Trail Cabin at Smart View Recreation Area

Typical of the early style Appalachian cabin, the Trail Family Cabin can be seen up at Smart View.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Near the Smart View Picnic Area

Amenities

6 listed

Benches/Seating, Parking - Auto, Restroom - Seasonal, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead, Trash/Litter Receptacles

Pioneer families began to settle in present day Floyd County in the 1740s and in Franklin County around the time of the American Revolution. Many made their homes in the mountains along the present-day Blue Ridge Parkway, including the family of W.J. Trail whose cabin today looks out onto the rolling hills of the Piedmont.

This one-room cabin style was common in the area. Oftentimes the initial home was a simple structure—people needed a decent shelter fast so that they could move on to other activities that sustained their livelihood. Over time, as families grew and became more established on the land, extensions would be added to the house or a new home might be constructed nearby. Once this cabin no longer served as a home, it was used as a barn.

During the development of the parkway, the cabin, like many other structures found along the way, was left to gradually fade back into the landscape and by 1947, little remained of the original structure. 

Today, the cabin is closed to visitors, but it is possible to look between the logs and see what remains; pieces of a floor and the fireplace but not much else. The cabin today lacks chinking—a mixture of clay, sand, lime, silt, ash, and dirt, that would have been placed between the logs. This protective mixture would have sealed the structure, providing some temperature control and keeping water from pooling between the logs. In another effort to seal the cabin, windows were kept small; before glass, they would be covered with animal skin or greased paper.

The 2.6-mile easy to moderate Smart View Loop Trail passes here. There is also a bench near the cabin making it an ideal place to stop and take in the view or visit the adjacent picnic area.

Check the conditions of the area before you visit.