Best Trails of Virginia

This list represents the most popular trails in Virginia (learn more about Top Trails). Use this list to plan your next Virginia outdoor trip. Select a state and/or activity below to find even more top trails.

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#1. Furnace Mountain / Trayfoot Mountain Overnight Loop

If you like mountaintop views and camping along streams, this loop is for you. Head north on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and turn west toward Austin Mountain, with many views of your destination. Camp…

From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in Shenandoah National Park"
Grottoes , VA - Hiking - 20.6 miles

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#2. Appalachian Trail (VA) - Chester Gap to Harpers Ferry

The Blue Ridge of northern Virginia have none of the 4,000-foot-plus heights so plentiful on the AT farther south. Still, the northern Virginia leg is one exhausting climb after another. On open mount…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Front Royal , VA - Hiking - 54.4 miles

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#3. Old Rag - Shenandoah National Park

Old Rag is so popular, the park has special rules for recreational use. There’s a fee to park and use the trails on certain weekends and holidays during summer and fall. What’s the attraction? Old Rag…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Sperryville , VA - Hiking - 15.4 miles

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#4. Appalachian Trail (VA) - Damascus to Marion

As an introduction to Virginia, it’s hard to top Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The AT passes near the tallest mountains in the state. Close to the summit of Mount Rogers, wild ponies graze in…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Damascus , VA - Hiking - 63.8 miles

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#5. Difficult Run - Reston to Great Falls National Park

This 12-mile point-to-point route from Reston, Virginia, to Great Falls National Park may define what could someday become a new form of non-paved trail systems through the ever-growing and increasing…

From the guidebook "Mountain Biking the Washington, D.C. / Baltimore Area"
Reston , VA - Mountain Biking - 24 miles

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#6. Big Devils Stairs

This is a moderate hike with a great reward. The walking is easy, and the trails are used surprisingly little. The nearly level Bluff Trail takes you to the Big Devils Stairs canyon rim for a great vi…

From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in Shenandoah National Park"
Front Royal , VA - Hiking - 5.4 miles

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#7. Whiteoak Canyon Falls

It's hard to keep track of all the falls at Whiteoak Canyon. There are six sequentially numbered falls, starting from the Blue Ridge and ending down at the base of the canyon. Whether or not you corre…

From the guidebook "Day & Overnight Hikes in Shenandoah National Park"
Stanley , VA - Hiking - 5.6 miles

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#8. Luray and Shenandoah National Park Waterfalls

When the time came to decide on a location for the headquarters of Shenandoah National Park, the National Park Service selected Luray. An administrative history report explains that Luray was selected…

From the guidebook "Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge"
Luray , VA - Waterfalls

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#9. Mount Rogers Summit

Dispense with the suspense right off: This 5,729-foot monolith of volcanic rock—third loftiest mountain in the Southern Appalachians—is not hard to climb. Yes, you must hike seven miles to reach it fr…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Troutdale , VA - Hiking - 13.3 miles

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#10. Ramsey's Draft Wilderness

Welcome to a wilderness smorgasbord. Ten Appalachian knobs surround the rugged valley through which Ramsey’s Draft courses—the highest of which, Hardscrabble Knob, reaches 4,282 feet. Ramsey’s Draft T…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Staunton , VA - Hiking - 14.8 miles

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#11. Appalachian Trail (VA) - Roanoke to Rockfish Gap

The AT once ran the crest of the Blue Ridge from Roanoke north to Rockfish Gap, until construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway pushed sections onto outlying peaks. That’s good news for hikers who like c…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Roanoke , VA - Hiking - 128.9 miles

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#12. Sherando Lake Recreation Area

Nothing, in my mind, is as beautiful as a lake set against a mountainous background. This recreation area is tucked up against the side of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the eastern edge of the Shenando…

From the guidebook "The Best In Tent Camping: Virginia"
Lyndhurst , VA - Campgrounds

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#13. Appalachian Trail (VA) - Rockfish Gap to Chester Gap

Shenandoah National Park and the AT grew up together. Civilian Conservation Corps crews built Skyline Drive on right-of-ways carved by AT trail volunteers. The routes stay within a half mile of each o…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Waynesboro , VA - Hiking - 107 miles

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#14. Big Meadows Campground

Big Meadows is Shenandoah National Park's largest treeless area, now encompassing a barren plateau that is approximately 640 acres, reduced from 1,000 acres in 1900. Today the dominant shrub growth in…

From the guidebook "The Best In Tent Camping: Virginia"
Luray , VA - Campgrounds

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#15. Big Schloss

In German, schloss means “castle.” In Virginian-speak, schloss can only refer to one geologic wonder, a towering outcrop of sandstone on Mill Mountain. Big Schloss is a popular day trip from Wolf Gap…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Wardensville , VA - Hiking - 19.5 miles

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#16. Crabtree Falls

One of the South’s best waterfall walks also has barrier-free access. Various publications describe this falls as “the highest in Eastern America,” the “highest in Virginia,” and the “highest in the V…

From the guidebook "Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway"
Buena Vista , VA - Hiking - 6 miles

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#17. Bluff Trail / AT Loop

Like so many of the park’s popular trails, the first— and most often visited—feature of this hike is a series of waterfalls within easy reach of Skyline Drive. Big Devil Stairs tumbles down Mount Mars…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Front Royal , VA - Hiking - 15.4 miles

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#18. Cedar Run - Whiteoak Canyon Loop Trail

A very strenuous loop hike through two gorges that passes nine beautiful waterfalls in Cedar Run and Whiteoak Canyon.…

From the guidebook "Hiking Shenandoah National Park"
Skyland , VA - Hiking - 8.8 miles

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#19. Great Falls Park

Land and history are interwoven throughout Great Falls Park—the spot where George Washington championed a canal to skirt the Potomac River’s 77-foot “great falls.” This may be metropolitan DC, but bey…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Great Falls , VA - Hiking - 3.4 miles

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#20. Appalachian Trail (VA) - Marion to Roanoke

The AT through southwest Virginia forsakes the Blue Ridge for the valley and ridge region, but loses none of the beauty or steep climbs. Open cliffs on Tinker Mountain and overlooks from McAfee Knob a…

From the guidebook "Hiking Virginia (Burnham)"
Marion , VA - Hiking - 189.1 miles

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