Archive for the ‘Southwest Virginia’ Category
Dismal Falls Trail in Giles County – Bland, VA
Posted by Chris | Filed under Appalachian Trail, Roanoke/New River Valley, Southwest Virginia, Trail Information
The Dismal Creek area is located in the Jefferson National Forest in the Pembroke/Blank, VA area. The best time to view the falls is winter to early summer. Peaceful, pretty, and easily accessed is the 15 ft. Dismal Falls.
Dismal Falls
Description: A short, easy hike along the Appalachian Trail that takes you to a small waterfall nestled between Brushy and Flat Top mountain. The hike in is nothing special except for the fact that you follow one of the new sections of the AT. (more…)
Bald Knob Summit Trail at Mountain Lake Resort – Pembroke, VA
Posted by Chris | Filed under Roanoke/New River Valley, Southwest Virginia, Trail Information
The Bald Knob road and Bald Knob Trail lead to a thrilling overlook of the surrounding valleys and lake. With this destination, you have two approaches to get to the top of Bald Knob – the road and the hiking trail. The road provides a gradual climb approximately 0.7 miles long while the trail is steep and rocky providing a more challenging hike.
Directions: Starting from Blacksburg, VA drive west on 460W towards Giles County for about 7 miles. Turn right onto Mt. Lake Rd. and follow it to the top to the Mt. Lake Hotel. Year-round parking for hikers is now available at the new Trail Access parking lot, 9/10ths of a mile past the Mountain Lake Hotel entrance on your right. There you will find a kiosk with a trail map and other information.
Bald Knob Trail Sign
Trail Distance: ~2 miles round trip
Fees: $3.00 per vehicle for day use/$20.00 for a yearly Trail Access pass
A trail map and trail details can be found on the Mountain Lake Conservancy website. Besides the Bald Knob trail, there are also many others in the Mountain Lake area that you can check out.
Bald Knob in Winter (Picture from Mountain Lake Conservancy)
Cascade Falls in the Jefferson National forest – Pemrboke, VA
Posted by Chris | Filed under Roanoke/New River Valley, Southwest Virginia, Trail Information
While living in Southwest Virginia for 4 years, one of my favorite hikes was the short trip the Cascade Falls in Pembroke, outside of Blacksburg, VA. The park is just a short drive from Radford, Christiansburg, and Blacksburg. The hike, at a length of 4 miles round trip is fairly easy going but can get steep in parts, and the view of the Fall’s is good at any time of the year. Here are the full details on the trip.
Location: Pembroke, VA – Jefferson National Forest/Cascades Recreation Area (more…)
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
The Mount Rogers National Recreation Area consists of three distinct regions:
West End
The West End of the Mount Rogers NRA includes the famous Virginia Creeper Trail, outstanding trout fishing in Whitetop Laurel, and picturesque Beartree Lake. The NRA’s largest campground, Beartree, is a great family campground and close to all west end activities. Damascus, the friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail, is a trail hub as four major trails go through the town: Virginia Creeper, Appalachian Trail, Iron Mountain, and Daniel Boone Heritage Trail.
East End
Are you looking for solitude? The family campgrounds at Comers Rock and Raven Cliff are lightly used and have several nice trails nearby. The Comers Rock Overlook has outstanding views and the Raven Cliff Furnace Trail takes you to a fascinating iron ore furnace from the early 1800′s. Looking for something more developed? Two rental cabins with outstanding views are located on the East End. The East End also has several horse trails and horse camps for the equestrian. Hussy Mountain and Collins Cove Horse Camps provide camping areas close to the famous Virginia Highlands Horse Trail.
High Country
The heart of the NRA, the high country contains over 25,000 acres of the highest lands in Virginia. The Mount Rogers NRA manages approximately 20,000 acres of the high country and 5,000 acres are managed by Grayson Highlands State Park. The high country consists of the following areas:
Lewis Fork Wilderness & Little Wilson Creek Wilderness
Combined, these two federally designated wildernesses total about 10,000 acres of primitive backcountry. These two areas are forested in northern hardwoods with red spruce and Fraser Fir at the highest elevations.
Crest Zone
The open areas on Brier Ridge, Cabin Ridge, Wilburn Ridge, Stone Mountain, and Pine Mountain are commonly called the Crest Zone and total about 2,000 acres. Views are spectacular, with rocky ridges and grassy areas. The area was once heavily forested, but over logging by private companies during the early 1900′s, and wildfire created the balds. Grazing by domestic livestock kept them open. The US Forest Service acquired the property during the 1960′s. Today the balds are kept open through prescribed burning and regulated cattle grazing by private farmers who lease grazing rights. Ponies- Two herds of free-roaming ponies make their home in the high country. A private association manages them. One herd is in Grayson Highlands State Park, and the other lives within the Crest Zone of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Enjoy the ponies, but do not feed them or harass them. In the fall, some of the ponies are auctioned at the Grayson Highlands State Park Fall Festival to manage the population.
Photo from High Nocturnal Style
Trails
There are over 400 miles of designated trails on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Trails range from primitive single-track to old logging roads and railroad grades. Some are for foot only, others allow horse and/or bicycle use. Plan your trip carefully if you are looking for solitude. Trails in the high country as well as the Virginia Creeper and Appalachian Trail are popular destinations, particularly on weekends. Please be sure you use only those trails open to your particular type of travel. Please note that trails within wildernesses are always primitive with few or no signs or blazes and may be difficult to follow in places. Before heading into wilderness, you should be competent with both map and compass. Any type of motorized or wheeled vehicles (including bicycles and any type of wheeled cart) is prohibited in wilderness, but horses are allowed on designated trails.
The Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Creeper Trail both run through the Mt. Rogers area. On top of these well known trails, there is also a large number of independent trails that run through out the recreation area. They include Beartree Lake Trail, Comers Creek Falls Trail, Hale Lake Trail, Crawfish Trail System, and Seven Sisters Trail.
For more information about Mt. Rogers, check the US Forest Service website for the latest updates and news: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/mr/index.shtml
Virginia Creeper Trail Information
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
The Virginia Creeper Trail Region, which covers the small picturesque communities of Damascus, Abingdon, Whitetop, Konnarock, Green Green Cove StationCove, Taylors Valley, and Alvarado, has many wonderful attractions to offer and has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the East. The area, settled over 200 years ago by very adventurous folks, is still the perfect playground for anyone with an adventurous spirit.
Today’s visitors will find the most modern of amenities and the Waterfallbarest of necessities. Use the Virginia Creeper Trail Info as a guide to help you experience the “heart” of the Creeper. Whether its biking the the Virginia Creeper Trail, hiking Virginia’s highest peaks, fishing the best trout streams in the East, exploring the same path Daniel Boone once traveled, or watching a performance at the world famous Barter Theater, the Virginia Creeper Trail Region is a fabulous recreational destination. Your copy of Creeper Trail Info will serve as a valuable tool in locating the area’s best dining, shopping and lodging establishments, the finest in arts and entertainment, and the best in family recreation all located within minutes of the Virginia Creeper Trail.
Websites with more information:
The Trail Boss Trail
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
Description: The Trail Boss Trail and a section of the Appalachian Trail combine to form a loop. A short road walk on Rt 615 will return hikers to their starting point. Vegetation on the trail varies. A portion of the trail includes a bridge crossing and a walk along a free flowing boulder strewn stream. The trail continues through the hardwood vegetation of Brushy Mountain’s upper dry ridges. The A. T. section of the trail is blazed in white and the Trail Boss section is blazed in blue.
Total Distance: 3 miles
Location/Directions:
From I-77 in Bland: Take Rt. 52 west for 3.25 miles to Rt. 615. Take Rt. 615 north for 2.75 miles to parking lot on left (near road bridge). Trail is on the east side of Rt. 615 a short distance from parking lot. Total travel distance: 6 miles
Difficulty:
Moderate
Elevation:
2400 to 3100 feet
Tract Fork Trail
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
Description:
Tract Fork Trail is a nice wide trail along Tract Fork Creek. There are parking lots on both ends of the trail. One is on Little Walker Mountain and the other is on Tract Mountain. This trail is open to horse back riding, mountain bikers and hikers and provides good hunting access. Yellow diamond shaped markers blaze the trail. Polecat trail intersects Tract Fork approximately one mile from the eastern parking lot.
Total Distance:
4 miles
Location/Directions:
Directions from Pulaski: Take Rt. 738 north for 4 miles to Rt. 641. Follow Rt. 641 for 2.5 miles to its end. Follow FS 692 for 1.5 miles until it too ends. This is the Tract Fork trail head. Total travel distance: 8 miles
Directions from Wytheville: Take Rt. 603 from 4 miles to Rt. 600. Follow Rt. 600 east for 9 miles to the top of the mountain and the parking lot for the trail. Total travel distance: 13 miles
Difficulty:
Easy
Elevation:
2400 to 3000 feet
Polecat Trail
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
Description:
The Polecat Trail is marked with orange diamond shaped blazes. It is open to hikers and mountain bikers. No horses are permitted. This trail lies in the Peak Creek drainage basin and provides good hunter access to Walker Mountain. Polecat Trail ties into Tract Fork Trail on Little Walker Mountain. Parking for the trail is along FS 707.
Total Distance:
1.5 miles
Location/Directions:
From Wytheville: Take Rt. 603 for 4 miles. Turn onto Rt. 600 east follow 7 miles to FS 707. Take FS 707 east for 2.75 miles to trail hiker sign along south side of road. Trail is on north side of road. Total travel distance: 14 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation:
2300 to 2500 feet
Monster Rock Trail
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
Description: This short trail hike leaves Walker Mountain Lookout parking lot and leads to a large rock outcrop. Monster Rock is an outstanding vista of the Stony Fork watershed which includes beautiful Bland County farm scapes and historic Garden Mountain to the north. It is a nice side trip of the Big Walker Mountain Scenic Byway. The parking lot for Monster Rock is across from the entrance road to Big Bend Picnic Area. A drive down this road lends visitors equally beautiful views in the opposite direction from those seen at Monster Rock.
Total Distance: .75 mile
Location/Directions:
From Wytheville: Follow Rt. 52 north for 13 miles to the crest of Walker Mountain. Parking for Monster Rock is at the Walker Mountain Lookout Tower. Total travel distance: 13 miles
Difficulty:
Moderate
Elevation: 3500 to 3800 feet
High Water Trail Loop
Posted by Chris | Filed under Southwest Virginia
Description:
The High Water Trail and a section of the Appalachian Trail combine to form a loop. A half mile walk on Rt. 615 will return hikers to their starting point. The lower section of the trail follows the Appalachian Trail up the Little Wolf Creek drainage. this is a scenic section of trail which crosses the Creek many times (trail should not be taken during heavy periods of rain.) The upper section of the loop is a blue blazed section of the A. T. used during heavy rainy season. This section runs along the top of Brushy Mountain.
Total Distance:
6.75 miles
Location/Directions:
From I-77 in Bland: Take Rt. 52 west for 3.25 miles to Rt. 615. Take Rt. 615 north for 2.75 miles to parking lot on left (near road bridge). Take A. T. to west across Laurel Creek on log bridge. Total travel distance: 6 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 2400 to 3100 feet
