Massengale Loop Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Spring · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The Harrow Road Cafe is in Historic Ruby and they have an excellent menu. They are open Thursday-Saturday 12-7 and Sunday 12-6. Brooks General Store also offers great food options at the other end of Rugby and is a local hang-out. They are open Monday-Friday 10-4 and Saturdays 8-4 with a great local gathering for breakfast.

The sweat flies and horse flies are rough in this area from June-August, so bring your repellent or a fly paper hat.

From the parking area behind the Historic Rubgy Visitor Center, you'll run left towards their utility/maintenance building and you'll find the trail kiosk in the field. You can start right at the trail where the is a gate to the right of the sign, or run slightly left of the sign to where the other part of the loop comes out, also gated.

Following the trail to the right of the kiosk, this will take you down into the Cox Branch Drainage and then up to the Massengale Homestead. The trail will "T" and you can turn right and visit the Kiosk at the Massengale homestead, visit the old spring, and take a short connector trail to the Allerton Ridge Trail, or you can turn left and continue on the loop, back towards the parking area behind the Visitor's Center.

Following the trail left, it will again take you into the Cox Branch Drainage and follow the creek. There are beautiful rock steps and benches to stop and sit and relax on. The trail will then gradually climb up and back to the field behind the maintenance building field and the trail kiosk.

Mostly hardwood forests here with some Hemlocks down in the Cox Branch Drainage. You'll also see wonderful wildflowers in April. There are plenty of songbirds, and other wildlife in this State Natural Area.