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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.

Dismal Falls is a side trail of about 0.2 miles off the AT and is a welcome sight on a hot day. Dismal Falls is roughly 15 feet high and with the muddy bottom it is perfect for jumping off. If your looking for a quick hike and a place to relax then this hike is designed for you. However, do not expect to be alone at this water fall.

There is an access road only 20 yards from the falls. In the heat of the summer the falls seems to be a local pool, but atleast it’s clean.

Directions: There are two access points for the Falls. One off the Appalachian Trail and a much shorter trail. Here are directions to both.

Appalachian Trail route: From Pulaski: Take route 11 North to route 100. Take 100 North till 42. There is a little roadside stand with fresh fruit. Take 42 West for about 8 miles. You will pass through White Gate and route 606 will be on the right. The AT junction is only 2/10 of a mile. Take the AT North and your only 2 miles from the falls.

Short walk from road: Take exit 98 from I-81 going north on VA-100. Go 11.6 miles and turn left on VA-42. After 10.1 miles turn right on SR-606. After 1 mile, turn right on SR-671 which becomes unpaved after .4 miles. .5 miles after the pavement ends, there is a sign for the falls and a small pull-off on the right of the road.

Contact Information:
Blacksburg Ranger Station
5162 Valleypointe Parkway
Roanoke, Virginia 24019
(888) 265-0019

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)

Location: Pembroke, VA – Jefferson National Forest/Cascades Recreation Area

Driving Directions: Take exit 118 on I-81 north on US-460, making sure to use the bypasses around Christiansburg   and Blacksburg. After 26.6 miles turn right on Cascade Dr (SR-T623) in Pembroke.  The entrance is in 3.3 miles.

Finding the Trail: Find the trailhead at the upper end of the parking lot. The Cascades National Scenic Trail follows Big Stoney Creek upstream, eventually forking into an upper and lower trail. If the lower trail is open, take it because it is definitely the more beautiful of the two. The upper trail ascends the gorge, continuing to follow the stream, albeit at a distance. It eventually descends again to the stream to meet the lower trail. The lower trail follows the stream closely past beautiful cascades and pools. After the trails rejoin, they snake their way through the narrow gorge between high cliff walls. After passing an old stone building, the falls come into view.

Trail Distance: Total hike is 4.0 miles round trip over sometimes steep terrain on a sometimes rough and often muddy path.

More details about the trail and hike can be found at the Giles County website – http://gilescounty.org/cascades.html

Park Fee: $3.00 per vehicle

For More Information call:
540-552-4641
Jefferson National Forest

Cascade Falls - Pembroke, VA

Cascade Falls - Pembroke, VA during Winter

Now – just a side note – the above picture is not mine and I do not know the person in it. However, it captures the beauty of the falls in the winter so I went with it. If it is yours, email me and I’ll gladly give you credit.

In the winter when the falls have frozen or are close to freezing was my favorite time to hit this trail.

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“For solitude on the northern stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway, skip the hordes at Humpback Rocks and drive southwest to MP 18.5. After parking, cross the parkway and look for the White Rock Falls trail marker. Follow the yellow-blazed trail as it unfurls beside lichen-covered rocks and gurgling White Rock Creek. The trail crosses the creek after 1.4 miles, where you’ll find boulder-lined pools ready-made for wading.

To finish the loop, rock-hop across the creek to switchbacks that travel close to the falls, tempering the scenic pay-off with a steep, 400-foot climb. An easy-to-miss side trail before the last switchback leads to hidden, but stellar views of the 35-foot falls. Once at the top, snap a photo of Priest Mountain then continue over rippling brooks and small wooden bridges. At the parkway, follow the trail across the road to Slacks Overlook, visible to your left. From the overlook, walk right to pick up the blue-blazed Slacks Overlook Trail, a narrow multi-use trail shared with mountain bikers. Turn right at White Rock Gap Trail (a left leads to Sherando Lake Campground) and continue for a half-mile back to your car.

-Mapped by Amy C. Balfour”

To view the full details of the trip, the trail, the submitted pictures, and the coordinates, you can head to the Backpacker.com website – White Rock Falls Trail

The festival featured the National Strawberry Eating Contest, lots of food vendors, all sorts of craft vendors and tents set up with goods for sale, games for kids, and more. Below are some pictures and a short (~15 second) video of the bagpipe band from Winchester that was there.

Even though it went to a good cause (Emmanuel Church) I still feel like $20 per car was a bit pricey to charge as entrance, especially for those of us who just came with two people (like us). If it was a family of 5 or bigger group, then the flat rate was worth it. I’d like to see a per person charge up to a certain number of people. I think that would even attract more people being more affordable. But, still, the parking “lot” was packed with tons of cars – so congrats on a great success for the 16th annual festival.

With things on the agenda like children’s games, live entertainment, hayrides, crafts, puppet shows and raffles, you don’t want to miss out. Oh, and I better not forget the National Strawberry Eating Championship offering an amatuer and professional round. View the full list of activities on their website.

Hopefully we’ll come home with some good pictures, videos, and maybe a story or two. The weather for the weekend looks good during the days so it should be a great time.

It’s a bit pricey in my opinion to get in – $20 per car for a one day pass (it runs Saturday and Sunday) – so it better be worth it and not rain! Get the full low down on the festival at the Delaplane Strawberry Festival website!

If you’re looking for a listing of all the state parks in Virginia, then look no further. Below is a list of all the Virginia State Parks and links to their individual pages within the Virginia State Parks website.

Bear Creek Lake (BC)
Belle Isle (BI)

Breaks Interstate (BR)
Caledon Natural Area (CA)

Chippokes Plantation (CP)
Claytor Lake (CL)

Douthat (DO)
False Cape (FC)
Fairy Stone (FS)
First Landing (FL)
Grayson Highlands (GH)
High Bridge Trail (HB)
Holliday Lake (HL)

Hungry Mother (HM)
James River (JR)
Kiptopeke (KP)
Lake Anna (LA)
Leesylvania (LE)

Mason Neck (MN)
Natural Tunnel (NT)
New River Trail (NR)

Occoneechee (OC)

Pocahontas (PO)
Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historic (SC)
Shenandoah River Raymond R. “Andy” Guest Jr. (SH)
Shot Tower (ST)

Sky Meadows (SK)
Smith Mountain Lake (SM)

Southwest Virginia Museum Historical (SW)

Staunton River (SR)
Staunton River Battlefield (SB)
Tabb Monument

Twin Lakes (TL)
Westmoreland (WE)

Wilderness Road (WR)
York River (YR)

Enjoy all the beautiful areas that Virginia has to offer!

1. Bull Run Mountain Conservancy area

2. Raven Rocks
3. Buzzard Hill

4. Sky Meadows

Some of these have been posted about here on Virginia Hiker, but I have yet to get out on them and hopefully that will happen before May!

Have you been to any of these trails? Are they as good as they sound?

A couple of their books will overlaps states depending on the area that it features. For Virginia hikes, the best two to check out would be 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Richmond and 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Washington D.C..

I’ll be featuring some more hiking trail guide books for Virginia trails soon, but I wanted to put out this set now. Check them out and let us know what you think!