This 4.7 mile hike is a steady climb that gives you views of the south and west on the climb up and views of the north and east from the summit.

Adam Says…

It is amazing to me to think about how blessed we are to have such great hiking in Virginia.  While we have been slowly trying to accomplish the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park, but we also like to mix in some other hikes.  Christine stumbled across a mention of this hike, so we decided to try it out.  We were pleasantly surprised by the nice views you get on this hike.  Keep in mind, there is another Furnace Mountain in Loudoun County.  There doesn’t seem to be a lot of originality in naming mountains sometimes.  This Furnace Mountain is named for the Mount Vernon Furnace that once stood at the bottom of the mountain for the reduction of iron ore.

We parked our car at the beginning of the fire road and made our way to the boundary of Shenandoah National Park.  As soon as we entered the park boundary, you will see a signpost to the right that denotes the start of the trail.  You will quickly come up to a stream crossing of Madison Run that you can rock-hop across.  These rocks are sturdy, but can be slick in some spots, so be careful.  After crossing Madison Run, the trail turns right and parallels the stream for a short distance.  Then, the trail begins climbing up the mountain.  There is a constant climb uphill for the entire hike.  Around 1.6 miles, the trail comes up to a large talus slope of large boulders which provides an open view of the valley.  The trail continues climbing and at 1.9 miles, you reach a post and an intersection with the Furnace Mountain Summit Trail.  Take this trail, which continues to climb up.  At 2.3 miles, you will reach a campsite at the summit.  Less than .1 miles is the rock outcropping which gives you the best views on the trail.  Return the way you came to make it back to your vehicle.  This time, you’re going all the way downhill.

Madison Run is not named for James Madison, but rather from John Madison, the first Court Clerk of Augusta County.  John Madison’s cousin was the father of James Madison, the 4th US President.  Near this location stood Madison Hall Estate.

We had debated about bringing Wookie on this trip.  He would have loved most of the hike, but would have hated crossing Madison Run.  He really wants to avoid water on the trail, so I know I would have had to carry him with his claws digging in to me.  He just doesn’t like getting his precious feet wet for some reason.

Hiking this trail in the winter gives you views throughout a good portion of the hike.  When the leaves come out, you will have more obstructed views except from the talus slope and the rock outcropping at the summit.  We were excited at how great the views were from the summit.  Even though this mountain’s summit is only at 2657 feet in elevation, it provides some great vistas of the mountains around.  If you’re looking for a manageable hike off the beaten path with good views, this is one to try!

Christine Says…

Adam and I had Friday off work, so we decided to hit the trail for a morning hike.  We thought about doing some more of the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah, but I wasn’t in the mood to drive separately for our car shuttle.  I also didn’t want to drive too far for our hike, so I started researching trails close to our home. We’ve done so many of them already that it’s getting increasingly difficult to find anything nearby.  Luckily, I happened to stumble across a route up Furnace Mountain with a trailhead located about fifteen minutes from our house.  I had been aware of Furnace Mountain before this, but most write-ups I’ve seen cover it as a 13+ mile loop hike (with 3000+ feet of elevation gain) paired with Austin Mountain.  I can hike 13+ miles as a day hike, but I usually don’t enjoy it.  My ideal length for a day hike is still 8-10 miles.

Our trip up Furnace Mountain started off cloudy, and while the clouds thinned out somewhat during the course of the morning, it stayed mostly overcast.  That was a bit of a shame, because the views all along the trail are really nice.  I’m sure some of the views will be obscured once the trees have leaves again, but for the time being, it was great to see views of the Shenandoah Valley along the climb up.

The trail was extremely rocky most of the way, and even crossed a neat talus slope.  I imagine that this mountain was once towering and majestic, but over the ages, the rocky summit crumbled and rolled down the lower slopes.  The climb uphill was steady, but not difficult.  The most challenging part was the footing – lots of football-sized, unevenly seated rocks.

The Furnace Mountain summit trail is a half mile dog leg off the main trail.  Along this segment, we passed a campsite with a well-used fire ring.  Since Shenandoah does not allow open fires in the backcountry, the fire ring really shouldn’t have been there.  I suppose that the park just doesn’t have enough rangers to police illegal fires.

Shortly after the campsite, the trail took a short downhill to a rocky outcropping overlooking the park and the Shenandoah Valley.  We could see Massanutten mountain in one direction and a distant snip of Skyline Drive in the opposite direction.  In early March, everything is still barren and brown.  The dull color paired with the clouds took a little of the luster off the overlook, but it was still very nice.  I’d like to see it again in late spring, summer or fall!

After hanging out a short while, we headed back down the trail.  We made it back to our car in less than half time time it took us to climb up.  We practically jogged the whole way down!  On our way home, I had really been looking forward to stopping at the Elkton McDonald’s for a Shamrock Shake.  We got there… shakes were on the menu… but the stupid machine was out of order.  I was robbed!

Trail Notes

• Distance – 4.7 miles
  
• Elevation Change – about 1300 feet
  
• Difficulty – 3.  The uphill isn’t too strenuous, but there isn’t much break from the climbing.
• Trail Conditions – 3.  We were surprised at how well this trail seemed to be maintained.  The path is a little more open, but does have some rocky sections.  The danger would be in going down, since you can pick up speed and some of the rocks may be loose.
  
• Views – 4.  The views are quite nice, but not 360 degree views.
• Streams/Waterfalls –2.  The trail does go along Madison Run for a short distance.
• Wildlife – 1.  We didn’t really see anything on this trail.
• Ease to Navigate – 4. As long as you cross the stream at the right point and then make the turn on the Summit Trail, you should be fine.
• Solitude – 3.5. Typically only popular with the locals, but you may see a few people on the trail.
  

Directions to trailhead:  From Elkton, VA follow 340 South. You will see SR 659 on the left.  Follow that until it intersects with Browns Gap Road/SR 663.  Take a left and follow the road until it becomes a gravel fire road.  Park on the road. Continue on the fire road for about .2 miles until you enter the park boundary.  The trail marker on the concrete post will be on your right.