Skyline Drive Day Hikes

[DSC]

Around April 10th my husband and I are hoping to drive down Skyline Drive, and maybe some of the Blue Ridge Parkway if time permits. I'd like to do a bit of hiking in SNP. We are novice hikers. Yesterday we did our first hike ever, the first 1.5 miles of Ivy Branch Trail in Susquehanna State Park, and then 1.7 miles of road back to the car. We managed this in just under 2 hours. I am hoping to do more hikes in Susquehanna and other regional parks in preparation for our trip. (I have mild/moderate CP so I want to do a little more prep than your average person.)

The following is a list of hikes I am considering. A lot of the sites I've looked at rate things on the scale of easy, moderate, etc. (Hiking Upward, GuidetoSNP, VirginiaTrailGuide, MidAtlanticHikes.) I wanted to get some feedback on whether these hikes were feasible for two people who will only have 3 months experience. We have up to two weeks to do this, although if possible I'd like to do it a little faster. Please also let me know if any of my information is inaccurate. The times are what I've found on other sites, I'll probably give each hike a little buffer just to be safe. Thank you.

Milepost 19– Little Devils Stairs (5.5 Miles) 4-5 Hours – Gain: 1480
Milepost 21– Sugarloaf/Hogback/Keyser Run (4.9 Miles) 4-5 Hours – Gain: 700
Milepost 37- Leading Ridge Trail/Pinnacle/Mary’s Rock (6.8 Miles) 5 Hours – Gain: 150
Milepost 39.1– Little Stony Man (.9 Miles) 1 Hour – Gain: 270
Milepost 42.5– Millers Head (1.6 Miles) 1 Hour 35 Minutes – Gain: 450
Milepost 42.6– White Oak Canyon (4.6 Miles) 4 Hours – Gain: 1040
Milepost 45.6– Hawksbill Summit via AT (2.9 Miles) 3 Hours – Gain: 860
Milepost 49.4– Rose River Falls/Dark Hollow/Hogcamp Branch (4.0 Miles) 4 Hours – Gain: 910
Milepost 51.0– Big Meadows (.2+ Miles)
Milepost 62.8– South River Falls (2.6 Miles) 2 Hours 25 Minutes – Gain: 850
Milepost 79.5- Loft Mountain Summit via AT (2.7 Miles) 2 Hours 25 Minutes – Gain: 570
Milepost 81.1– Doyles River Upper Falls (2.7 Miles) 2 Hours 45 Minutes – Gain: 850
Milepost 84.1– Jones River Falls (3.6 Miles) 3 Hours 15 Minutes – Gain: 915
Milepost 84.8- Blackrock Summit (1.0 Mile) 1 Hour 10 Minutes – Gain: 175

[Rocket Jones]

Don't sweat the times, just hike at whatever pace you're comfortable at. Take enough breaks, bring water and snacks. Have a coat, hat, gloves, and poncho or rain jacket in your day pack - just in case.

Like they say: It's just walkin'. Enjoy!

[jeremesh]

What Rocket said. As long as you are leaving early enough in the day that you arent at risk of getting stuck overnight, dont worry about the time. One thing to keep in mind also is that back in 09, we went hiking at SNP and there were still large parts of trail covered by large sections of ice. Nothing to stop the hike but we did have to find some creative bypasses at least twice.

[DSC]

I should have been more specific. If I wanted to do two hikes in one day, without exceeding 10 miles, is that possible? I'm most concerned about the elevation gains. Are there any you would recommend leaving "on their own day" so to speak? And my hope is that we'll be up and out by 9 AM, not all that early, but early for my husband who isn't big on mornings.

[jeremesh]

I should have been more specific. If I wanted to do two hikes in one day, without exceeding 10 miles, is that possible? I'm most concerned about the elevation gains. Are there any you would recommend leaving "on their own day" so to speak? And my hope is that we'll be up and out by 9 AM, not all that early, but early for my husband who isn't big on mornings.

I would definitely leave Little devils stairs as a single day. Its one long downhill followed by one long uphill. Its a bit easier when there are ups and downs along the trail but that one long uphill took a toll on me... but then I wasnt as conditioned as I am now.

[Blissful]

Of the hikes you listed I'd recommend-

Hawksbill if its a nice day - easy hike from Upper Hawksbill parking lot
Doyles River (if you can handle a longer hike, combined with Jones Run Falls via the AT as a circuit hike makes a nice day)
Whiteoak Canyon
South River Falls (go to the base of the falls)
Blackrock requires a rock scramble. As does Bearfence. Good views
Dark Hollow Falls is pretty good; too early for wildflowers in Big Meadows

Also I'd recommend-
Mary's Rock (from the Skyline Drive which is easier, not from Thorton Gap)
Little Stony man and Big Stony man cliffs
The Marshalls (North and South) have good views too, very easy and quick

I'd skip Little Devils stairs, Keyser run, personally
Loft Mtn, Hogback, Millers Head (not much there compared to other views and trails)

A good hike on the AT is from Skyland to Big Meadows southbound one way. Great views. A ridge walk. Get to see Rock Spring shelter. Some climbing up from Fishers Gap to Big Meadows, but not bad. 9 miles though, but as a kid I did it in four and a half hours. Will need to park a second car or hitch.

[Marisa242]

I was just there last weekend and did the Milepost 49.4– Rose River Falls/Dark Hollow/Hogcamp Branch (4.0 Miles) 4 Hours – Gain: 910. It was a nice hike and was pretty easy. You have some pretty good trails listed for day hikes. You wont be disappointed.

[scudder]

Don't sweat the times, just hike at whatever pace you're comfortable at. Take enough breaks, bring water and snacks. Have a coat, hat, gloves, and poncho or rain jacket in your day pack - just in case.

Like they say: It's just walkin'. Enjoy!

+1... There's a second set of falls a short distance down the trail at Doyle River that I'd recommend while you're there.If you luck out there's some columbines that may be blooming at the top of the falls. I keep a headlamp in my daypack for "insurance" when running out of daylight might be a factor.