Savage Day Loop

The Savage Day Loop is the sampler platter for the 18,000-acre Savage Gulf wilderness: a rolling 4.2-mile circuit on the plateau top that never demands a brutal gorge descent but still serves up the area's two signatures. From the east ranger station the trail crosses a long suspension bridge over Boyd Branch, and the loop's south side passes the short spur down to Savage Falls, a 30-foot waterfall on Savage Creek with a sandy-edged plunge pool worth the extra few hundred yards of stairs. On the return leg, Rattlesnake Point opens up the best easily-earned view in the park, a rim-edge overlook straight down the forested slot of Savage Gulf — unfenced, with real exposure, so keep children and dogs well back. Footing is typical plateau fare, flat in profile but endlessly rocky and rooty underfoot, and the loop doubles as the approach for backpackers heading to the Savage Falls campsite. It is free, open to leashed dogs, and at its best in late fall once the leaves drop and the gorge walls show.