Wednesday, December 7, 2011

100 Great Day Hikes Every Charlottesville Hiker Should Try


Top 100 Hikes Near Charlottesville


100 Mountain Day Hikes Near Charlottesville
(with a few overnights thrown in.)

This list is a work in progress.  I don't think I even have 100 hikes listed!  I have linked each hike to a description where I have one.  Click on the name of each hike to read the description.  This list is continually updated, most recently in 2016.

It comes out of frustration that one local Meetup hiking group insists on scheduling the most boring local hikes because they are close to town.  Even on weekends, they are loathe to drive much more than a half hour to the trailhead.  There are so many great hikes within a 1.5 hour drive of Charlottesville that every hiker should develop a checklist of hikes that should be taken.

As someone who grew up in flat Illinois, I celebrate the variety of great workouts within a short drive of my home.

Consider this list to be a start; feel free to copy it and adapt it for your needs.  There are a wide variety of great books and websites on hiking trails in Virginia which can help everyone put together their own list.  Develop your own list and work to check off the trails.  An "(N)" below means that I have not yet hiked the trail.  Let me know if you find other trails - I come up with several new trails every year that I had never heard of before!

Be sure to check out my other posts at Wandering Virginia.

Shenandoah National Park South
Hightop Mountain via A.T.
Sugar Hollow to Turk Mountain
Browns Gap Turnpike in Winter

Shenandoah National Park Central
Dark Hollow Falls
South River Falls
Hoover Camp Loop (Mill Prong/Laurel Prong/AT)
Jones Mountain/Bear Church Rocks via Staunton River Trail
Wilhite Wagon Trail/Doubletop Mountain Trail
Sams Ridge Trail/Hazel River Trail Loop
Leading Ridge Trail out-and-back (steep!)
St. Mary's Wilderness Area
St. Mary's Trail 

Sherando Area
White Rock Falls Loop

Other Pedlar District Trails, GWNF

GWNF West of Staunton
Wild Oak Trail
Bald Mountain/Dowells Draft Loop
Chestnut Ridge/Grooms Ridge Trails Loop
Crawford Mountain Trail
Chimney Hollow Trail

Lexington Area

Ramseys Draft Wilderness Area
Georgia Camp Trail
Shaw's Fork Trail
Ramsey's Draft 18 mile loop
Bridge Hollow Trail to The Peak
Bald Ridge Trail to The Peak
Camp Todd to Hardscrabble Knob

Miscellaneous Hikes
Nature Conservancy's Fortune's Cove Preserve
Albemarle County Byrom Preserve Blue Loop Trail
Rivanna Trail (If you absolutely cannot get out of town...)

Appalachian Trail Throughout Virginia
List of sections reviewed.

Mid Atlantic Hikes a Little Further Away
Mt. Rogers from Grayson Highlands
Mt. Rogers from the south on the A.T.
Cranberry Wilderness, WV
Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV (N)
Roaring Plains Wilderness, WV
Big Draft Wilderness, WV
Virginia's Triple Crown - McAfee Knob, Dragon Tooth, Tinker Cliffs
Burkes Garden Backpack on the A.T.

Greatest Hikes I have Ever Taken
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Trail to South Rim, Grand Canyon
Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point, Grand Canyon
Knife Edge Trail to Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine (easily the most spectacular hike in the East)
Crawford Path to A.T. to summit of Mt. Washington and down the Ammonoosic Trail, New Hampshire
Franconia Ridge, New Hampshire (probably the second most spectacular hike in the East)
Mt. Mitchell climb, North Carolina
Garden Wall Trail, Glacier National Park
North Kaibab Trail to Roaring Springs and back, Grand Canyon North Rim
Carlo Col/Goose Eye Loop, New Hampshire and Maine
Mt. Adams Ascent, White Mountains, New Hampshire

Like what you see?  Check out my other blog postings!  LINK.

5 comments:

  1. this is such a great list! Thanks for compiling and sharing it!

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  2. Awesome. I have to start trying everyone. Thanks for the list.

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  3. Thanks! Looking for new trails.

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  4. Very fine list. Hiking Charlottesville and beyond since the 80's, and you've missed very few.

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  5. Thank you, cannot wait to explore these trails!! Virginia is such a beautiful state, we are blessed to see God's beauty in His creation here!! Thanks & Happy Trails, Everyone!!!

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