Location – 5/5
This site was close to a friend’s house, and his introduction to backpacking, so something close is always nice. Panther Den Wilderness official trail is only around 2-3 miles so we custom made a new route to be in the 10 mile range. The AllTrails mileage and elevation is off (5.44 mi. in, 3.95 mi. out, 1181 ft. elevation) compared to my watch (6.5 mi. in, 4.8 mi. out, 1339 ft. elevation). The drive out was pretty easy and only about 30 minutes away from civilization. There was a nice, large parking area at this trailhead.
Campground – 5/5
These are some of the coolest camp sites we have ever stayed at due to the large rock formations. The site we stayed at was about 1/2 mile south of the others and by far the nicest. The other sites were well established, but they were right on the trail.
Activities – 4/5
Nature
There were not many animals but we saw a hawk in the sky and a few frogs hopping through the creeks. The path was full of unique foliage and mushrooms. We had to keep our head down in some parts of this difficult trail to avoid sinking in mud, tripping or slipping. There were many creeks and rock formations with natural caves to explore.
Hiking – 4/5
We felt this trail was a bit nicer than some that we have been on, as it was well established. There were numerous creek crossings and none of them were high enough that it required us to take off our shoes, but some were difficult to find a good path to cross. This trail was definitely a higher difficultly due to the slippery rocks, obstacles, and many ups and downs.
Amenities 3/5
Marking and Trail Maintenance
There were numerous down trees and obstacles along the trail. There were already alternate paths being created around the obstacles, therefore maintenance may not be done very often. The trail was off-limits to horses, which was nice, however we did see some tracks.
Firewood and Water
We had multiple opportunities to get water from the creek, but due to the difficulty of the trail, 3 liters seemed like a good amount to bring. We think it was possible to make do with 2 liters. Using a Sawyer Squeeze to filter, the water was very clear and tasted great. We didn’t set a fire because we didn’t need one, but the campsites had plenty of wood available.
Overall Rating – 4/5
Overall we give this site 4 out of 5. The hike was moderate overall, but the climbs and downhills were very difficult. The amazing rock formations at the campsites and caves to explore made up for some of the difficulty. If the hike is too long for you, there is a trailhead to southwest of the loop which would make a much shorter trip.
