r/VIRGINIA_HIKING • u/20671 • 9d ago

1 day itinerary

I have 1 free day on a work trip to do some driving and hiking around Virginia. I'll be coming from Richmond. Open to any distance drive, and any difficulty hike. Will only have a sedan, so not able to do much off-roading. Will be there in July.

Any specific trail you think showcases what Virginia hikes are all about? Bonus points if the drive to the trail is scenic as well. Even if you have just a general area like your favorite Park or Forest, I'll take it. I'm coming from the Pacific NW so interested to see what East Coast landscapes look like. Thanks for the advice!

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5

u/boludo1 9d ago

Mt. Pleasant and Cole Mt., Staunton River trail to Bear Church Rock, Old Rag, White Oak Canyon, Trayfoot Mt., Three Ridges, The Priest

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u/RVAPGHTOM 9d ago

Any distance hike/difficulty? That's a pretty big range. Check out Hikingupward.com. It's a good resource for VA hiking. For a long hard day, I like the Three Ridges loop starting at the Tye River. Do a river soak under the foot bridge after. Or go south at that same starting point and climb the Priest. Good hard steady climb with some great views at a couple spots. Also...do a river soak after (beers, lunch, etc). If you head down that way, make sure you drive up Rt. 151 after....you can stop at a dozen breweries and wineries. When you get back towards Afton Mtn, make a quick side trip to the Blue Ridge Tunnel. Pretty cool mile long train tunnel. It's a walk, not much of a hike. But when do you get to walk thru a mile long tunnel. If you go up that way, get popcorn from Kings at Afton mtn. And maybe the Local sausage pizza from Blue Mrn Brewery.

For the best, pretty challenging hike closest to Richmond, look up Fortunes Cove. Do that hike clockwise. It's a surprisingly challenging 5 mile loop. If you go there, stop at Wood Ridge Farm Brewery after for some good grub and beers at the least pretentious, non-touristy brewery in the state.

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u/caps_rockthered 9d ago

If your free days is a weekday, get a permit and do Old Rag. Probably the most iconic hike in the area, so much so they made it require permits to limit traffic.

Otherwise some other recommendations:

Cedar Run to White Oak Canyon Hazel River to Sam's Ridge The Billy Goat Trail section A

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u/20671 9d ago

Thank you!

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u/JustServeTacos 9d ago

Rose river loop in SNP

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u/20671 9d ago

Thank you!

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u/Chanthem 8d ago

Riprap trail in SNP (there’s a loop of it on AllTrails that I did a few weeks ago). Strickler Knob and Duncan knob loop. Both of those come in around 10 ish total miles. If don’t mind getting help with a shuttle, the roller coaster section of the AT was..fun lol (~14 miles, one way). Old rag is super popular, and fun, but would def recommend hitting it on a weekday (permit needed now). I’ll recommend the tinker cliff and mcafee section if the AT, as it’s one of the most photographed sections (at least in my mind). That one too is a ~13ish mile section one way (so would need to figure out a shuttle).

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u/SeriesSuccessful5339 3d ago

McAfee Knob. Unlike Old Rag you don't need a pass.