The Traces Trail is a short, easy stroll through the woods. Located near Mathews Arm Campground in Shenandoah National Park, this hike is perfectly suited for families with young children and novice hikers.
The Traces Trail has some hints of the area’s bygone mountain people.
Adam Says…
We decided to do a couple of short hikes on a Sunday afternoon. Since we had just been pounded with rain the last few days, we were worried that hiking would be a little muddy, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
We had read about the Traces Trail in the North District of Shenandoah National Park in a hiking guide we had at home. The write-up in the book seemed to make this out to be a wonderful hiking trail where you would see glimpses of life from a bygone era and hints of mountainous views. You do get to see a few stone walls along the way and a glimpse or two of views through thick tree growth, but the overall hike doesn’t have much of a payoff.
I would recommend this hike if you just want to enjoy a nice walk through the woods, but there is not a lot to see here.
You start the hike from the eastern side of the parking lot (the post is painted with Traces Trail on it). You’ll pass a few concrete posts that mark where the trail intersects with other trails, but just stay on the Traces Trail throughout.
One interesting thing on the trail is you will eventually come to a sign in front of a fenced-in area. The area is being fenced to determine if white-tailed deer are damaging local flora. The fences are high enough that deer can not jump them. We didn’t see much difference from the fenced-in area and where we were, so it will be interesting to see if the research leads to any findings.
We didn’t see much wildlife on the hike.
Christine Says
There really aren’t too many things to say about this trail. It was short and pleasant, but had little in the way of scenery or unique features. On the day we walked this trail, a big storm system was just leaving the area, so the weather was cool and very breezy. I actually remember the sound of the wind rustling in the trees more than I remember anything about the trail. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors.
The ferns are already going to gold.
As Adam mentioned, there were some historical artifacts along the trail. We saw crumbling stone walls, overgrown old roads and remnant apple trees mixed in with newer growth. The cultural history of the park is interesting and still somewhat controversial. Many people aren’t aware that Shenandoah’s land was essentially stolen from the mountain people who had lived there long before the idea for this national park was born. The park was authorized in 1926. From that point on, government officials systematically (and often forcefully) removed families from their land. The mountain people were portrayed in the media as ignorant and uneducated. Newspaper articles made it sound like the government was doing these people a favor by relocating them to settlements outside the park. If you read the history and letters from the original park residents, you’ll see that these people were not country bumpkins who needed the government’s care. They were mostly hardworking families who loved the land they had long called home.
Trail Notes
Distance – 1.7 miles loop
Elevation Change – Maybe a couple hundred feet
Difficulty – 1. Other than two short climbs near the beginning of the trail, this hike is relatively level.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is well-maintained and easy to walk.
Views –1. You get a few glimpses of a view through the trees, but mostly this is just a pleasant walk through the woods.
Waterfalls/streams –0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 1 A few birds and squirrels.
Ease to Navigate – 3. There are a few junctions along this trail, but if you keep following the markers for the Traces Trail, you can’t go wrong.
Solitude – 2. This trail’s easy terrain, short distance and location next to Mathews Arm Campground make this a popular trail, especially for families.
Directions to trailhead:
Follow Skyline Drive to the Mathews Arm Campground at mile marker 22. Park at the amphitheater and follow the blue-blazed Traces Trail that departs from the east end of the parking lot.
Big Schloss is a moderate 4 mile hike with gorgeous views at the top. Located in George Washington National Forest’s Lee Ranger District, this trail is one of our favorite re-hikes due to great views and beauty of the trail.
Christine’s dad and Adam at the Big Schloss overlook.
Adam says…
Since Christine’s birthday is this week, her parents wanted to do something to celebrate. So, we decided to take them on a hike to Big Schloss and have a picnic. We’ve done this hike on numerous occasions, but this was the first time for her parents.
German settlers to this area named this rock outcropping “Big Schloss” due to its resemblance to a castle. “Schloss” means “castle” in German.
We parked at the Wolf Gap Campground. There are outhouses near the parking lot in case you need to make a pit stop before the hike. The Mill Mountain trailhead starts out from campsite #9. You’ll see the trail marker indicating a distance of two miles to Big Schloss.
Christine’s mom climbs the Mill Mountain Trail. Below: We saw lots of red and yellow in the trees already, the first panoramic view after the initial ascent, Christine’s Mom and Dad check out the small cave
The hike starts off with a fairly steep and steady uphill. However, you are getting this portion of the hike done with first, which is a nice bonus. After .66 miles, your climb ends. When you reach the ridge, the trail takes a sharp turn to the left. For most of the remainder of this hike, you will be walking on the top of the ridge, with occasional views through the trees to your left of the Long Mountain ridge and better views to your right.
At .78 miles, you will come to your first overlook. We noticed quite a bit of tree color on the trail and at the overlooks, which gets us both excited for some fall hiking. You’ll continue walking on the ridge, going slightly up and down, but not a lot of elevation change. At 1.75 miles, you will reach a signpost leading you to take a right to take the Big Schloss spur trail to the summit just .25 miles ahead. At 1.9 miles, you will see a campsite off to the left of the main trail and a small rock outcrop that holds a small cave.
You access the Big Schloss overlook via a small wood footbridge.
Shortly after this, you will cross a wooden footbridge and then reach the summit for the best views. There is not a ton of room on the rocks to view the summit, but you will likely have a spot to enjoy the view and eat a snack.
At the summit, we ate a small handful of trailmix and then made our way back to the parking lot for a picnic lunch. Christine’s mother went overboard on packing for the picnic. She brought about 15 pieces of fried chicken, various pasta salads, pineapple, grapes, cheese & crackers, three different bags of potato chips, assorted beverages, and two birthday cakes (lemon blueberry cake and coconut cake). We ate way more than should have, but we had a wonderful morning for a hike.
Adam and our friend Shannon found the Big Schloss Cache back in 2007.
If you are into geocaching, there is one that you can find not too far from the summit.
Big Schloss is one of my favorite hikes in the Lee District. It’s a beautiful hike in every season! Springtime brings a trail lined with mountain laurel and rhododendron. In the fall, the changing foliage colors spread across the valley below like a colorful tapestry (photo from Fall ’08). Summer brings fog in the valley and dense green foliage all around (photo from May 2007). In the winter, views are crystal clear and unobstructed for miles and miles.
Big Schloss offers beautiful, panoramic views – especially to the west.
The area is popular with central Virginians. The Wolf Gap campground is often full, and you’ll see hiking groups – especially on weekends. We’ve seen everything from hardcore mountain bikers to ultra-distance trail runners on the Mill Mountain trail. A couple years ago, we even met a team of competitive cyclists helping an injured teammate off the mountain. The terrain is very rugged, so I imagine you’d have to be an experienced mountain biker to travel this route.
On this particular day, we hiked with my Mom & Dad to celebrate my birthday. In addition to their wonderful company, I also got the gift of a new hiking gadget before starting the hike. My parents gave me a pair of Komperdell trekking poles. I’ve been wanting to get a set of poles for quite some time now, so I was thrilled with the present. I don’t really have the best of balance, so I loved the added stability the poles gave me hiking down the loose, rocky trail on the return trip. I was also amazed with how much strain they took off my knees. The model they gave me has cork handles, which are apparently cooler and chafe less than other handle types.
We were surprised to see how many colorful leaves had already fallen.
When we started out on our hike, the sky was brilliant blue with just an occasional cloud passing by overhead. By the time we got to the overlook, the sky was mostly cloudy and hazy. It wasn’t the best view that we’ve ever had from Big Schloss, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I loved seeing the hints of autumn starting to appear in the forest. The Virginia creeper was crimson. A lot of maples and dogwoods were starting to change, too. At every open viewpoint, we could see distant ridges with red, yellow and orange trees peppered into the greenness. Fall is definitely on its way, and I think it might be coming early this year.
We really didn’t stay too long at the summit, especially since we had a big picnic lunch waiting for us at the campground. As Adam mentioned, my mom went nuts with quantity and selection. I’m not complaining, but seriously… who brings two birthday cakes to a picnic lunch for four people?
My mom even brought birthday candles along. My family “sang” Happy Birthday to me while the breeze repeatedly blew out the candles. You’ll notice “sang” is in quote marks. I have to tell you, my family cannot sing – not a single note. They’re so bad, it’s become a family joke to make “Happy Birthday to You” sound like the saddest, most off-key, howl-inducing dirge you might ever imagine. Since we were in a public place, my dad and Adam put extra effort into singing it loudly and badly. I think I heard babies crying, dogs barking and campers exclaiming “What is that noise?”
After lunch, we parted ways with my parents and headed home. It was a great hike.
Note: There is another great trail starting out from the Wolf Gap Campground. If you have a couple days in the area, check out the Tibbet Knob trail.
Trail Notes
Distance – 4 milesout-and-back. Add another .1 mile to get to your car.
Elevation Change –1000 feet
Difficulty – 2. After a rather steep .7 mile climb at the beginning, the trail is mostly level and follows a ridge. There is one other short climb after the Mill Mountain Trail meets up with the Big Schloss spur.
Trail Conditions – 2.5. The trail is well-maintained but it’s rocky and has lots of loose footing in the first .7 mile.
Views –4.5. The view are pretty spectacular – especially on a clear day.
Waterfalls/streams –0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – 0 We didn’t see anything beyond chipmunks, birds and squirrels. We did see a fawn near the Wolf Gap campground.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just stay straight on the trail.
Solitude – 2. This trail doesn’t see the same crowds as trails in Shenandoah National Park, but it is a popular hike with the local crowd.
Directions to trailhead:
From I-81, take exit 279. Follow Rte. 675 until it meets Route 42. Turn right on 42 and then take almost an immediate left on 675 (Wolf Gap Road). Follow Wolf Gap Road (you will have to make a few turns so keep an eye at road junctions) until you come to the Wolf Gap Campground (right on the Hardy County Line.)
Amherst County’s Cole Mountain Loop is a moderate 6 mile hike with serious payoffs at the summit. Situated in George Washington National Forest’s Pedlar Ranger District, this trail (also know as “Cold Mountain”) is one of Central Virginia’s only hikes to cross a bald, pasture-like summit. Views of the valley from the saddle and summit are open in every direction.
The Cole Mountain summit is open and offers panoramic views in every direction. In this shot you can see the white Appalachian Trail blaze and the USGS benchmark.
Christine Says…
Despite the busyness of our weekend, Adam and I made time to hike the Cole Mountain loop on Sunday morning. We had read a description of the trail on another hiking site. Their reviewer compared the summit to Scotland or Switzerland. I don’t know about that, but it was definitely some of the prettiest Virginia summit scenery I’ve ever seen.
We started out from home at 5:30 in the morning. It was still dark, but we wanted to hike before the crowds and heat got too bad. We made a short detour before the hike to visit Statons Creek Falls. It was just a couple miles from the trailhead, and was well worth a look.
The Appalachian Trail crossing is well-marked. Park across from this sign in a small lot.
The forest service road to the Cole Mountain trailhead is unpaved and bumpy. There is only room for five or six cars at the parking area, which is located right at an Appalachian Trail crossing.
The hike starts out downhill along the forest service road for a couple tenths of a mile. You’ll soon pick up the blue-blazed Hotel Trail on the right side of the road. The route follows the Hotel Trail for about 3.5 miles until a junction with the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT takes you up a series of switchbacks, across the Cole Mountain summit and eventually back down to the parking lot where you started out.
Just a few of the gorgeous wildflowers on display in the meadow. Pictured below: The old hog wall, the open meadow along the Hotel Trail, a beautiful tree sheltering one of the loveliest backcountry campgrounds in Virginia.
The thing I loved about this hike was the ever-changing landscape along the way. It was a perfect sampling of Virginia’s varied scenery. The trail started off winding its way down through lush, green beds of ferns sheltered by old hardwoods. After passing through a short tunnel of pines, the forest gave way to a wide meadow-like clearing filled with shoulder high wildflowers in every shade of pink, purple, yellow and white. Descending back into the forest, we saw numerous remnants from a bygone mountain farm. Crumbling stone “hog walls” and errant apple trees were easily spotted along the trail.
The Cow Camp Gap Shelter. Pictured below: a checkerboard is painted onto the shelter floor, Adam enjoys reading the shelter journal
We took a snack break along a small stream just before the 3 mile mark. There was a fire pit and log seats that made a perfect place to enjoy some trail mix and water. We ended up taking another break a few tenths of a mile down the trail when we arrived at the Cow Camp Gap Shelter. This shelter is just one of many three-sided huts located along (or near) the Appalachian Trail. This one was especially nice. There was a checkerboard painted on the floor, with acorn cap and twig game pieces. The shelter had a newer log book, so there weren’t many entries to enjoy this time. The site also had the biggest picnic table I’ve ever seen. It made Adam look like he was hobbit-sized.
The shelter marks the beginning of the only serious uphill climb on this hike. About a half mile after leaving the shelter, you meet up with the Appalachian Trail and head north. Along the way, the forest begins to thin out, giving you glimpses of a view from rocky ledges along the trail.
Upon reaching the saddle of Cole Mountain, the terrain changes radically and instantly. The trees disappear and a wide, pasture-like alley appears across the summit. The field is dotted with giant boulders and speckled with wildflowers. It’s a great place for a picnic lunch. You certainly can’t beat the sweeping views in every direction.
Adam Says…
This truly was a wonderful hike! I don’t think this hike is very well known to those that don’t live in Central Virginia, but it is a true gem and definitely worth a trip no matter where you live. We had absolutely perfect hiking weather with beautiful blue skies, dappled with an occasional cloud. We plan on coming back down to this area soon to try the nearby hike of Mount Pleasant.
Cole Mountain is also commonly known as Cold Mountain (and is listed as such on Hiking Upward), but when we saw its official name through the USGS was Cole Mountain, we are sticking with their name. I know when I told my family about hiking Cold Mountain, they thought about the movie with Nicole Kidman and Jude Law. That Cold Mountain is actually in North Carolina, along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The first lookout point along the Appalachian Trail was already showing some signs of fall.
To begin the circuit that we chose, we took the Hotel Trail. The origin of the name is supposedly derived from the landowner Joseph Richeson, whose house was known as The Hotel, due to the number of frequent guests.
Once you start the Hotel Trail, you will almost immediately come to a horse gate. Go through the horse gate and continue to follow the blue blazes. You will follow these blue blazes until you reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. At .9 miles, you will reach the beautiful field of wildflowers on your left that Christine mentioned. At around 1.3 miles, you will reach a gorgeous spot for an overnight camp. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is planning on doing a backpacking trip. There is a large firepit formed with logs to sit and enjoy some S’mores over an open fire.
From the firepit, look to the northeast and you will see the blue blazes continue. At 1.7 miles, you will come across the “hog wall”, which is neat to think about people that used this area in the past. Continue down the trail until you reach the bottom of Cow Camp Gap at 2.9 miles. On our way down, I heard some strong howling off in the distant which sounded like coyotes. Since we’ve heard of this from other hikers, there must be some nearby. You will see on the other side of a small stream, the Cow Camp Gap Shelter. This is a great spot for any thru-hikers or people that just want to have a packed lunch, rest, or fill up water from the spring. We always enjoy reading the logs that thru-hikers and backpackers leave during their trips there. Once you see the shelter on the right, just stay on the trail until you reach the junction just ahead. The path to the right will take you to the shelter and the spring, but after your stop, you will take the path to the left. I imagine that during rainier times, this would be a nice spot to hear a trickling stream, but it was dried out when we were there.
From the junction at the shelter, you will have another .5 miles to reach the junction with the Appalachian Trail. At 3.5 miles, take a right (North) on the Appalachian trail. You will continue your ascent through a few switchbacks. At 3.7 miles, you will reach the first of two nice spots for an overlook at the edge of the switchback. Continue on the trail until you reach the large meadow with the summit. You will see a few vertical 4 foot high rocks sticking out of the ground. On the ground in the rock, you will see the USGS benchmark which marks the summit of Cole Mountain at 4,033 feet. Take a moment to enjoy the views at the summit and continue to follow the AT white blazes going north. You will see many gorgeous panoramic 360 degree views as you cross along the highlands for a few tenths of a mile. The scenery was truly breathtaking as we trekked across the highlands of the saddle, across the bald summit. (Note: camping and/or fires are not allowed on the bald of Cold Mountain.) At the end of the meadow at 5.2 miles, you will begin your descent into the woods and back to your vehicle. You will cross over a fire road, but stay on the white-blazed trail until you reach your vehicle.
Adam makes his way across the bald summit of Cole Mountain. Pictured below: this bush was heavy with berries.
If you are into geocaching, there are a two that you can find along the way. The first is at the “hog wall” and the second is near the summit. There was also another at Statons Creek Falls, which I feel is one of the prettiest waterfalls in Virginia. Here are links to the sites for those that are interested:
As a slightly humorous aside, we did see a couple of guys hiking that came over from another mountain. They had already hiked for about 8 miles, making this hike their second summit. They were planning on going back the way they came and making it a 17 mile hike to do in one day. We saw them around noon and they were hoping to make it back to their car around dinner time. They had a poor map and we tried to show them directions, but they were off quickly. However, they ended up going the opposite way away from their vehicle. We thought we should probably check the news to see if they became lost. I hope they got back safely, but I’m sure they had to reheat their dinner.
I would definitely say that this hike is one of my favorites in Virginia. The views were exceptional and the scenery along the entire trail was magnificent. Make this a “must-do” hike in your future planning! You won’t regret it.
Trail Notes
Distance – 6 miles loop
(Check out the stats from Map My Hike)* Note – the MapMyHike stats show the loop in reverse. When we rehiked the route on 6/25/16, we did it the opposite way so we hit the meadow views first.
Elevation Change – 1490 feet – The trail starts out both up and down, but the ascent to the summit is about 1.5 miles uphill.
Difficulty – 3. The trail starts with some ascents and descents. Once you meet the AT, you have about a steady uphill for 1.5 miles, but it wasn’t too tough.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is well-maintained and not too hard on the feet. There are some downhill portions that have some loose rock.
Views – 5. It doesn’t get better than panoramic 360 degree mountain views. We felt the scenery throughout the trail was gorgeous.
Waterfalls/streams – 0.5. There is a stream near the Cow Camp Gap shelter, but it was down to a trickle for us.
Wildlife – 1.5. We only saw a deer around here.
Ease to Navigate – 3. There aren’t a lot of turns here, but you may feel a little confused starting off.
Solitude –3.5. We did encounter a few people, but we had a lot of beauty to ourselves. Expect to see a few people along the highlands at the top, but there is a ton of room to enjoy the scenery privately.
* MapMyHike is not necessarily accurate, as the GPS signal fades in and out – but it still provides some fun and interesting information.
Directions to trailhead: Take Exit 188A off of Interstate-81, merging on to US-60 towards Buena Vista. After going through Buena Vista, take a left at Coffeytown Road/Rte 634. After 1.6 miles, take a right on to Wiggins Spring Road/Rte 755. While four-wheel drive isn’t necessary, I would recommend it since it is a rough gravel road. Stay on this for about 2.5 miles until you reach parking on the left side of the road. (GPS Coordinates for parking: 37.759652, -79.195336) Park your vehicle and then proceed further down the road for .2 miles. Before the road splits, you will see two posts marked with blue blazes which will begin the Hotel Trail.
Hightop Mountain is a nice hike along the Appalachian Trail in the Southern District of Shenandoah National Park. It features a super view and you can take a short spur trail to view an Appalachian Trail shelter.
It wasn’t the prettiest day for hiking, but the view from Hightop was still impressive. Hightop is the tallest peak in the south district of the park.
Adam Says…
Wow, it’s been a while. Sorry for the delay in posting anything new for a while, but life has just gotten in the way. We did get to go for a week in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and our annual trip to Acadia National Park in Maine, but we haven’t hiked in Virginia for a while. We’re just now getting back into the swing of things. We had a limited time on Sunday to do a hike, so we decided to pick something close by and relatively short. It was great to get back on the trails!
The hike was very nice. The trail had a steady uphill the entire way up, but it felt very manageable. We noticed that the trail was a little more overgrown than normal. This year has seemed to be great for weeds growing early on in the summer. Usually we have better views along the side of Skyline Drive and the trails, but things seem to have grown wilder this year. I’m sure the rain and cooler summer temps have caused this. The grass and weeds along the way tended to tickle our legs. The hike didn’t have a lot to view along the way, but it was nice to take a side trip and view the AT cabin and log. Around 1.2 miles, you will reach the intersection with the Smith Roach Gap Fire Road. Just cross the road to continue on the AT. You can reach the AT cabin by taking the spur trail shortly after the intersection with the Smith Roach Gap Fire Road. I always enjoy reading through the logs of those that have passed through. In this logbook there was some entries about people bringing the thru-hikers food, some card game scores, and a tale about how a bunch of them danced naked in the evening.
The views at the top really do show you a lot of mountains to the south and you can get nice glimpses of Skyline Drive. On a nice fall day, this could be a great photo opportunity when the leaves change color.
On the way back after .6 miles, you can take the option of taking the Smith Roach Gap Fire Road back to your car by taking a left, but the fire road looked very overgrown, so we opted to just go back the way we came.
Hightop Hut offers a nice rest stop for weary hikers and backpackers. Below: The hut has a trail journal. They are always a lot of fun to read.
Christine Says…
It was so great to get back out on the trail again! I loved lacing my boots up, feeling the trail crunching under my soles and hearing the sounds of late summer bees buzzing lazily through the wild flowers. I’ve been out of the woods for far too long.
The hike up Hightop is one we’ve done several times now, but we’ve always approached the summit as an out-and-back from the northern end of the trail. It’s shorter and steeper, but gets you to the same viewpoint. I actually enjoyed this southern approach quite a bit more. The grade was very gentle and gradual. This route also gave us the opportunity to visit the Hightop Hut. I always like to stop by the AT shelters and read the trail journals.
This cute little toad was one of the few wildlife specimens we saw along our walk.
The view from the summit of Hightop was beautiful. The sky may have been cloudy, but we could still see ten layers of mountain ridges fading into the distant southwest. We also got a nice view of our “home” mountain – Massanutten.
After the hike, Adam and I started casually tossing around the idea of doing a long backpacking trip next summer. We might try to hike the 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park sometime next spring. The more we talk about it, the less casual the idea seems. We’ll see…
Trail Notes
Distance –3.8 miles out-and-back which includes an optional .2 mile trip to an AT shelter
Elevation Change –967 feet
Difficulty – 2. While it is a steady uphill the way up, it’s not too steep of a grade.
Trail Conditions – 4. The trail is well-traveled and well-maintained.
Views –3. At the summit, you do have a chance to get some nice views of Skyline Drive and beyond. We counted a series of 10 ridges of depth at the top.
Waterfalls/streams –0. Non-existent.
Wildlife – .5 Other than a toad, we only saw one doe. There also didn’t appear to be a lot of birds on this trail.
Ease to Navigate – 4. Just stay straight on the trail.
Solitude – 3.5 This trail doesn’t see a lot of traffic, but would be busier during the AT thru-hiking in the summer.
Directions to trailhead:
Park on the east side of Skyline Drive at Smith Roach Gap (around mile marker 68.5). At the end of the parking lot, go on the fire road. The trail takes off about 10 yards on the left.
Virginia Trail Guide is back after taking a couple months off! During our hiatus, we spent a week visiting New Hampshire. We hiked a couple trails in the White Mountains and one near the Squam Lakes. New Hampshire is beautiful country – abundant with rushing streams, waterfalls and panoramic mountain views.
Franconia Notch State Park (NH) is home to many spectacular streams and waterfalls. Don’t miss visiting Flume Gorge!
After New Hampshire, we headed over to Maine for a week-long stay on Mt. Desert Island (Acadia National Park). We did several long bike rides along Acadia’s carriage roads and hiked several mountains (Cadillac, Gorham, Champlain and Penobscot). We’ve visited Maine every summer for over a decade now. It’s a fantastic vacation spot for any outdoor-enthusiast. Whether you’re into paddling, biking or hiking, there are endless options for every skill level.
Gorham Mountain’s mix of ocean and mountain scenery makes this hike a perennial favorite. The pink granite mountaintops are an iconic part of Acadia National Park.
The last few weeks of our hiatus were occupied by Christine’s art show. For the last month, she’s been showing her work in “The Cabin” at Rockingham Springs Arboretum. On Sunday, the urge to hike overwhelmed our lack of free time. We woke up early so that we could squeeze in a short hike before the art show opened at 1:00. We’ll be posting a write-up about Shenandoah National Park’s Hightop Mountain Trail in the next few days.
Also, stay tuned for posts from Virginia’s highland region. We have a weekend trip planned near Abingdon/Damascus, and are hoping to hike Mt. Rogers and bike the Virginia Creeper Trail.
Now that we’re finally getting some free time, we’re looking forward to a great fall season on the trails!
Virginia Trail Guide 
