hot, dry weather makes this the perfect time to visit the Devil’s Bathtub, which is 10 to 12 feet deep, he added.

Kilgore said it took about three years to complete the improvements because much of it had to be done by hand, and crews had to work around times when the creek was high after rainstorms.

The AMLER funding was also used to help close up an opening in the ground that remained from the coal mining that was done in the area in the 1940s, according to the news release. But the history of coal will remain featured at the site through an interpretive sign that will be placed near an old mining cart that was left behind.

Virginia Energy’s AML program was created in 1981 and is federally funded to reclaim issues left behind by coal mining that occurred before 1977.

U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, who attended the ribbon cutting, said the grant helps the EDA preserve one of “Scott County’s iconic natural treasures. Due to the great popularity of Devil’s Bathtub, Scott County and Southwest Virginia continue to interest and garner new visitors. This increased attention and activity is good news for the region.”

The post Trail to popular Devil’s Bathtub swimming hole gets safety improvements appeared first on Cardinal News .