High K**b Recreation Lake
36,888522, -82.614175
Norton, Virginia 24273
Drinking water available
Bath houses have hot showers and flush toilets
$3 per vehicle day use area fee. $10 per camp site per night. High K**b Lake Recreation & Special Biological Area sits amid this truly gorgeous and atypically U-shaped highcountry basin. Another JEWEL amid the massif. Endemic Southern Appalachian Norther
n Hardwood and High Elevation Cove Forests cover this area, where northern slopes often hold snow for long periods during the cold season [ more than 80 days ( or 11.4 weeks ) with 12" or more of snow depth during the 2009-10 winter season ]. This broadly U-shaped basin is rich with bryophytes & fungi, resting upon the lower Bluestone and Tallery Sandstone members of the upper Hinton Formation ( Mississippian age ). While the lower Bluestone possesses siltstones and shales which are more easily weathered, the Tallery Sandstone of the Hinton, from High K**b Lake into the basin head, is more resistant. The upper basin is subsequently broadly U-shaped. The olive-green shale interbedded within the Bluestone Formation contains, "large ocherous weathering carbonate nodules ( USGS )," to locally enrich the cold, wet soils of this lofty basin. High K**b Lake has a water elevation of 3490 feet above sea level, and is one of the coldest in Virginia. High K**b Lake contains 4 acres of water, and a nice wetland above upper reaches of the Lake Trail Bridge ( where American Beavers have more than once been relocated to prevent backwater flooding of the recreation facilities ). Wondrous High K**b Lake Basin adds to the greatness of the Big Stony Basin multi-gorge complex, so that it truly is a collective wonder to behold ( especially when considering it also contains the Glady Fork Wetland Valley & wildness of the rugged, remote Devil Fork backcountry ). High K**b Lake Special Biological Area
A few floral species of interest include:
Striped Maple ( Acer pensylvanicum )
Sugar Maple ( Acer saccharum var. saccharum )
Mountain Maple ( Acer spicatum )
Maidenhair Fern ( Adiantum pedatum )
Yellow Buckeye ( Aesculus flava )
Appalachian White Snakeroot ( Ageratina altissima var. roanensis )
Ramp ( Allium tricoccum )
Wild Ginger ( Asarum canadense )
Southern Lady Fern ( Athyrium filix-femina var. asplenioides )
Yellow Birch ( Betula allegheniensis )
Two-leaved Toothwort ( Cardamine diphylla )
Mountain Bugbane ( Cimicifuga americana )
Hay-Scented Fern ( Dennstaedtia punctilobula )
American Beech ( Fagus grandifolia )
White Ash ( Fraxinus americana )
Cow Parsnip ( Heracleum maximum )
Yellow Jewel-Weed ( Impatiens pallida )
Wood Nettle ( Laportea canadensis )
Canada Lily ( Lilium canadense )
Turks-Cap Lily ( Lilium superbum )
Fraser Magnolia ( Magnolia fraseri )
Sensitive Fern ( Onoclea sensibilis )
Cinnamon Fern ( Osmuda cinnamonea var. cinnamonea )
Interrupted Fern ( Osmuda claytoniana )
Mountain Wood-sorrel ( Oxalis acetosella )
Bracken Fern ( Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum )
Black Cherry ( Prunus serotina var. serotina )
Northern Red Oak ( Quercus rubra var. borealis )
New York Fern ( Thelypteris noveborancensis )
Canadian Hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis )
Moosewood or Hobblebush ( Viburnum lantanoides )
Sweet White Violet ( Viola blanda var. blanda )
Roundleaf Violet ( Viola rotundifolia )
The High K**b Lake Basin is one of the premier spring & summer birding locations in Virginia, with many northern species ( * ).
*According to Dr. Richard Peake, the High K**b Lake Basin is one of the most productive areas in Virginia for neotropical migrants, "from the second week of May to the second week of July."
