We took advantage of our proximity to Shenandoah National Park and here are our two favorite hikes in Virginia!
The first of our favorites was a 5.5 mile hike to St. Mary’s falls. Don had to get me on board with this hike because I wanted to hike something “with more views”…but I am so glad he talked me into it, because this hike was a blast! The terrain was rocky but mostly flat, though we had to hike across streams several times. Since we hiked on a weekday we had the waterfall mostly to ourselves at the end! We had no idea the water would be so clear and we found a couple great swimming spots (though we weren’t prepared with swimsuits).
Our second favorite hike took us on a 10-mile trek to Trayfoot and Blackrock mountains (elevation of 3,100). We started this hike on the edge of the park and hiked inward. There were some tough inclines and this hike was a challenge, luckily we had been looking forward to it all week. At the top of Blackrock mountain was what seemed like another mountain of rocks to scramble up for better views. After enjoying the views and stopping for lunch at Blackrock we continued on to Trayfoot mountain summit, but when we arrived we realized there were no views…just a wooden post indicating that we had made it. Not quite what we were anticipating, but at least appreciated that the remainder of the hike was mostly-downhill and we also got to hike a small piece of the Appalachian Trail before arriving back at the car.
