Walk this way

Walnut Creek

JACK LOONEY

Into the WOODS

14 favorite Charlottesvillearea hikes, from easy to “ease up!” By Erika Howsare

Our area is loaded with hiking opportunities. Though the obvious destinations—Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway—offer many wonderful trails, you can get your fix much closer to town. We’ve tried to list something for everyone, from the hardcore to the stroller-bound to the hiking-averse. Here are 14 of our favorite hikes in and around Charlottesville.

BEST HIKE FOR A WORKOUT:

Crabtree Falls

You’ll be craving a workout by the time you step out of the car—Crabtree Falls is over an hour from Charlottesville. (Make a nice loop of it: Drive the Parkway from Rockfish Gap to the trailhead on Route 56, then return on Route 151 through Nelson County.) Stretch your quads in the parking lot and then hit the trail. Right away, you’ll get a great view of a section of Crabtree Falls. Enjoy it, but know this is only the beginning— the trail keeps climbing for nearly two steep miles, up switchbacks, steps, and wooden walkways, and passing several other great waterfall viewing spots on the way to the top.

There’s no way to view Crabtree Falls all at once; it’s just too big. In fact, it’s said to be the highest vertical-drop cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi, falling 1,200 feet through five major cascades and many smaller ones. You hike alongside it, not to it. And, of course, it’s magnificent.

The final viewpoint is actually above the top of the falls, where you gaze out at the Tye River valley. From here, if your legs aren’t jelly, an optional add-on is to continue another 1.2 miles to Crabtree Meadows. Or just start back down toward your car, working a whole other muscle group on the way. Length: 4 miles out and back

BEST HIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE HIKING:

Loft Mountain Loop

If you’re in Shenandoah National Park and there’s someone in your group who, ahem, isn’t exactly longing to walk in the woods, the Loft Mountain Loop is a good compromise. It’s easy—part of it’s even paved—yet not so short that you’ll feel disappointed when it’s over. It includes a great view and a stretch on the Appalachian Trail (in case your reluctant trekker might enjoy claiming, when back in civilization, to have “hiked the AT”). And best of all, it’s one of the few hikes anywhere that passes an ice cream stand.

As a loop, Loft Mountain avoids the we’ve-been-here-before boredom of outand-back hikes. Starting at the Loft Mountain Wayside, hike along the Frazier Discovery Trail (which passes under a large rock overhang). The big, southwest-facing view comes about halfway through the hike, and—perhaps even more to the point—it’s the Loft Mountain camp store where you can grab some sweet treats. Keep on munching as you complete the loop on a trail that parallels the campground road. Length: 2.7 mile loop

BEST HIKE TO A SWIMMING HOLE:

Blue Hole at Sugar Hollow

Untrammeled wilderness this is not: Sugar Hollow is one of the most popular destinations for Charlottesville-based hikers, and for good reason. It might not be the place to find solitude—you’ll almost certainly have company on this trail— but if you don’t mind other humans, you’ll be enchanted by Blue Hole. But first you have to get there. Park at the end of Sugar Hollow Road and head to the left, toward the South Fork of the Moormans River. The trail immediately crosses the river (wear water shoes!) and, on the other side, you’ll find the wide, well-traveled path you seek. Don’t take the trail that soon dives down to the left. Keep following the river as the trail skirts the mountainside; after one more stream crossing, you’ll find yourself gently climbing toward the swimming hole.

Actually, it’s a series of swimming holes; you’ll know you’re there when you

CONTINUED ON PAGE 25

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

see big bare cliffs jutting out above you on the left. Check out the rope swing above the big hole—in years past, there used to be a much more bodacious one— and climb around behind the waterfall to find the smaller, more private swimming spots. The whole landscape is a study in the action of water on rock: lovely and refreshing. Length: 3 miles out and back

BEST HIKE NEAR WATER:

Walnut Creek Park

It may not look like much when you’re pulling into the entrance from Old Lynchburg Road, but Walnut Creek Park is not some dinky little patch of land. There’s a 45-acre lake in there! And nearly 500 acres of land to explore! As for hiking, you’ll probably have to visit more than once to experience all 15 miles of trails in this park.

The Walnut Creek trails are wellmapped and maintained, and form a dense network that you could combine in any number of ways. But for an easy-to-navigate hike that samples the best of the park, try leaving your car in the first parking lot and starting off over the little footbridge toward Luke’s Loop. Keep the lake on your left, hook up with Wilkins Way, and just stay on it as it skirts the shore, then climbs the mountain to the park’s highest elevations before looping back to the starting point (5.1 miles altogether). Another, shorter option: the two-mile Blue Wheel trail, which starts from the second parking lot and gives you lots of lake time, too. Length: Variable

BEST HIKE FOR FAMILIES:

Blackrock Summit

If it’s the kids’ first time taking a real, official hike, this is a great choice for an outing with a high chance of success. It’s only a mile long, with an option to add another .6 miles if things are going well. And it doesn’t require a big climb—but it does reward hikers with big views from a summit.

From the Blackrock Summit parking area, near mile 85 on Skyline Drive, follow the Appalachian Trail to the bouldery summit and gaze upon mountains

JACK LOONEY

to the north. You can either continue around the boulders for another set of views to the south, or—for a slightly longer hike—turn right to find the Blackrock Spur Trail, which leads through a boulder field and takes a little more muscle, with 445 feet of elevation gain.

Like all hikes in Shenandoah National Park, Blackrock can be found on a small map available at the entrance kiosk to the park, where you can also pick up a Junior Ranger booklet with lots of kids’ activities. This hike is also an official Kids in Parks TRACK Trail, meaning there’s a special brochure for kids available at the trailhead and the opportunity to log the hike online for free prizes. Length:1 or 1.6 mile loop

BEST EARLY MORNING HIKE:

Spy Rock

If you can get yourself out of bed early enough, make the drive out to the Montebello Fish Hatchery off Route 56 in Nelson County, and start up the Spy Rock trail before sunrise, we congratulate you. Then again, you’re not doing this for kudos; you’re doing it for the view.

Spy Rock

The Spy Rock hike is not the most engaging trek in the region; it starts with about a mile of unrelenting climbing on a fire road (on which you may actually encounter a vehicle), then continues with another half mile of unrelenting climbing on the AT. As you proceed, though, the surroundings become more inviting, until finally you find yourself at the base of Spy Rock—a rocky dome that takes a little scrambling to summit. Once on the top, you’ll forget about all that huffing and puffing as you drink in one of the only 360-degree views in the Blue Ridge. You’re at 3,980 feet of elevation here: a real treat. And if you’ve actually made it in time to see the sun come up, so much the better. This is one of those days you’ll always remember. Length: 3.1 miles out and back

A note on fees

All the hikes listed here are free, except for those in Shenandoah National Park, Walnut Creek Park, and at Crabtree Falls. Shenandoah costs $30 per vehicle, and the $55 annual pass is well worth it if you live nearby.